A reader sent this on 25 January 2004:
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i want to share some information that i believe is valuable for the tg community.
i am a 52 year old mtf pre-op. i have a long way to go, emotionally and physically, before i complete transition. however, i have overcome the obstacle of facial hair in a remarkably short time period. the usual pain associated with the treatment was greatly reduced, and managable with a mild pain reliever prescribed by my physician. i even fell asleep during the sessions.
i feel that my experience is so positive, that i must share the information with others in the tg community.
lucy peters in ny is one office of many nationwide. an internet search will locate their offices. the method, and the machine used, are exclusively the property of lucy peters. you do have lucy peters listed on your site. their method, and the skill of their operators, is remarkable. i know that they removed anywhere from 20-30 hairs every minute, and that the removal has been permanent. the rate was consistent over a period of hours. that would average out at 1200 to 1800 hairs removed per hour, or 7,200 to10,800 hairs for a standard 6 hour session.
i had previously received treatment using the galvanic method - about 15 years ago. the failure of the treatment to permanently remove the hair essentially stopped a previous attempt to transition. i gave up, and went into denial. i was able to grow a very full beard and moustache. that is essentially how i started treatment at lucy peters.
lucy peters is not cheap. you pay $65 for a half hour session. personally, i paid for full hours at $115 per hour. below is a schedule of dates and times i spent receiving treatment. cost up to now is approximately $3800.00, including taxes.
nov 22, 2003 - 6.5 hours, mostly neck
dec 6, 2003 - 4 hours, neck, 1/2 hour on upper lip
dec 11, 2003 - 6 hours, neck, lower jaw, 1/2 hour upper lip
jan 3, 2004 - 5 hours, lower jaw, neck maintenance, 1/2 hour upper lip
jan 17, 2004 - 4.5 hours, neck and jaw maintenance, upper chin, 1 hour upper lip - (lip cleared)
jan 24, 2004 - 6 hrs, after 1 week no shaving - 1 hour maintenance on lip, neck, jaw, and chin, strip both cheeks to hairline at ears.
the treatments cleared entire areas, leaving minor irritation and no scars. generally, saturday teatment was barely noticeable on mondays. calamine lotion dried and camoflaged treatment areas. by wednesday, the effects of the treatments were entirely gone. essentially, i have undergone the first clearing in under 40 hours. i will have to allow for longer periods of growth, perhaps two treatments at a month apart, at 4 hours each, before starting a “maintenance” schedule of treatment.
using lucy peters, the time spent obtaining results that a tg individual could live and work with has been drastically reduced from the time period you have previously estimated. I believe that your estimates are correct for “standard” electrologists, they just don’t apply to lucy peters method. by the way, i understand that the team at “electrology 2000” are lucy peters trained. they branched out, and use novocaine to reduce pain. they supposedly offer similar results, but they do not have the machine used at lucy peters. i cannot speak about regrowth or anything else concerning their methods, but they were, supposedly, trained by the best - lucy peter’s sister elaine.
in any event, the absence of pain and scarring, and the speed of treatment, make lucy peters more than worth the money.(by the way, i am not wealthy and am on a tight budget) mostly, the office caters to new york’s wealthy (and famous) women. the management and staff are very friendly and professional, and have shown me the utmost courtesy and compassion as a transgendered woman. one big problem is finding open time periods (particularly on weekends) for the extended treatment sessions that a transgendered person would require. they are pretty fully booked months in advance. i don’t believe the new york office could accomodate more than one transgended person in any given time period. i hesitated to share my experience for this reason. so i’m selfish! at this point, i feel i have gotten far enough along where i will not have to compete with another transgendered person for time with the operators.
all said, i have had experience with other methods and electrologists. none compare. i don’t work for lucy peters. they have been operating with their patented system for over 20 years. there is an alternative to conventional electrology, it really works, and tg women should be informed. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>