I am 24 years old and I am starting hormones next month, but I am just now looking into hair removal!

I will only be looking at hair removal for my face, as my body hair does not concern me. My facial hair grows quite slow but quite dark, and not thick at all! Hairs are scattered all over unevenly apart from chin and lip, which is not thick but more full. That is mainly how I can pass why going out, shave the night before I go out and a little makeup and bam, no shadow!

I need help on what I should do and when to start though... I've read good and bad things about starting before and after hormones, like if you start before hormones it has a chance to hurt less, but since you don't have the right hormones in your body hair could come back... Where as if you start after the pain could be a little more but hormones could help those pesky hairs stay away! I also do not know if electrolysis or laser is best for me. I have heard laser can be good for dark hair (which is what I have, despite having blonde hair!), but isnt always permanent, and have heard elecrolysys is a little more painful and takes a lot more time but is more permanent. I found a place close...ish... by to me that has good reviews, electrolysis is $60 for 60 minutes, and laser is $600 for 6 sessions on full face (no neck), with $500 for 6 sessions for the neck.

What do you ladies recommend? Price isn't really a problem for me, but I've just read so much I need help knowing what others prefer or there experiences! Thank you gals in advance!

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I had used Tria home laser for ca. 3 years occasionally (once per two week), reducing most of hairs in my legs and face.
Yes. Still I sometimes use my new Tria for my facial hair, but far less frequently, once per 3 months or 6 months. I have never shaved my facial hair during the past several years, except when shaving a few hairs in my face just before using the Tria.

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php?topic=99286.0

barbie~~

I forgot to ask, and am very sorry for double posting (not sure to edit a post on tapatalk).

Has anyone had any experience with waxing, epilating, or plucking there facial hair away? I mean it would defiantly slow hair growth and thin and lighten it over time, but unsure if anyone has had it be an effective way rather than laser or electrolysis... just curious [emoji14]

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Quote from: MissNatalieL on January 06, 2018, 01:50:48 PM
I forgot to ask, and am very sorry for double posting (not sure to edit a post on tapatalk).

Has anyone had any experience with waxing, epilating, or plucking there facial hair away? I mean it would defiantly slow hair growth and thin and lighten it over time, but unsure if anyone has had it be an effective way rather than laser or electrolysis... just curious [emoji14]

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I started HRT a few days ago and prior I tried some Nair facial creme with no success.  Olay has a facial hair remover which costs 3 or 4 times that of Nair and I am planning on trying it.  I've heard that you can have your face waxed but I don't know how painful that is.

So, for the most part I'm in the same boat as you

Under ideal conditions, around 12 treatments of laser would remove much if not all of the beard. Electrolysis takes around 200 hours to remove a healthy beard. Laser in the end will cost far less than electrolysis and even if you still have hair that needs cleaning up, the initial laser treatment will greatly reduce your electrolysis bill. If you are going for permanent removal, don't try physical removal because it can distort the root making laser or electrolysis more difficult My entire beard was removed with electrolysis as laser wasn't around yet and while it works well, it was costly and slow. Fortunately I was able to put enough hours in before I went full time that growing the hair out for treatment wasn't an issue.

Electrolysis really permanent, but it takes more time, it's more painfull and costs more. If you choose laser, hair might come back after some time (after full removal it could take years before some hairs start to grow back), but one or two sessions will be enough to make you hair free again.

Keep in mind that you wouldn't be the only woman there removing unwanted facial hair.

Shop around on the laser, the price for full face usually includes the neck. Groupon is your friend. Laser sucks but shows results really quickly if you have light skin and dark hair. Any hairs that are not dark will be unaffected so it may seem like the laser is changing the pigment of the hair, when in reality you are now seeing hairs that were hiding by the pigmented hairs.

I agree on the 12 sessions, that's also what I ended up buying and I'm on #5 and around 80-85% gone. All of the places I consulted said 8-16 and recommended buying 12. I used a groupon and also got 6 for my chest which has been amazingly effective.

Same treatment here. Laser first for the dark hairs, then electrolysis for the remainder. Most of my beard was white and I only needed 4 treatments of laser before it was completely white. I have two hourly sessions each week and I would have more if the redness and swelling wasn't so bad after each session. Now I have done about 100 hours of electrolysis and I am just beginning to show results.

I know for me I went with laser. I had dark hair and grey. The dark is pretty much gone from the laser. Patiently and aggressively tweezed the grey, laser won't kill the grey, and occasional dark. Any regrowth is finer and lighter. The grey is mostly gone now though. Last treatment, I had 6 total, was August and have had no regrowth I can see. This was after 55 years of testosterone poisoning, so as young as you are you should have better results. Mine was very dense with thick hairs.

So, anyone in the East Midlands UK that has a good Electrolysis link that is good and cheap Hair is blond/redish/gray etc
Costs would be good to (PM me separately if you need)

Hugz
Katie J

I certainly appreciate info on this subject.  I'm blond and I don't know what's going on.  Oops, that sounds bad.

Anyway, seems that my beard has been working overtime.  Don't know if it's the T screaming no you ain't or my imagination.

Would appreciate more info including average cost.

Hugs

Cali

Thank you all so much for the replies! I have been checking out the at home Tria Laser, as it seems it has gotten great reviews and is not something that is cheap, at around $300. I think I will be ordering one of them within the next couple weeks so I can get one use of it in before I start hormones!

If that doesn't work (which I am always causious about but looks like it should be quite good) I have a backup plan which you gals were such a help with! I was originally looking at over $1,000 for laser at a place close-ish to me for only 6 sessions, but found that Groupon does have some amazing deals! For full face with 12 sessions I would be looking at about $600, so thank you for recommending that!

The reason I am opting for the at home laser is mainly because of time... I very rarely have free time (during the day, 2nd shift work has me busy all day...) so with everything going on it would be a lot easier to come home and in the dead of night do my laser treatment.

Thank you all so much for the help I feel a lot less worried and stressed about it now!

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I do have 1 question regarding laser though! This applies to the at home system and professional systems. When is a good time to shave before treatment? I get razor burns quite easy, no matter what I do... My skin is not sensitive as razors are the only thing that bothers it (which is why I'm quite excited to eventually be rid of them!) and I do not want to be doing a laser treatment with bright red razor burns on it! Is it safe to wait a day after shaving to let that shadow hit? I know you do not want to wait to long as the laser will just burn the hair and not do much to get rid of it, but as I said before my hair grows quite slow so I can wait a day before shadow hits. I am pretty sure I get burns because I shave against the grain rather than the way hair grows, can I swap it up and shave the way hair grows then do my laser treatment? As I said before I just don't want to be doing my laser treatment with razor burns on my face!

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There is some question about home laser being effective against facial hair as the hair is thicker and more difficult to remove. That said, you should shave within a few hours of removal. Possibly and alternative solution would be to use an electric razor and use a light touch. I found the foil on an electric razor could cut with heavy pressure.

Also consider that often hair removal can be done on saturday and some places might do it in the evening. One hour every 6 weeks shouldn't be difficult to schedule. After all, your face is one place you don't want to risk scaring.

Quote from: MissNatalieL on January 06, 2018, 10:31:47 PM
I do have 1 question regarding laser though! This applies to the at home system and professional systems. When is a good time to shave before treatment? I get razor burns quite easy, no matter what I do... My skin is not sensitive as razors are the only thing that bothers it (which is why I'm quite excited to eventually be rid of them!) and I do not want to be doing a laser treatment with bright red razor burns on it! Is it safe to wait a day after shaving to let that shadow hit? I know you do not want to wait to long as the laser will just burn the hair and not do much to get rid of it, but as I said before my hair grows quite slow so I can wait a day before shadow hits. I am pretty sure I get burns because I shave against the grain rather than the way hair grows, can I swap it up and shave the way hair grows then do my laser treatment? As I said before I just don't want to be doing my laser treatment with razor burns on my face!

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My place says to shave the morning of, but the night before if you get razor burn easily. If you have open wounds or scabs they may refuse to treat you or reduce the intensity in that area. I had very slight razor burn in a small are at my last appointment and they just turned down the zapper a bit in that one spot.

Seriously, it hurts like a you know what. Take a few ibuprofen or Tylenol when you walk in the door, it will help slightly.

Quote from: jill610 on January 06, 2018, 11:15:25 PM
My place says to shave the morning of, but the night before if you get razor burn easily. If you have open wounds or scabs they may refuse to treat you or reduce the intensity in that area. I had very slight razor burn in a small are at my last appointment and they just turned down the zapper a bit in that one spot.

Seriously, it hurts like a you know what. Take a few ibuprofen or Tylenol when you walk in the door, it will help slightly.

That is good to know, thank you! That is another reason why I prefer to get my own laser, if it starts to hurt to much I can at least take a little break! I have endured quite some pain when it comes to hair removal, epilating is by far the worst! OMG the first time I did my legs it felt like I was getting stuck by tons of burning needles (I guess that is probably what electrolysis feels like!) and it took me 3 days to finish both my legs! Thankfully it was nowhere near that bad the next time, but dozens of ingrown hairs later and I'm back to shaving them [emoji14] I have also waxed pretty much everywhere on my body apart from full face and underarms, so I am really hoping I can endure laser!

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Quote from: MissNatalieL on January 07, 2018, 12:19:14 AM
That is good to know, thank you! That is another reason why I prefer to get my own laser, if it starts to hurt to much I can at least take a little break! I have endured quite some pain when it comes to hair removal, epilating is by far the worst! OMG the first time I did my legs it felt like I was getting stuck by tons of burning needles (I guess that is probably what electrolysis feels like!) and it took me 3 days to finish both my legs! Thankfully it was nowhere near that bad the next time, but dozens of ingrown hairs later and I'm back to shaving them [emoji14] I have also waxed pretty much everywhere on my body apart from full face and underarms, so I am really hoping I can endure laser!

I have no clue about the home laser.  I have fair skin and course, dark facial hair.  A prime candidate for laser, as I have been told.  I started with the Alexanderite laser and it didn't sting very much as all, even on full power.  I did 3 sessions and it really didn't do anything to my facial hair.  I switch to another laser center that used the Diode laser and it hurt like a mother!  However 2 sessions and my face was 90% cleared.  I am going back for another session at the end of the month (6 sessions total, with touch ups for a year after).  My experience with the lasers is that it's going to sting, and probably should sting quite a bit if it is to be actually effective.  The Alexanderite laser was very mild on my facail hair and didn't clear anything.  I got better results with the Diode which is way way more painful.  But it's esentially killing the hair folicle and therefore, should hurt if it's working.  I would be leary of dropping 2 to 300 on a home laser, with refill packs and bulbs at $100+ a pop... that will drive the cost to about what professional hair removal will cost and I would find the achievable results semi-suspect.  I got my face and neck packages together for $1300 total.  Which is basically 2 years of Laser for $650 a year.  About what you're going to spend on a cheaper home laser.

As for epilating, the panasonic wet/dry epilator is probably your best bet if you're prone to ingrown hairs and dislike the pain of epilating.  Use it in the tub with a little body wash on the blades for lubrication.  It'll take the sting right out of epilating.  Otherwise, stick with waxing.  It lasts longer than epilating and shaving, with less of a chance for ingrown hairs.

Quote from: MissNatalieL on January 06, 2018, 01:16:20 PM
I am 24 years old and I am starting hormones next month, but I am just now looking into hair removal!

I will only be looking at hair removal for my face, as my body hair does not concern me. My facial hair grows quite slow but quite dark, and not thick at all! Hairs are scattered all over unevenly apart from chin and lip, which is not thick but more full. That is mainly how I can pass why going out, shave the night before I go out and a little makeup and bam, no shadow!

I need help on what I should do and when to start though...

...

What do you ladies recommend? Price isn't really a problem for me, but I've just read so much I need help knowing what others prefer or there experiences! Thank you gals in advance!

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My hair removal largely took place between 2014 through 2016 with occasional maintenance ongoing. I found all home remedies to be largely a waste of time and money... they were not permanent and, for example, an epilator is like an electric razor but instead of shaving which is relatively painless, an epilator does mass plucking of hairs... quite painful if you don't do regular updates and have a lot of hair. That was probably the best thing I found, better than home waxing which was sort of doing the same thing but a mess to deal with.

I eventually came to terms with the fact that I'd wanted a more female appearance and that perm hair removal was the only thing. I started with laser which largely began/completed in 2014 and has been excellent for the body except the face where I did not get laser after trying the first session... it was not effective on the face due to some whiteish whiskers at the root.

For face I got electrolysis which has been excellent... I'm due for more updates on elec but my finances has been sparse so I've been plucking occasionally... there's not much to do... but ultimately I should resume occasional elec for upkeep sometime in the future... however, the whole of my face is largely clear and I found the investment well worth it.

So I found starting with laser a great way to see laser compat... as mentioned, I found it excellent for the body, not so much for my face... that's my situation with my face. Each person needs to figure that sort of stuff out with laser. I'd recommend laser for the body if possible only because I can't imagine full body elec... I'd just do elec where laser doesn't work. (However, I have heard from reputable electrologists that laser on the face is not recommended... while I have faith in what I heard, I've not verified it empirically... something about laser perhaps stimulating more hair growth or making elec more difficult in at least cases where laser does not work on the face... again I've not verified this. I think this forum has some discussion on this... use the search feature "laser face electrolysis" or some such.)

I have not examined the latest home "laser" or "elec" kits... I keep thinking there will be a breakthrough there someday but I've not heard of any yet I'm not in the market and don't follow anything aside from seeing occasional online reviews... and I've seen positive reviews for hair removal products that once purchased did not live up to those reviews. YMMV. My guess is those products produce either hair reduction or removal which is good but not as solidly perm as a clinic with laser and/or elec... but that's been a standard sort of way of looking at things and one day it may be a dated way of looking at things... but that's what I know, dated info or not.

Some past discussions where I shared some of my hair removal experiences...

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,228234.msg2024015.html#msg2024015 // See "FDA" link.
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,227845.msg2020641.html#msg2020641
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,215169.msg1905273.html#msg1905273
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,216249.msg1914736.html#msg1914736
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,214098.msg1896158.html#msg1896158

Best of luck with your clearing adventures!

Quote from: MissNatalieL on January 06, 2018, 10:31:47 PM
I do have 1 question regarding laser though! This applies to the at home system and professional systems. When is a good time to shave before treatment?

When you get the Tria, please read carefully the user's manual.

In my case, I shave just immediately before applying the Tria. You need to remember the exact location of one hair on your face, and target and zap it with the Tria. It is a time-consuming, repetitive work.

Yes. A merit of Tria is that you do not need to make an appointment. Whenever you have leisure  time, you can apply the Tria part by part. As it takes a month for hair regrowth, you may finish one round of Tria treatment within a month. I guess it will take at least 10 rounds of Tria treatment to greatly reduce your hairs around your lips, which means it can take about 1 year (1 month/round x 10 rounds = 10 months).

For hairs in the sensitive area around your lips, it can be painful to apply the Tria, but you can start with the lower power levels of 1 or 2 to avoid burns. For other facial areas, you may start with the power levels of 3 or 4 (5 max). Once you are accustomed to Tria treatment, you may increase the power level gradually. Also, Tria treatment helps kill any germ in the hair root by heating. Yes. Tria treatment is a little bit hygienic.

Good luck and be patient.

barbie~~

For dark hair and light skin plan on 12 sessions 6 weeks apart. I would look for specials, packages and groupon. Shave close the day of and use witch hazel afterwards.