[spoked451]

Yeah I'm on board with the no plucking your facial hairs. I've been seeing slow & steady improvement on my face\neck using a Elos MeSmooth. The combo of IPL & RF has resulted in slower growth and down right patchiness in some areas. Of course it all goes faster if you've got your DHT under control.

[GoneGirl]

Clara I think sounds so great and I want to hear all of of the details after you have it done. Robin.

Hi Robin,
I was told my beard was too dense to do in one day, so I'm scheduled for the 30 hour 2-day package. I've booked three nights at a nearby hotel so I don't have to worry about commuting to/from home each day. The clinic provides transportation to/from the hotel.

My electrologist works at the Zukowski Center for Plastic Surgery in Glenview, IL (near Chicago) which provides the anesthesiologist to administer the lidocaine injections to block pain. I'm sedated, too, but not put under.

What we call electrolysis today is really 'thermolysis' which uses microwaves to literally cook tissue in the vicinity of the hair root and, thereby, kill it. The beard can be cleared much faster, although the kill rate is lower than the old galvanic electrolysis technology.

There can be a lot of swelling caused by the tissue damage from some 25,000 HF discharges to the face and neck. They claim be able to control that between day one and day two.

Many hairs survive the first attack and come back in about 6 weeks. I'm told that I must return for a second clearing at that time to finish off these 'survivor hairs' or it's a waste of money. It will take 6 to 9 clearings to completely rid my face and neck of hair permanently. Of course, each successive treatment involves fewer and fewer survivor hairs.

Getting rid of my beard will have a noticeable impact on my facial appearance. My skin will be much smoother and the jaw line softer (more feminine). My upper lip may also become fuller.

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.

Clara

[RobinMurphy]

Clara I really like the idea of getting taken care of so quick. I'll be really interested on how many day it takes for you to recover so no one can tell you had it done.

[GoneGirl]

Clara I really like the idea of getting taken care of so quick. I'll be really interested on how many day it takes for you to recover so no one can tell you had it done.

I'll let you know in my case after the procedure, but remember recovery time varies from person to person. Clara

[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.

[-Tasha-]

My beard is a bit odd in colour. It is mostly red but with hairs ranging from pure white to dark brown. A bit like a tortoiseshell cat.

I thought because it was mostly a fair colour I would dive right in the deep end with electrolysis. Just came back from the initial consultation. They recommended, mostly because of the large area, to start with laser anyhow, and that it should still be effective on the red hairs as long as they are darker than the skin.

I only wanted everything above the jaw line gone, but I guess it's going to have to be laser to begin with.

[flamesabers]

My beard is a bit odd in colour. It is mostly red but with hairs ranging from pure white to dark brown. A bit like a tortoiseshell cat.

I thought because it was mostly a fair colour I would dive right in the deep end with electrolysis. Just came back from the initial consultation. They recommended, mostly because of the large area, to start with laser anyhow, and that it should still be effective on the red hairs as long as they are darker than the skin.

I only wanted everything above the jaw line gone, but I guess it's going to have to be laser to begin with.

A tortoiseshell cat? I have two of them.

Even though my facial hair is black, the laser technician said she could see some reddish-brown hairs on my chin. I'm not sure how much the laser killed these reddish-brown hairs, but I have achieved a significant reduction of facial hair overall.

The good news with the laser is you'll know if it's working or not on your hair. If you feel some discomfort/pain and you can smell the scent of burned hair afterwards, you'll know it's working. Near the end of my course of treatment, there were parts of my face I didn't feel the laser at all, such as my cheeks. However, because I still have some growth around my lips and on my jawline, I could still feel the laser on those areas of my face.

[-Tasha-]

The majority are a shade of red so I hope it can take those out. :o the first consultation is this evening and I think they're going to do a test patch as well so I guess we'll soon find out re pain.

[-Tasha-]

Got my first zap last night and it seemed to go well. The girl was lovely and my motives never came up.

Surprisingly painless. Felt more like a mild static shock. I have 8 sessions booked though she thinks it may take 10-12. Only around £250 for 8 which seemed quite reasonable. First session on Friday.

[-Tasha-]

Was so excited but now I'm gutted :'(

The initial consulation at Centros Unico earlier in the week went great. The girl there was lovely and we talked for almost an hour about what I wanted done. She did a test patch and I paid for 8 sessions up front. The first one was today.

But the girl there this time (don't know where the other one was) told me straight off the bat that I would have to pay for ANOTHER 8 sessions on top of the ones I already paid for because they considered face and neck seperate areas :'( This was never explained to begin with. If it was I would have been happy paying the full amount but out of principle I asked for a refund.

This is the second failure so far and going to have to look for another place again. It's like my presents were taken away on Christmas morning.