I’ve found a wonderful and professional electrologist about an hour and a half away from me, but I’m worried about starting treatment now for my beard, since I’m TG. She says she prefers to use a slower method with little to no regrowth occurring. That’s fine, but right now I only have $2900 to spend on it. She charges $50 an hour and I’m just concerned that I will run out of money before I get anything accomplished.
I receive money from college each semester, and I’m wondering if I should just start at the beginning of the new year.
She told me it’s all cumulative, but I’ve read on here that it isn’t good to have a possibility of stepping out of schedule.
You should find someone who can get you first clearance and give you a fair chance of keeping up with the growth.
In your situation, I would say that you need to look elsewhere. You need speed, and effectivness.
A first clearance would give you a permanent hair reduction of 20 to 30%, and if you could get two full clearances out of the deal, you would be able to shave once every 3 or 4 days during your hiatus.
Although no one wants to miss time, if you have someone who can do a full clearance, one would be back on track very quickly after the break in the schedule.
I agree with James, a quicker method would be better, especially in the beginning. I also think that as a TG you might be happier starting now. Even if you can’t finish, there will be less hair to deal with and it would make you more “passable.”
I agree. I think for you at this point, it’s most important to get your first clearance, so you need a fast thermolysis method. After that, you can do slower method to keep up the clearance if you’d like. However, I still don’t think it’s necessary. Quality of treatments including what is killed depends mostly on the electrologist and their insertions, not the method.
My electrolygist used thermolysis, and the results have been excellent. I went for 2 hours every second week, and we started out by clearing the upper lip and worked out from there with any remaining time. I am now going for 1/2 hour every second week to clear out any sparsely scattered stragglers. I have had about 150 hours in total on my face.
I agree with the other posters on here who say you are better to get started now than later. Also, if you can get a full clearance to start then you are better off in the long run.
With the money you said you have set aside, you could get 58 hours at the rate your electrolygist charges. That would be a good start and probably make you feel a lot better.
You haven’t said whether you plan on going full time some day
or not? If you are then getting started on your hair removal before that event is very important. Electrolysis has been one of the most important factors for me in transitioning. A beard shadow, besides being incredibly repulsive is also a big visual cue that will always get you clocked.
I’m androgynous but I’m presented more as a female. I’m not going on hormones because I do not want to transition. My problem is I cannot be with grown out stubble. I’ve never been in a “not full time” phase wanting to go full-time. I’ve always been full time in how I’ve presented myself. It’s actually very confusing, my predicament, and I’m not sure I could explain it clearly enough in text.
With that being said, I’ve been debating what exactly I should do about this, and it’s bringing me down emotionally and wearing on me. If I lived in a more urban area I might not feel such stress, but there aren’t a lot of options here and I’m lost when it comes to choosing a method or what kind of hair removal or getting a competent practitioner.
If it were me, I would go with electrolysis using the thermolysis method. I have personally gone this route very successfully.There are no words to describe how happy I am with the results, which to me are nothing short of miraculous.
The sooner you start the better you will feel about yourself if the facial hair is causing you distress.
The reason I asked if you were taking hormones is that anti-androgens can help expedite the process.
One of my clients did some extensive research on Avodart. This client does not plan on transitioning and does not have prostate problems, however, the physician agreed to the reasons for prescribing. The reasons were to prevent prostate problems and to stop male pattern scalp hair loss, and this client has a great head of hair. I have noticed that the electrology treatments are proceeding in the same quick manner as other m-t-f (transitioning) clients do once they have begun anti-androgen drugs. Here is the FDA page for the drug. http://www.fda.gov/cder/consumerinfo/druginfo/avodart.HTM
At the beginning of treatments for my clients, I ask for at least 24 hours growth. For most, they shave one morning and have a treatment the next morning. If they need an evening treatment, they shave the night before. The client will chose the area that I am going to work and shave all the other areas. Once we run out of hair in one area, then we focus on another area. As treatments progress, we often have to decide that they need to go 36 hours without shaving, so that there is enough length.