Hi everyone...

I've recently come out as genderqueer and increasingly leaning toward transitioning to female.  The main barrier for me is that I don't think I'd be passable as female.  I'm 30, have an extremely prominent beard, and very masculine facial features.  I've recently stumbled on the question "if you could push a button and be a woman, would you do it?"  And to that question, I answered, wholeheartedly, "yes."  However, if I went around in public and was constantly seen/read as a AMAB trans woman, unfortunately for me the answer would be "no."  In advance, I'm really sorry if this observation offends anyone - I'm just being completely honest with myself, and know that I would feel even more suicidal than I already do at times if I were constantly reminded of my dysphoria by people who'd draw attention to me NOT presenting in my intended gender.

Anyway... sorry for the long rant.  I just thought I'd provide some context.

I really want to pursue laser hair removal on my face to get rid of my out of control beard, but I've heard that sometimes LHR still leaves a patchy beard, even after like 10-12 sessions.  I'm also a huge pain wimp, and honestly don't think I could stomach electrolysis.  I've done several LHR sessions on my body, and my pubic area feels horrible, so I don't even know how I'll make it through my chin. 

Has LHR been successful for any of you with previously prominent beards?  I have dark, coarse facial hair and light olive skin.  I have some white hairs on my chin, which I know LHR can't get rid of, but they are small enough in number that I can probably just shave them.  Also, did t-blockers and estrogen slow the growth of facial hair?  I understand that LHR is actually NOT permanent, but just long-term - how often would you need touch ups once you were on HRT? 

Thank you so much in advance for your patience with my insecurities.  Really hope to hear from some of you with experience in this... Also, I really admire people who've made the transition.  I honestly don't think at this point I'll have the guts to do it.  I feel really ->-bleeped-<-ty about my life, and wish I'd never opened this pandora's box

Something for you to consider. While I didn't have body hair to remove, I did have facial hair including upper lip. My only option was electrolysis and I am not exactly fond of pain either. The way I would deal with the pain was to explain to the woman I didn't want to talk while she was working in me so I wouldn't be distracted. I also wanted to about 30 seconds before she started working on my face. In that 30 seconds I would put my mind in a relaxed state like I was attempting to fall asleep and do my best to ignore what she was doing. Time to time she would hit a sensitive hair but for the most part I could stay in that state and feel very little pain. When she was done, if I did everything correctly I would feel a bit groggy and have to wake the rest of the way up before getting off the table.

If the laser works for you, by all means do it first because it seems so much faster but if you want to get out the remaining hair, you might give what I did a shot. The important thing is not to think about the area your operator is working on and that will reduce the pain.

Quote from: starting_anew on August 28, 2015, 10:58:20 PM
Hi everyone...

I've recently come out as genderqueer and increasingly leaning toward transitioning to female.  The main barrier for me is that I don't think I'd be passable as female.  I'm 30, have an extremely prominent beard, and very masculine facial features.  I've recently stumbled on the question "if you could push a button and be a woman, would you do it?"  And to that question, I answered, wholeheartedly, "yes."  However, if I went around in public and was constantly seen/read as a AMAB trans woman, unfortunately for me the answer would be "no."  In advance, I'm really sorry if this observation offends anyone - I'm just being completely honest with myself, and know that I would feel even more suicidal than I already do at times if I were constantly reminded of my dysphoria by people who'd draw attention to me NOT presenting in my intended gender.

Anyway... sorry for the long rant.  I just thought I'd provide some context.

I really want to pursue laser hair removal on my face to get rid of my out of control beard, but I've heard that sometimes LHR still leaves a patchy beard, even after like 10-12 sessions.  I'm also a huge pain wimp, and honestly don't think I could stomach electrolysis.  I've done several LHR sessions on my body, and my pubic area feels horrible, so I don't even know how I'll make it through my chin. 

Has LHR been successful for any of you with previously prominent beards?  I have dark, coarse facial hair and light olive skin.  I have some white hairs on my chin, which I know LHR can't get rid of, but they are small enough in number that I can probably just shave them.  Also, did t-blockers and estrogen slow the growth of facial hair?  I understand that LHR is actually NOT permanent, but just long-term - how often would you need touch ups once you were on HRT? 

Thank you so much in advance for your patience with my insecurities.  Really hope to hear from some of you with experience in this... Also, I really admire people who've made the transition.  I honestly don't think at this point I'll have the guts to do it.  I feel really ->-bleeped-<-ty about my life, and wish I'd never opened this pandora's box

Laser has permanent effects over time, but it takes at least 3 sessions to get the hair down, and up to 12 sessions to get it thinned enough to make it permanent.  I don't know if it would be permanent for everyone, but keep in mind that if your transitioning, then the estrogen will keep the hair thinned as well.  The reason the hair keeps up is because it's already grown out.

If your beard hair is dark it will definitely get that out.  Lasers target pigmentation, and they have different lasers.  Anyone with dark hair can get it removed, although the lighter the skin tone, the better it works.  The white hairs you can electrolysis out, and it will be alot less harsh than your whole face...electrolysis kinda sucks lol.