Hello all,

I know this doesn't really belong here but I don't see anywhere else where this topic fits under Transitioning,  so I'm sorry if this is misplaced.   But here it goes...

Is there an efficient way to perform electrolysis??   I have no one but myself to blame but I was going for 6 months this year and then stopped.  It just seemed so slow,  I felt I was barely making progress.   And of course its not cheap and it was uncomfortable at best and at times fairly painful.   I was only going once a week for an hour which is probably on the lite side,  but even so I thought I would see better results.   Anyway I regrettably stopped going and now it seems the small progress that was made has come back.

I've heard of a place in Texas that I think does it over a few sessions.  But it just seemed strange to me that a place like this only existed in one location.  I have corresponded with one person who did go there and they suggested it damaged their skin,  but I'm assuming that could be the case with any electrolysis  (I still have redness in areas).

I'm not expecting so but hopefully there are some better options.  Otherwise I guess its back to to where I was.

Any feedback or direction would be appreciated. 

Thanks!
-Rebecca

Painful, yes. Expensive, yes. Slow, yes. Permanent, yes - providing it is done properly by someone who knows what they're doing. They should have a fair bit of experience removing beards, not just a few hours working on old ladys' chin hairs. There are two types of electro - galvanic and thermolysis. I'm told galvanic is the guaranteed permanent process. Mind you that was said by my electrolysist, so she might be biased. After 130 hours (over two and a half years) I have no reason to doubt her, the beard is almost completely gone.

Hi Rebecca,

Unfortunately there is no easy way to get it done.  As Ms. Grace said, it is painful and expensive, no matter how you slice it.  Efficient? If that means as as fast as possible, you can go to a place like Electrology 3000 that will do it in a few sessions, but be prepared for an extended convalescence as your face recovers. I don't really consider that an option.  I am trying to transition in stealth for as long as possible, so having a face swollen up like a basketball is unacceptable, not to mention the financial hit.

I do about two hours a month, which costs me about $250, with an electrologist who is experienced with transgender care.  I had a light beard, and after taking care of the dark hairs with laser, my beard is about 80% gone after less than 30 hours of electrolysis over the last 15-16 months or so. I guess I am lucky.  My electrologist uses the blend method (galvanic + thermolysis), which is faster than galvanic, and less painful than straight thermolysis (for me, anyway).

Good luck!

With kindness,

Terri

Massive hair removal requires more than one operator and most electrolysis operators are single person operations. There are disadvantages to massive hair remove but it can work for some people. We already have a thread on this and you can find it here.
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,201150.0.html

There is no quick way generally for electro removal of a beard. It takes time any many hours and lots of money to do. Hugs
Mariah

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RKittan / Rebecca:

YMMV - 'Your mileage may vary' - hair removal depends upon your own specifications.  It all takes time.  There may be no magic pill about it.  Starting is your first step.  Nowadays, laser first followed by completion with electrolysis seems to be the routine process.

There was no laser during my day - 1970s - 1980s.  I did a concurrent mix of both tweezing out the facial hairs and electrolysis.  That combination gave me a 100% clear face from the start.  Good-bye shadow for good!

     -  Tweezng took maybe an hour or so before bed so that the face had time to recover overnight at once or twice per week.

     -  Electrolysis was maybe monthly on a Saturday.

My electrologist said that tweezing helpt my toleration for any electrolysis pains and helpt destroy the roots so that she could zap many more per session at a higher device setting than if I did no tweezing at all.  She was happy as long as she had enough hairs to zap.  I eventually progressed to the time when I no longer plucked - it was from then on smooth sailing to the end that came with a flurry of ending sessions to hit the final stragglers.

There was no fanfare - I simply reached a point when I no longer went to sessions because the hair was all gone.  That was 30-some years ago and all remains well.

You can see my results (compare 'shadow' in 1981 to fully clean in 1985) on the Susan's 'Before and After' thread (Reply #1633).

Good luck!  It will be worth your effort.

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Hi Ladies,

Hope you all had and are having a Wonderful Holiday.

Thank you for all of the helpful and informative responses.  Unfortunately for me my facial hair started turning gray quite early and is mostly so by now,  so I don't think laser is an option.  Though I've been using the Silk 'n Smooth at home laser on it and hoping for the best.  In either case it looks like its back to the electrologist and letting that take its long and costly course.

Just curious based on some of feedback...  the electrolysis I had been going to was advising against me plucking,  which I had done quite a bit of (yes that was painful as well).   they said it would make the electrolysis less effective.  By chance has anyone heard the same?   Also,  again just curious, but did you have the electrolysis done while on HRT,  if so did it make much of a difference?

Thank you all again

-Rebecca

Yes, please don't pluck because it can result in ingrown hair and also make it take longer to remove the hairs since you will be only aiding in the hairs staying around longer. Hugs
Mariah

I have had about 75 hours of electrolysis so far this year.  I've had a number of multi-tech multi-hour sessions and have one scheduled for tomorrow. Here is what my results are so far this year.
The one on the right is from today. I've had to not shave for a few days in prep for tomorrow.

PERMANENT HAIR REMOVAL Electrolysis, Laser or IPL?

"Kill me but make me beautiful" are the words used by Iranian women when they are ready to undergo a treatment for permanent hair removal of unwanted facial hair.
http://www.dubailasertreatments.com/permanent-laser-hair-removal-electrolysis-laser-or-ipl-dubai/