Self electrolysis: Does anyone have any experience with this one? I saw this idea on a website called TS Roadmap and was wondering if anyone has tried it with success?

To do electrolysis properly, you should be trained and certified. The latest state of the art machines are not cheap. Doing facial electrolysis requires really good technique.

If you do decide to do your own electrolysis, I suggest that several girls go together, get proper training and then do electrolysis on each other.

Better yet, since the demand is out there, open your own business and do electrolysis for a living. At $80 to $100 an hour, you should be able to pay the rent and then keep some extra.

We have a member who did it but it required learning about the process, a steady set of hands and good eyesight. Electrolysis uses a very fine needle that's inserted between the hair and the skin all the way to the root of the hair. Done properly, you don't feel it. Done improperly, you will get poked. To do this properly you need to see the direction the hair grows and insert the needle in that direction. It isn't as easy if you have curly hair but it can still be done. At the same time you need to have a set of tweezers on the hair to see if it has released from the treatment. It's much easer to have somebody do this than do it your self and I was glad to pay somebody to do this instead of attempt it myself.

"To do electrolysis properly, you should be trained and certified. The latest state of the art machines are not cheap. Doing facial electrolysis requires really good technique.

If you do decide to do your own electrolysis, I suggest that several girls go together, get proper training and then do electrolysis on each other.

Better yet, since the demand is out there, open your own business and do electrolysis for a living. At $80 to $100 an hour, you should be able to pay the rent and then keep some extra."

I was thinking the same thing as a part-time job to get income. I do appliance repair for a living and  I have a steady hand and a knack for electronics.I am always surprised at how knowledgeable everybody is about all of these topics. It has definitely been a huge help to me for going in the right direction.

Hi, Coffeedrew

Yes... I've done it. As Dena says, you need knowledge, steady hands and good eyesight.

The knowledge you can acquire from Michael Bono's book on the blend method. It gives you all the theory, and I think all you need to know in order to start.

Steady hands basically means sufficient agility to align the needle with the hair shaft where it exits the follicle precisely enough that you can just let it slide in rather than trying to poke it. (That doesn't work.)

As for good eyesight—no matter how good your eyes are I really suggest buying a binocular loupe like e.g. dentists use. It makes the work much easier. Really good ones start around $1000, but I got an 8x Chinese version for I think about one tenth of that. It's good enough to start with. (If you do decide to make it a profession, though, it's very useful to get a pair made.) Also get a very bright lamp—high magnification means you may need more light than you think.)

Used machines cost anywhere from practically nothing to about $2000. The more expensive ones have extensive computer assisted functions that make them easier to use. Andrea James' hairtell forum used to have a thread where members discussed e.g. which machines on eBay were worth buying. (I'm afraid that due to site rules I'm 184 posts short of being allowed to post the link, but if you google hairtell "do it yourself" you should be able to find it...)

It's probably best to do a bit of research before making a purchase because some of the machines advertised as professional are worse than useless. However, there are some good finds if you keep looking. I've bought three or four for about $100 each, because I got interested in learning more and seeing the differences...

If you do decide to work on yourself, please promise not to start with your face, though. In the very beginning you need to learn how your skin reacts, the minimum power required to kill the hairs and the maximum treatment energy that your skin can stand per type of hair. Minor marks from mistakes will heal, but if you really overtreat, it will cause scars.

Also, even if you plan to use thermolysis, please start experimenting with it only after learning how to do blend well. The mode can be many times faster but requires much more precise control than blend. (Newer machines do a lot of the thinking for you, though, if you just give them the correct parameters.)

As Dena also said, it can be much more efficient to find a trustworthy friend who also needs electrolysis and work on each other than try to do it all alone.

And, as Dani said, if you plan to make a career of it, depending on where you live you may need to get certified. (Training and certification doesn't guarantee proficiency, though. It takes more than that, I'm sad to say, and some people have studied and eventually become professionals themselves because the practitioners in their vicinity just weren't good enough.) However, working on yourself doesn't require certification—just skill and good sense...

Have a look at the site hairtell.com. There's a serious lot of info about this sort of thing there.

I've been doing it myself for about a month now, removed maybe 500-800 hairs? I don't keep an exact count.

I don't have a ton of money, and $8000-$20000 total for electrolysis is way over my budget for anything (especially since I need to save for other similarly expensive things, like moving, SRS, FFS, hopefully college someday, etc.) and I enjoy doing difficult things on my own, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Basic equipment cost me around $100 for the kit, a 10x magnifying mirror, a good set of tweezers, and some spare needles; some things may need to be replaced, and I'm not factoring in the cost of salt, tissues, skin products, or the bit of electrolysis I'll need to have done professionally to remove the lighter hairs on the sides and neck after I've finished the parts around my mouth and the dark hairs everywhere else.

I'm saying I've been doing it for a month, because that's how long I've had success with it; it took me 3 weeks to teach myself how to do it properly, and in that time I spent maybe 10 hours removing less than 50 hairs. I also left several marks on my skin that just recently healed; if you do it properly you should only get a little bit of swelling and red spots that fade within a few days. It took a lot of practice to get the technique down, you're basically trying to hit a target smaller than a human hair with a needle you can barely see without magnification. Now that I've been doing it for a while, I can generally get at least 2 hairs done a minute, but once I move to the neck and sides it'll get MUCH more difficult, because:

A. I'll need to use an extra mirror to see what I'm doing, so all my movements will be inverted, which really screws with my brain

B. The hairs appear much smaller because the light reflected from the hairs has to travel farther to reach my eye

I have tested removing hairs on the side and neck, though, and I've successfully removed multiple hairs from both areas, so I know I can do it; it'll just be a lot harder than the areas I'm focusing on now.

I actually find the process enjoyable, and not just because I know I'm saving money--I really enjoy killing and removing hairs myself. I feel like I'm earning it that way; I get a strong sense of satisfaction and accomplishment every time I remove a hair (it's kinda addicting tbh). I'm maybe a third done with my upper lip (being optimistic, I know, and some hairs will grow back) and I've thinned out the stuff on my chin a little, but not enough to make a noticeable difference. It takes a fair chunk of time out of my weekends, but I always put on a podcast or music or something while I'm doing it so I don't feel like I'm losing any of my precious leisure time.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions. I'm not a professional and I'm still new at it but at least I have a tiny bit of experience with it--enough to know I can finish on my own.

This is so awesome! I cannot believe the amount of support I have been getting.I also want to add just so people don't worry, I am not trying to do anything stupid or desperate.I am trying to get the most information, so I can weigh the pros and cons,and then make the best decision for my self.Thanks.

Yeah, I've wanted to post and ask about it myself but I was worried I'd get a universally negative response to my questions. It's definitely not the smartest way to go about hair removal, and I'd only recommend it if you're highly motivated and good with your hands. Having it done professionally would be easier, faster, and less risky, but I'm stubborn and I have no money, so I'm doing the best I can on my own.

One of the first transwomen I met told me about clearing her chest with this cheap home electro device, it's sold as the OneTouch now, or was back then?  These things are really crude but some of us have gotten results with them, but you'd just as well find a used professional machine and carefully work on yourself.

I had to give up on electrolysis a few months ago; I was earning minimum wage and electro left me with no extra income whatsoever, after scrambling to pile up enough to pay property taxes.  My operator was cheaper than most, too.

So, I bought a used Fischer epilator on eBay - Fischer is a respected brand.  I've tested it and it works, but haven't done much with it, truthfully.  I bought it with PayPal credit so it only costs me about $30/month. 

This morning I found out I'm getting an almost $2/hr raise  so will order some more sizes of needles, magnifcation of some kind, Bono's book.  I've taken a few stabs at removing hairs from my thigh to see if I have the knack, and it is a tricky business.  My feeling is that, if you have the motivation and the patience, and, most importantly, go slow, you can do a lot of hair removal.

hairtell.com has a ton of info.  One of the most prolific posters there is a Canadian transwoman.

The horror stories we sometimes hear a lot about bad electro are about people charging for their services, and doing a bad job of it.  One local electrologist told me about her (trans) partner going to an operator who had a top-of-the-line machine, worked very fast, seemed to give very good results - but almost all the hair grew back.  Other operators did bad work, too. 

This person actually was so upset by her partner's ordeal that she went to school to become an accredited operator, and is now working full time in electrology - and 90% of her clients are transwomen.  It was from her that I learned that Oregon actually mandates that electro be covered for the gender dysphoric.  Oh, really?  My previous operator was under the impression that only people earning Medicade level incomes had any hope of this sort.  Since then I've heard 2 different takes on what insurance can deliver - an operator can charge insurance for their work if they're in the same facility as a surgeon?  Some companies cover facial and genital, some just the latter?   

Going to school would set me back about $10k, and my previous operator had a lot of expenses to cover, too.  I don't really fancy making a career out of putting people into agonizing pain, either.  Each state has its own regulations about this, too - or lack thereof.  In Oregon operators must have their own workplace not in their home, and have accreditation from a college.  In Washington neither of these apply.

Now I'm thinking I'll have laser on my face, and down the road see about electro for what remains, if I haven't developed the skill/confidence to work on myself.  As is hinted above, there are parts of your face you can't really work on.

When it comes to Oregon, it's probably best to go to the source. My search picked up three rather interesting links about state policy so I will provide all three for you to review.

https://www.oregon.gov/oha/HPA/CSI/QHOCMeetingDocuments/Quick%20Guide-%20CO%20Electrolysis%20and%20Laser%20Hair%20Removal.pdf

http://www.basicrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/OHP_FAQ_for_CommunityPartners_Mar_2016.pdf

http://www.basicrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/OHP_FAQ_For_Individuals_Mar_2016-2.pdf

I am amazed no one has mentioned the HUGE risk of scarring the tender skin of the face that will result from poor electrolysis technique and amateur equipment. At best trying to clear large areas of hair will be slow with a low rate of success. At worst it will cause infection, pockmarks and irregular pigmentation that will scar your face for the rest of your life.

Thanks Dena, but those links are related to the Oregon Health Plan, our local Medicaid service.  I'm not going to reduce myself to $2k yearly income to get some free electro.  I have read posts from kids on FB who do just that, though.  If you're still at home with your folks it's an option.  Or are willing to live dirt poor.  Or don't have any other option.

I have Providence insurance, which covers hormones and therapy.  The electrologist whose partner is trans says Kaiser Permanente cover any kind of electro, but a rep from their company told me that this has to take place in a facility, or in coordination with a surgeon, or...the electrologist also told me Providence are colossal prudes and will fight any requests associated with TG tooth and nail, and don't cover any electro; but I've had good experiences working with their employees, at least.  They even placed a little placard out at my local hospital for Pride week.  The Kaiser rep said to contact this one Providence rep to get the full story.  All of it very confusing/contradictory. 

So, if the ACA is intact by the end of the year I'll switch to Kaiser.  In the meantime I need to nail down if Providence will provide genital electro; my therapist is writing my letter of recommendation for surgery at our local clinic, which will take place about 2 1/2 years from now.  The whole world might be on its side by that point anyway...I want to have an orchi done this year, for the usual reasons.  Incidentally a Providence urologist who performs orchis gets rave reviews from local transwomen for being on board with us all the way, and doing quality work.

Virginia - no one starts on their face, until they've really gotten the hang of working on their body.  Even pros will epilate hairs on their arms, I've been told. 

Hi.   Does anyone have expereince with an Epilator?   I understand they do a good job of hair thinning and lightening.

Thanks

Karen

Over time epilators/waxing/tweezing can distort follicles, making extraction by laser impossible and electrolysis more difficult.  I put my epilator away when I started electro and found out about that.  None of the plucking methods are permanent, either.  I don't think they lighten or fine things.  I know the pain is reduced a bit, if you're lucky.  Hormones can bring on finer body hair, too.

Yes I have my own Apilus JR I brought out of Canada. It was a lot of work but it also saved a TON of money. I still occasionally use the machine to zap those fine white hairs you get here and there. You must have a good mirror and what I did was get a round convex stick on mirror and place it inside of the lighted magnifying arms and point the light at me. Worked real good.

I did use one of those little cheap 9volt battery ones. I think it was called Simple Touch or something like that.
What I found:

You need steady hands.
You need good eyes.
Have a tiny bowl of rubbing alchohol and a small dish of salt water.
It will work. But it is not easy.
It takes a very long time to do just a small area.
Have plenty of spare batteries ready.
Order spare needles from Walmart.com

I cleared a lot from my upper lip and my chin once with it. When it works right it works. You should see the lye from your pore oil come out around the hair. If it does the hair just slides out with the tweezers.
I could not do anything else on my face because it was too hard to line up the needle with the hairs.

I only did my upper lip once myself.
It was a lot easier to go to a local RN who does it with a modern machine at $50 hour.
With a thick beard to start laser is better as it clears so much more but takes many more trips. Mine is much much thinner than ever but I'm still going for laser.