[spoked451]

BTW, laser hair removal was not an option for me because I have too much gray hair.

If your planning to transition down the road, it's not a bad idea to start clearing your beard now. It takes many months to rid your face of hair. No one will notice what you're doing while you prepare to come out in the future.

+1 on the "DO IT NOW!" suggestion. More like +1000 ++.

I didn't have any grey facial hairs to speak of when I thought transition might be on the table (plus I hate shaving and hate having a beard, so I was already predispositioned to 'make it go away') Here I am 7 years later and the grays are out in force. Holy missed opportunity!

The Elos is giving me a head start, but I have a feeling that the thinning I'm seeing is due to both the IPL/RF zapping from the Elos AND having my DHT under control. The latter making the former far more effective and from what I understand that's the case no matter where the hair is or the "permanent" removal method you are using.