Hello, I am new here and I am finding a lot of useful information but I can't really find an answer to one thing I've been wondering about. It is rather specific I guess.
I better start with explaining my current situation a bit first I think to make a little more sense.
Right now I am on a waiting list for the diagnose of gender dysphoria, the way it looks right now and if all goes well that should start in about 10 or 11 months from now. I am going to follow all their instructions and not start with any hormones or anything myself.
What's bothering me is the hair I have on my legs, arms and wherever else I don't think it belongs. I've always tried to prove the opposite so I never did anything about it, I never shaved it or anything. Now I've read before that if you shave hair it gets thicker and will start to grow faster so I'm a little worried about doing that before I start HRT because I may have more work with it otherwise. I've asked the women in the transgender support group I visit about it but so far no one really knew, the ones I asked shaved it or otherwise removed it before they started HRT and didn't think about this.
I wonder if any of you ladies has any experience with or knowledge about this, maybe I'm just being silly and worrying about things I shouldn't.

Thank you!

Welcome Amy to Susan's.

So you want to get rid of your body hair?
Well glad you asked as there are a variety of ways, most are excruciatingly painful. No, not really, well almost.

Well you could shave it all off, all the stuff you listed is not really true, mostly wives tales. This is the cheapest but can cause nasty ingrowns.
You would have to shave regularly as the stubble returns quickly. I did this for years.
Another option increasing the pain threshold would be waxing. Still have issues with ingrowns but the skin is smooth for longer. Pain factor High.

I have been getting my body hairs lasered, legs, front, back underarms etc as well as face. Yes it is painful but it's not that bad. Kills the hair at the root and no need to shave for a long time.
Little issues to no issue with ingrowns or stubble and personally worth every cent. Now I'm on hormones the hair will not be an issue as what hair is left will change.
The girls at the laser clinic see lots of guys so getting your chest and legs done is not unusual. They even seem to have fun doing it.

As laser takes a few sessions it is good to look into this now as it is something you don't need approval to do so just do it was my motto.

Hope this helps as it's not silly.

J

What Jenny said but also, the first hacking of the hair by shaving is tedious but afterwards it is maintenance. If you go that way, lots of razors and lots of shave cream thingy.

Whoops I have just had a revelation, I haven't bought that shave cream thingy for ages

Oh as you get used to your female body, maintenance is a must. I look this good because I'm a goddess, every other woman has to work at it

Personally if I was starting again from hairy it. I'd wax, then laser or shave to maintain. The wax session may be uncomfortable but you will feel great. Smooth body - fun!

Shaving BTW doesn't affect hair growth, it looks more stubbly because the hair grows out from the shaved tip (you have cut the top of the hair off).

As Jenny also said, wax and laser techs are so use to this it isn't funny. it is their job, it is how they make their income.

I've been shaving with Venus razors, Skintimate shave creme, and then treating the shaved areas with a home-made variant of "Tend Skin" (which hazel, rubbing alcohol and crushed aspirin, basically)  to help prevent ingrown hairs and irritation.

I also treat with my Remington iLight Pro (a home IPL kit, basically) every two weeks. I am having to shave less and less often, and less hair is growing back at all.

As for the face, I was one of those people who had to shave her face in two directions every morning, and had rough stubble at 1pm. Now I can go a few days without shaving my face, and it's just a quick one direction touch-up. A few more weeks, and I may not have to shave at all.

This is all pre-HRT. The iLight's effectiveness varies by person (due to skin tone, hair color, and other factors). It is not rated as safe for facial use by the FDA....although the same machine is sold outside the country and advertised as a facial hair treatment system. As I always say...if you or anyone else chooses to treat the face....start at a low setting, and have someone else do the treatment for you while you cover and tightly close your eyes.

Anyway....you may also want to check Groupon and Google Offers for deals on Laser / IPL treatments by a professional. YMMV, of course...not everyone gets the same results.

Pre HRT?

There's a Nair product for male thickness hairs. I used it before HRT and it worked great. The results lasted about a week and then I'd just do it over. Eff waxing.

You can also start to get laser/electro (depending on your hair color). It's not cheap but the results are semi-permanent in the laser realm (almost permanent but you'll have to get touch-ups every year or so) or completely permanent in the case of electro (though it takes longer and is impossibly painful... believe me I know).

For the face? If you want to get rid of stuff you can pluck. It won't make them thicker or anything when they come back but it takes a long time and is also quite painful.

Quote from: TaoRaven on October 07, 2013, 08:27:08 AM


I also treat with my Remington iLight Pro (a home IPL kit, basically) every two weeks. I am having to shave less and less often, and less hair is growing back at all..

Oh thank you. I will look into that gadget. It might turn into a fun hobby as I watch TV.
I remember the first time I shaved my legs. It was fun but a lot of work. I felt very feminine and it is part of regular girlie maintenance. I need to pluck my eyebrows. I know that is painful.

Thank you all for the information, I feel a lot better about it now. 
I think I will try shaving it even if it's a lot of work then, I don't have that much hair but what's there is bothering me a lot.
Laser is not really an option for me because I can't afford it now and most of my hair is either blonde or red.
Uhm what are ingrowns exactly?

Quote from: TaoRaven on October 07, 2013, 08:27:08 AMI also treat with my Remington iLight Pro (a home IPL kit, basically) every two weeks. I am having to shave less and less often, and less hair is growing back at all.

As for the face, I was one of those people who had to shave her face in two directions every morning, and had rough stubble at 1pm. Now I can go a few days without shaving my face, and it's just a quick one direction touch-up. A few more weeks, and I may not have to shave at all.

This is all pre-HRT. The iLight's effectiveness varies by person (due to skin tone, hair color, and other factors). It is not rated as safe for facial use by the FDA....although the same machine is sold outside the country and advertised as a facial hair treatment system. As I always say...if you or anyone else chooses to treat the face....start at a low setting, and have someone else do the treatment for you while you cover and tightly close your eyes.

Oh... how interesting. I also have to shave my face in both directions. And If I want a really close shave, I have to wait a day or two, and then shave it when I have a lot of stubble.

I may have to check this thing out.

I'm pre HRT, but decided to start removing body hair, since I always hated it. I shaved my legs, that worked fine. I've done it in the past. I didn't want to shave my arms, since it would grow in too fast, so I decided to use a rotary epilator. HURT LIKE HELL! But left my arms nice and smooth, if not slightly red and irritated. But that's going away and no hair has grown back. It hurt too much to use it on my chest and stomach so I shaved. That took forever. I don't have much hair on my back, but I'm going to get that waxed next week. I like the way I look now!

I was planning on getting laser removal on my face.. but I'm wondering about this iLight Pro now.