[Closed] Electrolysis and laser

I'm doing electrolysis now on my face.  I did laser a few years ago on most of my body.  Both are expensive if you go to a salon or dermatology clinic.  IMO it's worth the expense if you're serious about being hair free.

However, there is a way to greatly reduce the cost - by going to a school that teaches electrolysis or laser.  That's what I'm doing now for electrolysis.  I pay $20/hour for face treatment at a nearby school.  Body electrolysis is free.  The students are shadowed by experienced professionals.  My experience has been great so far.

As for pain....there is some with both.  Lidocaine gel does a good job of minimizing discomfort.

/EA

Thanks for your reply Emily.  I will look into it.

Never heard of that school. I haven't either. But I do want to do electrolysis one day for my face and body to never have to shave again and to get rid of my 5 o clock shadow permanently.

Hi Kerri, I can give you a firsthand experience.  I had blotches (islands) of coarse blond and white beard hair and was determined to get them gone.  I'm Intersex and my body has a hair pattern like many women.  This left my body hairless but my face was mixed with real man-hair (think grandma should do something about that beard!).  So I started electrolysis.  Laser wouldn't work cause I had mostly light or white hairs.  Electrolysis works on only fresh (think 2 week old) hairs.  So, the first time that you go they stick an electrode into the each hair follicle and zap it with electricity (that part really hurts!, I always took 2 ibuprofen 30 min. before each session) then, they tweeze the hair out.  Then you wait about 2 to 4 weeks for the new hair growth to come in and do it all over again and then you have the new growth hair that has a root that  can be removed.  That is when you finally have permanent hair removal.  Not a lot of fun but expensive (for me $75 and hour and I skipped eating out to afford it) and time consuming and each pass may only cause a 15% permanent reduction.  Soooo  to speed things along my technician suggested we try waxing (which she does on many women) and the result was not good.  Because my hairs were coarse and deep rooted, waxing almost ripped my flesh off before the hairs gave way and came out.  I ended up with only half of them out and a severely bruised and stretched face.  That was the last time that we tried that method.  After that we would agree upon the area that she would work on in the next two weeks and then I would tweeze out every hair in that area two weeks before the appointment.  Yup, each individual hair plucked in the bathroom with my magnifying mirror.  Who said beauty was easy?  That method worked for me and the facial damage and pain was manageable.  A few notes here.  If you are going to pluck, just know that your body will react and you get puffy or lumpy or if you break the hairs you will get ingrown ones.  You will need a few days to let things settle down so plan accordingly.  I use Lidocaine Pain Relief Roll-On cream from CVS for pain reduction before a session and Aloe sunburn lotion for lumps.  Also. hairs are like weeds, hard to get  rid of and they keep coming back.  I've been at it for two years and am about 95% done.  Close shaving may seem a little easier but if you are going to try this I would suggest doing it on a small area first.  Good Luck,  Marg

Ouch!

I have enough trouble dealing with my legs.

Marg,

Thanks for your reply. It sounds like a tough road ahead for me.

Hey Kerri, there were times when I was doing it thinking "why don't I just shave and be done with it".  But now when I only shave just before my makeup to plane my face, I'm really glad that I got it done.  It is a commitment.  I'm not beautiful but I like myself a lot more and every day just get dressed without thinking about how my face looks.  It helps to find a good experienced electrologist who is very fast.  I was 40 rural miles away from mine and had almost no chance to get the use of a student like Emily did.  Perhaps you are in a more cosmopolitan area and may be more fortunate.  The only thing that I regret now is that I didn't do it years ago.  Perhaps you might start with just the upper lip and then the lower or just start at the eyes and slowly work down.  Then you may be able to see the benefit as you progress.  I wish you the very best in this.  Marg

I've been doing Electrolysis on my face for about two years now. I've started and stopped a couple of times but when I go I go once a week for 1hour sessions. It's getting very close to being done.

I would only add a little to what Marge said. Start rubbing the numbing cream on about 40 minutes before the session starts.  If I show any puckering or swelling in my face I go to the grocery and get a bag of frozen peas or rice. Then apply that to the area on the way home. The Aloh helps too.

Roberta,

Thanks for the reply.  It seems like you are doing this in a gradual and thoughtful manner.  I would like to get electrolysis but am waiting till my financial situation improves a little.

It has probably cost a few thousand. Perhaps as marge said, you could start with a smaller area like upper lip.

Wished that I had thought of this, when younger and I could have done Laser. It would have been much less expensive. Too many grey or white hairs now.

Hi Kerri!
As with others getting treated for hair removal, I've had both processes. Biggest issue is the cost with me. I just wish the laser would work on the lighter colored hair, so it would have been gone at the same time as the dark hair. I know by the time I get really done with all of my electrolysis it will surprise me the for the total cost. It works and it will mean one less thing I have to spend time on when getting ready to go out the door for the day. But it will be great! Thanks!

If your SO is not aware  of your crossdressing and you are doing hair removal or shaving legs etc how do you explain the hair loss. Would love some ideas I would love to do permanent  hair removal

You could start by making comments about not liking the look of, say, other's hairy legs when you see men in shorts. "That's disgusting!"

Do that enough times before you say that you want to get rid of yours. Say, "I've had enough of it. I want to get rid of the dirty stuff."

You will get a reaction.

I didn't vote because for me the issue is it is too.time consumming. I would love to do thermolysis lime my wife has, but she spent two years to do legs, underarms and groin, and I have way more hair. I have too much gray for lazers. My wife said the thermolysis was moderately painful and very region dependent.