Cost?

[TessInJxn]

I'm holding my first letter. I struggle with moving forward for a host of family reasons. But, if I did move forward (I think it is inevitable now), I wonder what the average cost is for US surgery (not traveling to Mexico or Brazil, etc), for:

whole body electrolysis,
facial feminization,
tummy tuck,
vaginoplasty,
labiaplasty,
etc.

This is a very basic question, and I'm not asking for a quote for services. But, if you have an idea based on your own experience, please feel free to message me privately or respond to this.

I'm terrified at this task. Just looking for answers.

Thanks in advance,

Tess

[arbon]

to do all that in the USA over $100,000

[celeste26]

I'm sorry but the prices vary so much from place to place. Each could give you the prices we paid but that would only mean "around here."

Facial electrolysis is the single most important process for a good look, it will make you look 10 years younger, and even if you have the money it still takes a long time (up to two years). There is little sense in total body electrolysis. Doing it too fast will cause scarring and remains forever. I paid $50/hr when I bought 10 hours at a time. But I live in a more rural area of the Pacific Northwest. Mississippi might be cheaper, if you can find someone willing to do it there.

I cant say about the other procedures since I have not had them done.

[Karolyn]

I haven't done electrolysis yet, but laser beard removal costs me 300$ a session, once a month, and I should have about 6, so 1800$ total. I am going to start doing the upper body in a week (chest, neck, shoulders), and it is the same price. But from what I saw online, the prices vary drastically between places.

[VanTG]

Im doing laser hair removal on my face and its going to be about $1375 when its all done. Great thing is its on a monthly payment plan. Its great because $1000 up front is tough, for me that is.

Laser is a good alternative to electrolysis, or so I am experiencing. I have had 4 treatments now and shaving once per week with 30% less hair growth. Dramatic difference.

[PennyNZ]

I started with electrolysis here in NZ. The "casual" cost is $121 hr (about $85US), but we agreed on $100 hr.
Did 6 treatments, but I got concerned it was just not fast enough for me. It was going to take I figure 200 sessions at least, and my beard growth was not heavy on the sides, only upper lip and chin

So started laser last week ($150 session) and expect it will take about 8 treatments. Then back to my electrologist to get rid of the greys

Doing HRT would be so much quicker

I thought laser was more painful than electrolysis

It is a long road ahead

Penny

[PaulaQ]

I'd caution you to wait until you've done HRT for a while before worrying overmuch about body hair. Yes, I've still got some, but HRT decimated it. Sadly, it did nothing to my beard. I'll eventually get something done about my body hair, but shaving a couple of times a week deals with what I have left pretty well, and I started with fairly heavy chest hair.

Again, your mileage will probably vary.

[stefan37]

$23,500 and still counting facial electrolysis, $22,000 facial reconstruction in Mexico (comparable procedures US doctors $35-45,000). $1500 for genital electrolysis. SRS scheduled for Nov. Paid $2500 deposit, balance $18,500. That is financial cost. Personal emotional cost,
divorced, family somewhat accepting and supportive, business thriving. Result to date. No more stifling anxiety. No drugs or alcohol. No longer wage internal war.

Over all I have no regrets, but the cost has been high and I still have a major procedure in front of me that has the potential for major complications. Over 2 years full time and in many ways I'm finding it much more difficult than the first year full-time. Integrating into society as female is challenging after 56 years of male socialization. It's like cramming for a test. Unlearning x amount of years as make and learning female socializations in a very short period of time.

[LeaP]

Electrolysis - for face alone, I'll top out at appx. $9,000 - $10,000. I'm considering a few other areas, but like Paula, HRT really took care of most of it.

FFS in the US? That will vary quite a bit depending on what you have done. But from everything I've looked into, I'd plan on budgeting at least $30k ... and probably more. I know people who have had FFS in the US who have spent closer to $50,000.

Tummy tuck - no idea.

SRS - I've never looked into 2-step procedures, as it seems odd to me to go that route when so many surgeons get good results with one-step procedures. Plan on about $25,000 including misc. costs. McGinn is currently $21,500 for vaginoplasty, Although not US, Brassard (Montreal) was appx. $20,000, last time I checked.

With any of the surgeries, you need to consider travel and hotel costs.

Theresa's ballpark of $100k seems pretty good to me.

[ClaraKay]

If you've suffered MPB (male pattern baldness) add in the cost of hair grafting. It runs about $4.50/graft (follicle - strip method); one of the most expensive procedures if needed.

[Michelle.M]

As I got close to wrapping things up I tallied up everything I spent. Here's what I came up with (your costs will vary):

Electrolysis
15,797.85

Airfare-Gas-Travel Expense
4,244.35

Hotels
1,211.64

Incidentals
1,631.00

GRS
19,963.84

FFS
20,053.00

BA
6,100.00

Tummy Tuck
8,991.00

Voice, Makeup, Deportment Training
975.00

Therapy
1,505.00 (until insurance kicked in)

Personal Care
2,651.50

Medical & Prescriptions
3,844.25 (until insurance kicked in)

Wigs / Hair Systems
5,675.00

Clothing
11,021.00 (made a LOT of mistakes, I should have spent a fourth of that)

TOTAL 103,664.43

[Kaitlyn Michele]

clothing $11k...

that's a great catch...i have a closet full of mistakes...in fact, it occurs to me that i should clean it all out and give it to ts/tg goodwill ...some if it is definitely better suited to "dress up" vs day to day...

[Frances]

My only expenses were:

Hair removal (laser and electrolysis): $20,000
Psychotherapy: $15,000

SRS was covered by the government inssurance.

I did not need FFS or a BA, and it still cost me $35k.

Add to that, the cost of a somewhat difficult psychosocial adaptation, a professionnal burnout with a very long recovery and a bankruptcy, the loss of friends and ensuing isolation, and the pain of having to tell people with whom I want to have an honest or physical relationship, which often entails keeping things really superficial or scaring people away. Since I pass really well, I don't have to tell people if I don't wish to have real and honest relationships.

I know you don't want to hear this stuff, but as Badtranny said, this is important stuff. Focusing solely on the Wahoobie and the stuff that will get on the Vanity Fair cover is half the battle.

[stefan37]

I can't stress enough what Frances calls psychosocial adaptation. It is the part that I'm having some difficulty with. I haven't dated yet, but I can imagine it could be very challenging when I am ready.

[TessInJxn]

Thanks to everyone for all their comments. I was banking on about $100K. That's not s surprise. Very daunting, though!

Obviously, that is sort of a wish list. I'd have to start smaller. Hormones would be first, of course. I wondered if that would help with hair. Seems like it does, to some extent, at least. That's good news, as my razor budget is pretty hefty.

Socialization is something I do worry about. I have a long history of white male privilege that has pretty much framed how I enter act with the world. It will be hard to unlearn that moving forward.

[arbon]

I have a long history of white male privilege that has pretty much framed how I enter act with the world. It will be hard to unlearn that moving forward.

oh don't worry once you are a bonafide real life tranny all that privilege you can just say goodbye too :) It is not the same world.

But you will still have it better than the trans women of color at least.

[stefan37]

That's so true unless you continue to live in trannyland. Then you can hang onto it forever.

[Frances]

Socialization is something I do worry about. I have a long history of white male privilege that has pretty much framed how I enter act with the world. It will be hard to unlearn that moving forward.

You don't need to unlearn it. You need to handle your feelings when it is not given to you. Forget about male privilege, most trans women don't even realize that they will not have cis-privilege, and will have to get used to natal women not respecting their gender identity or feeling uncomfortable around them.

[Michelle789]

I agree on waiting until you've done HRT to remove body hair. HRT might eliminate it, but it might take a year or so to eliminate your body hair. Is your hair light or dark? If you have dark hair and light skin, you might be able to do laser.

Facial hair:
Electrolysis is the only permanent hair removal method, and even if you do laser for the beard you might still need to do some electrolysis. Start this one right away. HRT will not remove facial hair, so you will need to do electrolysis, laser, or laser/electro combo. Prices vary on how many hours you need, and whether you do laser or electro.

Body hair: For the rest of the body hair, if you have dark hair a laser should work. But wait a year or so into HRT before starting body hair removal. You can also try waxing or an epilator. If you use an epilator, wax at least two times first to thin out the hair.

FFS: I would wait until at least two years on HRT before deciding to get FFS. Let the hormones do their job first, since hormones work slowly. Two years should give you an idea of how much your face is going to feminize. You may find out you don't need the full round of FFS. If you're lucky you won't need any FFS. If you're not lucky you may still need a full round of FFS. The price really depends on how much FFS you end up getting.

Tummy tuck: Try losing weight now, before you go on HRT. You may be able to avoid this all together.

Breast augmentation: Wait until at least two years on HRT and see how much your breasts grow. Then decide how much of a BA you're going to need. Prices I suppose vary on how much BA you get.

GCS (SRS): The price depends on what country you get it in. If you go to Thailand, you can get it cheaper than you would have to pay in the USA. In the USA it costs about $20,000 to $30,000.

For now, I would seriously focus on losing weight, and electrolysis (or laser) for the facial hair.

[Frances]

HRT did nothing for my body or facial hair. On the other hand, I had trouble passing as a male five months into HRT. Hair removal took about 5 years total.

START HAIR REMOVAL YESTERDAY!

[LeaP]

Amen, Frances.

[whowhatwhen]

So far I've prolly spent $4000 to $6000 on hair removal which includes both laser and electrolysis.
Probably close to $3000 on therapy and sweet eff all on anything else.

I'm not loaded but it's still possible to squeek by.
I mean, it helps that HRT feminized my face a bit and I won't need a BA but I'll still prolly need FFS in the future.

[Dianne S]

I've spent about $4000 on laser hair removal and $1600 on therapy. Laser works really well for me, but I suspect I'll still need a year's worth of electrolysis (50-100 hours) to polish off the 10% or so of my beard that's light-colored. So budget $3000-$5000 for that, I guess.

I'm not even thinking about FFS or BA at this point, not until I've been on hormones for at least 2 years. And the signs so far are encouraging; I don't think I'll need either.

GRS (should I go for that) would be covered by my provincial health plan, but the bureaucracy and wait times are breathtaking... so I might just pay for it myself and bypass the health plan. That'd probably be around $25,000.

I really cheaped out on clothes. Bought a lot of thrift-store stuff and made very few mistakes because I usually try stuff on first. So maybe $1700 or so on clothes.

[PretzelGirl]

I am really feeling blessed. $1200 for laser. $6815 so far for electrolysis and I suspect I won't go more than $1000-1500 total more since my treatment durations are dropping on full clearings, so maybe topping out at $8000. $1645 for voice therapy. $610 for documents changed. And I am projecting $30,000 for surgery and expenses (my wife is currently planning on going). Self-Realization - priceless! So I could be done under $42k.

Where I am lucky. No big dysphoria on my face shape/features. A little for the big, crooked nose I have, so a rhino isn't totally out of the realm of the plans in the long run. I really had most of my dysphoria on my voice and facial hair. Body hair blasted by years of epilating, home laser, and HRT. Another possibility could be fat transfer BA. I have to wait and see on that as I will be comfortable landing in the B-C range, so I might get there without any more help. My friend had it done and looks great at $6000.

[TessInJxn]

I agree on waiting until you've done HRT to remove body hair. HRT might eliminate it, but it might take a year or so to eliminate your body hair. Is your hair light or dark? If you have dark hair and light skin, you might be able to do laser.

I'm light with dark, so laser is an option.


Facial hair:
Electrolysis is the only permanent hair removal method, and even if you do laser for the beard you might still need to do some electrolysis. Start this one right away. HRT will not remove facial hair, so you will need to do electrolysis, laser, or laser/electro combo. Prices vary on how many hours you need, and whether you do laser or electro.

Body hair: For the rest of the body hair, if you have dark hair a laser should work. But wait a year or so into HRT before starting body hair removal. You can also try waxing or an epilator. If you use an epilator, wax at least two times first to thin out the hair.

Good tips. I've tried epilators before, and damn that hurt! I'm quite naturally hairy.


FFS: I would wait until at least two years on HRT before deciding to get FFS. Let the hormones do their job first, since hormones work slowly. Two years should give you an idea of how much your face is going to feminize. You may find out you don't need the full round of FFS. If you're lucky you won't need any FFS. If you're not lucky you may still need a full round of FFS. The price really depends on how much FFS you end up getting.

Tummy tuck: Try losing weight now, before you go on HRT. You may be able to avoid this all together.

I'm pretty skinny, already. I have a spare tire (ok, it's one of those miniature tires that no one likes, but still. I don't want to do too much training with boy hormones, because I don't want male muscle growth. Dieting isn't really doing much for the tummy. I lost about 35 lbs, and that belly stubbornly remains).


Breast augmentation: Wait until at least two years on HRT and see how much your breasts grow. Then decide how much of a BA you're going to need. Prices I suppose vary on how much BA you get.

No doubt about this. I'd love to just have natural breasts secondary to hormones. If I'm like my mom, I'll have good growth. Who knows, though, since I didn't start at the normal time. Won't know for quite a while.


I've spent about $4000 on laser hair removal and $1600 on therapy. Laser works really well for me, but I suspect I'll still need a year's worth of electrolysis (50-100 hours) to polish off the 10% or so of my beard that's light-colored. So budget $3000-$5000 for that, I guess.

That is going to be a problem with my beard. I have a significant portion that is already snow white.

[Michelle.M]

clothing $11k...

that's a great catch...i have a closet full of mistakes...in fact, it occurs to me that i should clean it all out and give it to ts/tg goodwill ...some if it is definitely better suited to "dress up" vs day to day...

Yup! In jeans alone I probably have spent a grand! Some of that clothing was donated as I lost weight. I think I have personally equipped at least 3 other trans women with their first wardrobes as I got a better feel for what worked and what didn't. Oh, and that included my giving away some wigs and some fairly expensive breast forms as well.

[Angela Campbell]

$100k is a real possibility, but not set in stone. It depends on what you need. In the end you will spend as much as you have, probably.

I've spent so far about 11k on electrolysis, 10k on ffs, about 20k on srs, $80 a month for medicine, who knows on wardrobe, lost my kids, job, and some friends. Still i have been fortunate, and had an easy go of it.

[karenpayneoregon]

If one has a tight budget ask whomever you will have surgery with if there is a discount on multiple procedures. For instance I have reassignment and chondrolaryngoplasty done together which gave me a discount and could had a discount for breast augmentation but elected not too which is also part of the whole thinking about cutting cost.

In regards to electrolysis, in my home town it's 60 dollars per hour while a 15 minute drive to the next town cuts the cost to forty dollars and have used both, no difference in value for one's dollar. As luck was all I needed was my face done. Never tallied up the cost but would say roughly $2,000.

[Felicia Dee]

I just read through this thread... ow... my head! I guess it is what it is...