Eeeyup, laser hurts :)

[Guest ~Cadence~]

Hi all,

I just wanted to share my laser experiences with everyone here. I bought a pretty expansive (NOT expensive!!!! Thank you Black Friday sales.) laser package on the Friday after thanksgiving as "Callie" (my name kinda "evolved" as I came out to family and friends) and I had my consult and first session this past week, and I'm going to document my experiences in this thread for everyone interested

Consultation: my partner and I arrived at the "Ideal Image" storefront about 1/2 hour before the consultation. I had Identified myself as a transwoman seeking facial hair removal when I signed up for the consult, and for their part, they only used female pronouns despite my gnarly looking beard. They sat me down with an iPad to do the medical questionnaire, asking what kind of skin care products I use, surgeries I have had in the past, if I tan or burn. All important stuff. Afterwards, a technician brought my partner and I back to the office with the laser machine and walked me through the risks, such as burning, not getting red/blond/grey hairs, and the dangers of sun exposure before your appointment (sun+skin=melanin, melanin is really good at absorbing light energy. Lasers are nothing but light energy. Blisters and 3rd degree burns are not cute . ) the technician was very knowledgable and very forthcoming with the prognosis: I have quite a bit of red hair in my beard, which would not be effectively removed with laser. I figured that all women have facial hair, and seeing as the red hairs are not as rough as the dark terminal hairs, E might affect those. If I'm wrong, well, I did plan on electrolisis to get stragglers. We then proceeded to hash out paying for the removal. The package I needed (neck, cheeks, jaw line, upper lip, chin and sideburns) came out to just shy of 10,000. However, they had a Black Friday sale that brought the cost down to 2500. Now, I am not wealthy in any sense of the term, but hair removal is, in my opinion, not a luxury, it's s medical necessity. I asked for financing to pay for the treatment. I actually got approved for a 6500 line of credit, so I could make small payments and get my treatment. I will be paying attention

[Guest Mickey]

While I agree that it is a medical necessity, insurance companies, medicaid and medicare, do not consider it a medical necessity. And the price for laser and electrolysis are way out of the price range for myself and most trans women. As poor as I am, I am not as poor as a lot of my trans sisters here in Memphis, Tennessee. So I continue to spend money on razors, and shave almost every day. HRT has at least slowed the growth down so I can get away with shaving only once a day. And you can barely see the whiskers after a days growth, even though my facial hair is very very thick, all over. Blessed on the one hand, and cursed on the other.

[Jani]

Hi Callie,

Yes it hurts and really tests your resolve to move forward in your transition! I am fortunate to have a light beard, but it is mostly white now with probably 20% dark hair. I'm going for electrolysis only. My electrologist charges $58.00 an hour for a really full hour of work. But with a buy 5 get 6 hours its only $48.50 per hour. Like any method there is some grow back as hairs are in differing growth cycles when they're removed. So don't be disappointed to see some regrowth. Keep at it and they're all go away!

Jani

[Guest So-kool]

I could not choke down the cost of a package deal when I started. So i found places that did individual sessions. And went to get laser and electrolysis or a peiod of three to four years as i could afford it. All things total i think i have paid somwhere near $3,500 dollars over the years and I expect to pay at least another $400 before i can be comfortable with the results. (I was a hairy beast with THICK hairs. Some black and some grey) I cant see that insurance would ever cover this due to the fact that many women live life with facial hair and there really is no NEED to medically remove it. So im pretty sure its going to stay a voluntary cosmetic proceedure.
Im just grateful that they are coming aroud to covering GRS ! But i suppose that falls under "phisical deformity" like a cleft lip or an extra digit. (Haha! ) yea! ... an extra digit!
Thats what it is!
By the way, i have found that using head phones and taking a pain killer prior to your appointment helps take some of the turbulance out of the ride.
(No aspirin if you do electrolysis.)

[Charlize]

so far i've only researched it. My beard is very light and slow growing so i'm not in a hurry to have more pain in the near future. A shave every day is more than enough although i would love a clean face to go with a clean body.

Hugs,

Charlize

[Guest Cyndysub]

$2,500. may or may not be a good price depending on how may treatments are included in the package. Do they keep doing the treatment until you don't have any hair left? Any guarantee? My laser/Electrolysis guy showed me a card that someone brought in for a laser treatment place that charges $9,000. for a complete package.

I hate shaving so I had laser treatment for the black hairs and am getting Electrolysis for the grey hairs. My guy charges $75. an hour for Electrolysis and $150. for laser on the whole face and neck. I'm getting Electrolysis every two weeks. I'm very lucky that my mom is paying for the bulk of the treatment bless her heart. The pain from this for me is not bad but I must add that I don't respond to pain the way most people do and my startle response is almost nonexistent. I can hardly wait for the day when I don't have to shave before going outside.

Yule Tidings everyone.

Cyndy

[Guest ~Cadence~]

Wait... This actually posted??? And it's only half of what I wrote???

I wrote this on my phone, and I actually went into detail of my first laser session for the benefit of anyone wanting to do it. I guess that half of the post didn't post. Oh wells. Up till today, I didn't think i had posted anything at all!

[MarcieMarie12]

I went to a consult on Friday to see about getting started. I can't wait to get rid of the facial hair. I'd prefer a light make-up look, but because of the shadow that's not going to work.

[MarcieMarie12]

Had my first laser session, here's how it went. I came in we talked a little bit--I was a bit nervous. I took off my wig, cause I thought it would get in the way. My technician added that she prefers it removed anyway because she has heard of them catching fire! I can see that happening. I tried to go to a happy place--being swarmed by puppies licking and nipping my face sort of worked to get me through it. Someone described it like getting a rubber band snapped on the face, it was pretty accurate. The upper lip hurt the most (a puppy nipped me too hard)!! I go back at the end of January.

[Guest]

Congrats Marcie, you will also find that the sessions get less painful with laser as the dark hair count decreases. My first few sessions were brutal on my sensitive areas. (Lower cheeks are my highest pain areas. )

[Guest ~Cadence~]

Yay Marcie!!! I have my next session at the end of January. I agree about the lower cheeks So-kool. It's brutal. But gosh does it make me feel better afterwards.