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Laser Hair Removal
Its approaching that time in my transition plan when I am looking at spending the money on Laser Hair Removal (LHR). I am seven months (give or take a couple of weeks) away from starting my social transition where it will all kick off and I will start living full time as Melissa (incl name change etc.). Naturally I want rid of my facial hair before then, however it could be 12 months (if I go private) or two years (soley NHS) from that date. Am I going to have to budget for a large number of top-ups before I get the anti androgens and the requisite hormones?
Yes I am excited!
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beard removal is a many-year process I believe. it only works properly on very dark hair, not on grey/blond/white. There are many who say laser damages the collagen permanently. I suggest thorough research, and expect a long duration.
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While laser wasn't a fun experience, it did work well for me. And it was relatively cheap as well, in America I was able to find deals on packages on Groupon. I did nine sessions in total, my face is 95% clear. I have some grey hair that I have to knock off in the mornings, but I can live with that.
Most will suggest to start laser and let it do as much as it can before electrolysis. It will save you money in the long run.
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I haven't done laser but from reading comments here and researching it sounds like you have a good plan. Laser apparently works on dark hair not blonde or grey. Electro works on all but takes FOREVER .......
I had a mass clearing and I strongly recommend against it. With electro I have switched to traditional one hour appointments.
You have a good plan in my opinion - knock out what you can with laser and then go electro.
You mention hormones. They don't do very much for facial hair. My experience is that my beard grows in more slowly that's about it.
Your plan of transition sounds very similar to mine. I like it. But we all do it differently. I had a plan and executed it - with some unexpected curves in the road. But for me having a plan helped with the nerves and fear of transitioning. For me I was on a mission. Spiro - come out to people - part time - full time - name change - face injections - orchie - estrogen - birth certificate change. All in that order. FFS was supposed to be in there too but alas that's another story.
Good luck and keep moving forward.
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Thanks for the responses :)
I have dark hair that is why I am going laser :) my facial hair isn't overly dense either so I am hoping the removal will be fairly complete, there are a few grey ones but I can just yank them out/shave them off so that is no real problem.
The reason I mention hormones is because I am concerned about the growth of new hairs rather than the old ones coming back, which the hormone therapy does prevent.
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I can share my experience, which might help. I began laser hair removal on my upper body a year before I began HRT. I began laser beard removal after three months HRT. I am currently 11 months HRT. My upper body hair is gone, after about 7 sessions every two months. I thought my dark beard and mustache hairs were gone after 6 monthly sessions. I had to take a three week break from HRT because of surgery about a month ago. I was very surprised and upset that my dark mustache hair and some beard hairs came back, clearly visible! I had to deal with concealer before I went out, something I had stopped doing months ago. It seems that the HRT had suppressed my face hair growth, so the laser had nothing to zap. So I went back to the laser early this week and had a face session that was just like the first one, lots of pain and burning hair. On the plus side stopping HRT allowed me to discover that I had dormant roots and could attack some of them.
The bottom line of all this is to do laser hair removal as soon as you can, preferably before HRT.
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Sorry for the late response, Thanks Dorit.
I will be starting it as soon as it is practical to do so :)
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LHR starts in less than a month :) I have my consultation booked in and a week later my first treatment session.
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:cheer: that's great, good for you and good luck with it. I started electrolysis recently - can't have laser due to my medical history - and that'll be once a week for up to two years. But if you have stray white/gray ones left after the laser then electrolysis would be a good option for those because it targets individual hairs one at a time.
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Eemz,
So is electrolysis more effective than laser?
Why is going to take you 2 years?
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Electrolysis is more effective than laser on most people. Permanent hair removal takes a long time because each follicle will go through several growth cycles before it finally goes belly up. Also, there are always hair follicles that are dormant and can't be treated. Beginning HRT before completing permanent hair removal makes it even more difficult for several reasons. HRT may retard hair growth making it difficult to treat. Dorit's experience is a perfect example of this. HRT also makes the skin thinner, more fragile and subject to damage from electrolysis.
I completed Electrolysis 38 years ago. As I recall it took about two years of one hour per week treatments. There is a member here who no longer comes to the forum who is into her third year of electrolysis doing 3 - 4 hours per week. She started with laser but it did not work.
To do it right, complete permanent hair removal first, before beginning HRT.
Another thing, if you are considering SRS there is the matter of genital hair removal. In most cases this is necessary to achieve satisfactory results. Unless, of course, you don't mind hair growing in your . . .!
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I was never a "hairy" person. I had Laser on my entire body and had great results. While Laser effectively removed most of the dark facial hair, it left a lot of gray facial hair. I started electrolysis before HRT and had a couple sessions after I started HRT. I am not happy about the scarring. I'm wondering if the technicians are using the wrong techniques.
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I had scarring too. I have not completed electro and may not ever. I have had about 80 hours total and could use at least 80 more. I don't pass well and further electro won't change that much. My beard is not heavy but is noticeable on day 2 but I never leave the house on day 2 without shaving.
Regarding the scarring most of mine was caused by a mass clearing of 8 hours straight with a tech on each side of me and included face numbing injections. It was done in the offices of a well known FFS surgeon but not by his staff.
I strongly recommend against any mass clearing given my experience. Stick with laser for dark hair and iffy permanent results and go with standard one hour appointments of electro for light or grey hair and more permanent results.
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Electricity had just been invented when I did electrolysis. Flash Gordon had a "Ray Gun" but lasers were not an option.I would think that techniques and methods have improved greatly since then.
That being said, I had no scarring. It was horribly painful and I could only stand 30 minutes at a time. But! it was the best thing I have ever done. There is absolutely no way that this girl could stand to scrape hair off my face every morning for the last ~13,870 days. . . not feminine at all!
For me the need has always been to be female, not just look female some or most of the time. Thankfully, curling up every morning in my pajamas with my puppy dog and a cup of coffee without hair on my face is standard operating procedure for me.
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Yes I'm doing the classic one hour a week and a different area each week because you need to give the skin time to recover before hitting it again or you'll get scarring. So I've been told anyway. And each hair needs several rounds to finish it off. One hour on my chest equals an area about the size of my palm. The face will be slower because the hairs are more densely packed and stronger.
I would probably have gone for laser and then electrolysis to mop up the strays, but can't on medical grounds so electro it is.
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"Regarding the scarring most of mine was caused by a mass clearing of 8 hours straight with a tech on each side of me and included face numbing injections"
I went to the same place as Kym and unfortunately suffered the same results. Clearing sounds good in theory but is quite brutal in practice. I did it 5 times and it left my face relatively hair free which is great for the hours invested, but be forewarned, 18 months after the fact, close examination of my skin shows scarring in areas and "orange peel" in others. At my age (old) its less of a problem because of skin quality in someone older and a tendency for the damage to hide itself. But if I was young with very nice skin, I would exercise caution. On very young skin, those blemishes will stand out in a big way. Just a heads up for those thinking this is a quick fix as I did. It just may not be worth it. Interestingly, I was super pleased 8 months ago. The scarring takes time to show up and it is very disappointing once it does and then to late to do anything other than give a ton of money to a dermatologist.
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I've been doing hlp, hone light pulse that's a kind of laser but softer. I concentrate the treatment in my legs, arms, chest, for around a year. Now on legs I shave once a month and use de hlp machine. Arms the hair grows again but really fine and slow, no black hair there, is more a eatable. Chest is very low hair that I shave once a month, probably HRT is doing its effect on hair too.
So I'm deciding go for electro in the face.
How much is the average pri e per session, or treatmentm
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In Houston area the cost is $90 per hour on any part of the body except genitals. There it is $150 per hour.
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I'm paying €75 euro an hour, which is about the same.
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I was overwelmed watching a documentary about the cost of hair extensions that black women use almost without exception. It's part of the life and husbands easily assume that is the life of their women...
We're not far from that, just electro can be more than 10 grands in two years, if you add FFS BA and SRS, we're like that show a 6 million dollars man... it the peace of mind is priceless...
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"we're like that show a 6 million dollars man"
I think you mean,
"The Bionic Woman" (- ;
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Jentay, right on! I just translate it from my memory the name that in Spanish they used centuries ago...lol
But remember first was the bionic man, then she showed up.
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Jeri Ann, Happy for you, sad for me. Yeah I'm not too happy still having any beard at all even a light, slow growing one. It increases my GD. But I would also prefer to have FFS, a vaginoplasty instead of my orchie and a BA. Since I make less than half what I used to most likely none of those are in the cards.
Laser sounds great and is cheaper, do it before you have a lot of grey.
Jentay - sounds like you went to Belle at Dr. Z's office. Yeah they do a good job of managing their reviews and it sure sounds good. I have been through a lot of physically painful stuff but that day was horrible. And the scarring is bad. It sounds like we went approximately the same time. I was there in June of 2016.
One day at $2,400 - wish I had the money back. It did kill off a fair amount of my beard but I would have rather spent it on the 1 hour treatments I have done in the last 2 years at $96 per hour. Better results. As in most things in life there is usually no good shortcut.
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I've been going for my face for 18 months. Just finished a years worth of treatment (13 times) for $275. Next year will cost $375 but am going to continue.
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At my local salon I pay £40 per hour for electrolysis, and that has never changed. How long it takes very much depends on how hair you need removing. I initially had laser on the darker hairs, however, as I am naturally fair, electrolysis now is the answer. On and off, I've been at it for 6 years :)