The Laser Experience: My Journey

Kimberly Kael · Post by **Kimberly Kael** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:03 pm

After decades of shaving and never managing to get more than a moderately smooth face, and even then only for an hour or two, I've decided to do something about it. Laser hair removal has been sounding like a better and better idea as I've gotten more comfortable with my feminine self, and I'm on the verge of taking the plunge. I've gotten pricing information from a reputable spa with a good medical center, have talked about it with my wife who is also interested in doing some treatments of her own, and in a few weeks we're planning to go in for a consultation together and sign me up for my first session.

The facility uses the LightSheer diode laser which seems to have be pretty much state-of-the-art and highly recommended for my fair skin and dark facial hair. I understand that it's likely to take 5 or 6 sessions spaced somewhere between 4-8 weeks apart and I'm sure I'll know a bunch more once I've been in for the consultation. My face is really the only area I'm contemplating - possibly because I haven't been shaving my underarms or waxing my legs for all that long, and both still feel like feminine rituals.

What an opportunity to share!

I've thoroughly enjoyed the advice and experience on these forums and I'd like to do my part in recording this adventure. Are there any questions you girls have that I might be able to answer along the way? Is there any advice you'd have from personal experience? Should I try to document the process in photographs? I'd love to create together the kind of thread that helps others who are contemplating a similar course.

Melyssa Anne · Post by **Melyssa Anne** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:15 pm

I am jsut finishing up my treatments --the first 4 had the most impact -- treatments 5 and 6 left me with no blue shadow anywhere. Treatment 7 was 12 weeks ago and now I have to go in for a few stragglers.

Really makes a difference when doing makeup etc. Also, greatly reduced concerns from my wife of not passing.

Good luck--you should enjoy the results!!

S. Lisa Smith · Post by **S. Lisa Smith** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:01 pm

Wow, I'd love to do it also! But I have a bunch of gray hair on my face...

Rikki · Post by **Rikki** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 8:56 am

Treatments will never happen for me. Bigger need is to have the body hair-harveested!! And my "5 o'clock shadow" is now a "4 o'clock frost" so it doesn't stand out even after a couple days!!
rr

Post by **DonnaT** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 4:51 pm

Sounds great Kimberly.

Note that most tgirls who have had treatment recommend 10 weeks between sessions.

DeeDee · Post by **DeeDee** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 9:55 pm

Kimberly
I had my 4th laser treatment this last Saturday and I can't be happier with the results. This forum was a wealth of information to help decide how and if I would do it. At my age (don't ask) my hair was 70/30 as far as results...meaning dark vs grey. Although I'm a bit smallish, I have always had a "Grizzly Adams" beard...but no more. The shadow is gone, I can use lighter makeup with no beard cover, and its so much easier to shave now (I'm having my neck and face done). I paid for a package, about $1400, and I get treatment til no dark hair reappears. The first treatment was a bit more of an "ouchy" than I expected, but since then, not so bad. Main thing is to shave as close as possible before each time, take 2 Advil, and for some reason they say no coffee (now that hurts). Here's 2 links though, to show how important it is to get a good technician. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,323225,00.html
and this link has a list of state regulations http://www.hairfacts.com/govregs/streglaser.html
So enjoy and good luck!!!!!!
DeeDee

Kimberly Kael · Post by **Kimberly Kael** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:05 pm

It has been much longer than I intended between posts in this thread, but I wanted to report both on my progress and the reasons why there hasn't been more to report.

I did get a chance to go in for a consultation, learned a few things, and confirmed much of what I already knew or learned from others in this thread. It sounds like my skin and hair coloration are a good fit for the laser process. My facial hair is quite dark and I'm quite fair skinned (a type II on their scale of six skin tones.) The contrast between hair and skin color is important and a major determinant in how much power they can safely use in a single treatment.

The denser the hair growth, the more discomfort I can expect. For facial hair they assured me that I'd need to come in to have numbing gel applied an hour or so before the session. They do the same thing for large treatment areas on women (eg: legs.) They even went so far as to recommend taking a Vicadin before the session. The actual laser treatment would take an additional 90 minutes per session for full facial coverage, and yes they've done this for men before. They've treated transsexuals with good results, so they weren't the least bit surprised by my admission that I was seeking a softer, more feminine look.

After the session there's definitely an expectation of some redness and it's advisable to limit activity and exposure to the elements for 24 hours. They recommended 10 weeks between treatments for men, which matches what I'd heard here. I was told that somewhere between 5 and 7 sessions would probably be required, but that even with stellar results I should expect to need touch-up treatments every six months thereafter at a cost of roughly $50 each. I'm glad they were honest about this up front and I'm neither surprised nor disappointed.

So why haven't I scheduled my first session yet? Good question. My wife had more concerns about it than I realized, and we've been talking about it on and off. Probably the biggest issue is the most obvious one: this is an one-way choice. You can take a dress off again, and your ears will heal over after being pierced, but this is pretty much a permanent decision. Even if some hair does grow back it won't ever be like it was. I agreed that this was a big decision and not to rush into it. The more I think about it, though, the more it feels like a natural step, and while they aren't in the same category I realize I've been making other decisions that can't be unmade recently - like slowly coming out to people around me.

Anita · Post by **Anita** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 1:32 am

Hi Kimberly--
At least one member of this forum once expressed concern at the idea that her beard was going away for good--it gave her second thoughts, and then she went ahead and did it anyway. This is the one "irreversable" change that I don't think I'd have much concern about. My beard is a heavy one, and it doesn't add much to my image or my appearance now. I'm certainly not going to grow it out again.

But I don't have a spouse to consider, either. Of all the changes a TG husband can do, this one seems the least intrusive, even less so than pierced ears. It's not a change that other people would really notice.
However, it does take out a strong male 'cue,' and I could see how that could be unsettling. It's good that you and your wife can talk about it.

I've gotten used to the fact that my arms are always smooth now, and it seems odd to see hairy arms on the men around me. I don't miss the arm hair. It's a more mixed feeling when I have to shave my chest, which happens when I'm going to wear any dress that requires a strapless bra, for instance. The first time I shaved my chest, it felt very odd! My t-shirts were suddenly rubbing on skin that had not felt sensation like that since I was 10 or 11.

JoAnnDallas · Post by **JoAnnDallas** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:26 am

I am not a canidate for lazer hair removal, since I have mostly grey hair now. If I could have done it when I still had dark hair, I would have. I do know of a couple people (men) who have had it done, only because they were on the move all the time (salesmen). It took one thing out of their busy schedule and allowed them some free time.
I don't see anything wrong with a man wanting to have this done, regardless of his gender identiy.

Post by **DonnaT** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 1:53 pm

I could understand your wife's thoughts on the subject, if she likes facial hair. But if you're always shaved, then what's the difference?!

If it is just the general idea of what it means to have laser, then it's not really a good reason to put it off.

Caith · Post by **Caith** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 7:47 pm

I have *NEVER* regretted the time or money I invested (that's right, invested!) in having full-body laser epilation a few years ago. Unfortunately, my beard is more than 70% grey, so facial hair just wasn't an option.

I shave the odd bits I can reach, and get my back and chest waxed every few months.

Kimberly Kael · Post by **Kimberly Kael** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:48 am

DonnaT wrote:I could understand your wife's thoughts on the subject, if she likes facial hair. But if you're always shaved, then what's the difference?!

I've never had the slightest interest in growing out my facial hair, so I've always been clean shaven. I've offered to strap some sandpaper to my face from time to time if she misses the sensation but that didn't seem to be the issue, either.

Kimberly Kael · Post by **Kimberly Kael** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:10 pm

Wasn't it just a few days that I made my last update? Yes, but actually I wrote most of that update a before and had been too busy to post anything until recently. So I went ahead and touched up my notes and posted it even though I was getting close to finally make my decision. Since then I've decided to go for it, have called to make an appointment, and was able to take advantage of a last minute cancellation to get in for my first session today!

I went in to get numbing gel applied an hour ahead of time. Interestingly I was told that the gel alone didn't numb deeply enough for many people and they recommend using an ice pack to pre-cool the area as well. I'd read about laser setups that kept cool air blowing over the skin and asked why they were relying on ice packs instead of something more high tech. I was told that they did indeed have such a machine, but most of their clients found it was pretty superficial and vastly preferred using ice packs to cool below the surface of the skin.

Preparation out of the way, we got to business. I didn't really get the "elastic band snapped against the skin" sensation. It was more like a substantial electric shock, sharp and penetrating. I was intrigued to discover that I could feel how dense the hair was in any given area, because wherever the hair was light the shock was much more mild. The operator was happy to go as slow or as fast as I liked, and we finished full facial coverage in about 45 minutes even with periodic icing. The most disturbing part of the process for me was actually the distinct smell of hair burning. Some areas were more sensitive than others but so long as I kept breathing and didn't focus on the sensation it was bearable. Worse than waxing, but no more uncomfortable than getting a filling at the dentist (I'd even claim that burning teeth and burning hair smell pretty similar.)

When we got done I was amazed at how many hairs had visible been ejected from their follicles. I had shaved less than 24 hours earlier but it looked like I had gone a week without shaving! The hairs wiped away or were easily tweezed with zero resistance, so I know there was significant impact even on the first visit. My face appears to have a major case of razor burn and I'm looking forward to seeing the redness subside. I've been told it could take another two weeks before I have a good idea of what impact the session had, and I was warned up front that my upper lip and chin would be the most resistant with more immediate impact on my neck, cheek and sideburns areas.

Kiera Kael (SO) · Post by **Kiera Kael (SO)** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 11:32 pm

Thought I'd weigh in with my $.02 on what my concerns were for Kimberly. I did have some concerns about the permanency and also wanted to be sure that Kimberly would be happy with her appearance en drab since, for example, she normally goes to work that way. I suggested she try to approximate the look with makeup to try it out

The other reason was a bit more self-indulgent. (':)') As a rule, Kimberly only shaves every other day and I really like the contrast between Kimberly's natural fairly femine features with a day's beard growth.

But it is clearly important to Kimberly and I support her decision whole heartedly.

Post by **KimberlyS** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 1:12 pm

For my wife she has called my leg hair her big hold out and I can handle that. I have never really thought seriously about permanent hair removal. Plus cost wise it is not an option. I hate shaving and often have face scruff and leg shaving I have been indifferent to. But there have been times I would have liked to have shaved my legs. But I have not even had to ask and I have been reminded that it is not an option. I do trim the hair on my legs and arms and that get rid of the furry look and makes the leg hair easier to cover. To my surprise once when going out, the top my wife picked out for me showed chest hair and she said I needed to take care of it. Shaving did not really cut it from past experience, so I tweezed it. I kept it up some and one day out of the blue she says to get rid of all of it and we are buying an eppilator for both of our use. I now do my chest every week-2 or 3 and some tweezing cleanup in between.

For me, as much compromise and tolerance as I get from my wife on the CDing, I can handle keeping leg hair if that is what she wants.

kimberlys-cd
joe in a skirt