I am a transgirl looking to get my facial hair permanently removed, and I am sooooo confused… It doesn’t seem like anyone can get their hair permanently removed through laser treatments. It seems the best experiences with laser still end with the hair growing back in a year. I don’t have much money so I need to do this correctly the first time and spend as little money as possible. After hearing about all the problems with laser, and after hearing significantly less problems with electrolysis it seems that the financially safest thing for me to do would be to just go for electrolysis. From experiences of people on this forum and anyone you might know who has got laser treatment, is it true that it doesn’t seem to work permanently a lot of the time?
Heres what I want to know in reference to laser and facial hari removal…
How long does it last for? (I’ve heard that even when it works well the hair comes back in a year or so)
Does it get close to 100% of your hairs removed? If not, do you just do electrolysis to finish it up?
I have dark brown hair and fairly tan skin for a white person (think a little less tan then Greek people) so would it work well for me?
Please read the FAQs as all these questions have been answered. Laser is permanent the hair will never grow back, however it only works on dark coarse hair. Even if your facial hair is dark and black, you will still have lighter blonde hairs on your upper lip and so on, which the laser just can’t see and can’t remove. That’s why laser is rated as permanent hair reduction not removal. The hair it does treat is gone forever and will never come back, but it’s just reduction because thin, fine, blonde, gray, etc hair can’t be treated so it can only do say 90-95% reduction. If hair comes back in the future, this is new hair that your body has produced, it’s not the same hair growing back. This is the same whether you do electrolysis or laser, it’s hormones and your body producing new hair.
When you hear of laser not working for people, there’s usually several reasons for this. The first is that a lot of places use IPL which isn’t a true laser, yet the industry stills calls it laser. It’s not as effective as a true laser, so if you’re treated with it you may not get the results you want and the hair may come back. The other thing is the person treating you, they may not use the correct settings or may use too low of a setting. If too low a setting is used, then the hair is just damaged and will come back eventually. Some places are just sketchy like that, they know that if they use lower settings ,people will come back for more treatments versus doing a few at very high power.
This has been discussed numerous times on the forum and is clearly explained in the FAQs. Yes, laser is permanent. Yes, you need good treatments with a good laser for this to happen. No, not everyone out there has the experience, machine, and knowledge to perform it correctly.
Read our FAQs. Link below. Then come back with more specific questions.
So, just to be clear, you all are speaking from experience? You know people who have had success with laser hair removal on facial hair? Also, someone told me that the cheapest method I could do would be to have 2 or 3 sessions of laser followed by electrolysis. Does this seem correct? Or are their other recommendations out there?
Hi Emma:
I was in the same boat at one time, and it wasn’t the same one as in the cheesey sitcom of the seventies.
Seriously though, I started with laser and then finished with electrolysis. I did so many sessions with the laser first which reduced some of what was there and then went strictly with electrolysis to completion.
If you check out the gold standard amongst transsexuals, E-3000 or James Walker’s experience in treating transwomen,electrolysis really works for permanent removal on all types of hair including blonde, red or white hairs too.
As I mentioned however, laser might be a good starting point for some since it will reduce what is left and make that easier.
Alicia
Also after reading the FAQs I’m still confused. Its says that you may need yearly “touch ups” and it says that even if you have dark hair and light skin it might not work. If their are any dark hair people out there who have done laser on dark facial hair, I am curious to see what your results have been like, and how many sessions you went in for? If you need touch ups every year? If you are happy you did laser or wish you had done electrolysis?
In my opinion, if you are a TransGirl looking for full beard removal, the best route is to find someone who is both good and fast to clear you to first clearance and go right into maintenance phase ASAP. For face work L.A.S.E.R. is a gamble that doesn’t always pay off with any savings on the total job. Other possible outcomes are even worse.
PS sorry if this topic has already been discussed a lot. I’m new to this forum and looked through a bunch of topics and couldn’t find the answers to my questions. The FAQs are helpful but I want to hear about peoples’ actual experiences.
One more question: If anyone know a good Laser near San Francisco that would be very helpful for me 
I’m sorry but I don’t know what you mean by finding someone to remove facial hair on the first clearance. Does this mean laser or electrolysis or what?
I mean that one should get a full first clearance as soon as possible. This may not be in the first appointment, as some people can be cleared out in one day, while others need several days of treatment to do so. As long as you get fully cleared in 6 weeks time, you would be at First Clearnce before the hairs start to go out of phase. Next, you would look finished for a few weeks, and you can then, either keep it clear if you are local to the person doing the work, or you can just get fully cleared at least once every 6 to 8 weeks to stay on track.
If you check out my web site, you can see some people who have done just that.
Thanks for your replys James (and everyone else). I’m still not sure exactly what you mean. I don’t know all the terminology I guess.
So when you say to get a full clearance, you mean with laser? And you mean that I should do it until all the hair is gone? And that may take a few appointments?
When you say to keep it clear every 6-8 weeks, would I have to do that forever, or would it completely go away at some point? Could you put a link to your website so I could see what you are talking about also?
Hi Emma:
James means with electrolysis.
It simply means removing all of the hair that is growing on your face till its completely denuded of hair. That might take up to 14 hours over several days for the first clearance.
Then periodically(maybe after 6 weeks) you would get completely cleared again, but the second time might only take 5 hours for example. Subsequent clearances will be eevn shorter in length.
Within a year to a year and a half of these treatments you shouldn’t need any more treatments.
So you all think Electrolysis is the best way to go? Why not laser? It seems like some people believe in laser and some don’t, I don’t know how to tell if it will work for me, but it seems easier.
Hi Emma:
I’m speaking from personal experience.
I did both.
If laser was the answer there would be no need for people to go to either James or E-3000 either.
You have to go by what works for transsexuals who have gone the whole route rather than someone who has just had a few laser sessions and hasn’t been transitioned for a long time.
I haven’t had to shave for several years now thanks to electrolysis and following it through till completion.
Alicia
Ok, so it seems that the general consensus is that for the best results I shouldn’t even try laser and just go straight for electrolysis?
Hi Emma:
Like I’ve said most people have to find out the hard way.
But if I had to do it over again, I would have went straight to
electrolysis.
I did so with my chest and also my stomach after my facial experience with laser.
Do you have a rough estimate on how many people are satisfied with their laser results and how many are unsatisfied like you?
Is it about half and half? It seems like more people are unsatisfied with it, but then why does it exist and why do people keep trying it?
Emma: The two individuals (LAgirl and edokid) who answered you earlier DO have personal experience. They both have had successful laser removal. Since you were concerned about that, I thought I’d let you know.
It is very common for people to have a few laser treatments followed by electrolysis (I’m doing this for example, and I’m thrilled with my results), and it is also common for people to go straight to electrolysis (I’m doing this as well on my tummy and arms). For large, dense areas the laser can save you money by giving you a full first clearance for close to 100$. If this first clearance takes 14 hours with electrolysis, you’re looking at a price of $980-$1400. With each option, after clearing your face of hair one time, you will need to return for scheduled treatments for about a full year. Electrolysis appointments get cheaper after the first clearance, because you treat the hair as it grows in and there is less and less of it each week. Laser treatments stay the same price, but work less well with each new treatment because once the hair starts to get thin and sparse the laser cannot target it sufficiently.
But laser is difficult on a male beard and you’d absolutely need to find someone who is AWESOME at this particular area, because if you don’t get a successful treatment, then of course it wastes more money than electrolysis. Laser works for many people, but it is not a sure-bet the way electrolysis is, especially on a difficult area like the face.
My personal advice: If you’re a candidate for an alex laser and you live near a good clinic, get one or two treatments on your face. Make sure they get it all and that it all sheds within 3 weeks. Every bit that’s left should be touched up ASAP. It will hurt like HECK. Then get electrolysis as the new hair grows in.
Also, in real life I think waaaay more than half of the laser customers are very happy with results. All my personal acquaintances who’ve tried it are satisfied. The only time I disliked laser is when the doctor missed spots on my leg, and I had to argue with him for a touch up. That was frustrating.
Many people who come here with complaints are the portion of the population who were never good candidates for laser and had no business trying it. Also, people who are here are often the people who’ve had bad experiences with hair removal in general (since this is a help board) so the ratio of dissatisfied customers to satisfied ones will always be skewed. Or they ask about what laser settings are good, and we never see them again because the laser presumably worked and they don’t need our advice anymore.
So… I would say that most people who are good candidates for laser are probably satisfied with their results. This doesn’t mean electrolysis won’t be better though. It’s a personal choice. If money was no object, I think more people would just do electrolysis (it hurts less and works 100%)
Thanks MagicalPrincessKitty, I guess maybe I should try laser first. It should only cost $100 to clear my face once? Its just really frustrating not knowing if it will work or not… I don’t have much money to waste…