Electrolysis vs. Laser Hair Removal

   One thing both trans and cis gender women struggle with is unwanted hair.  Early in my transition, unwanted hair, especially on my face, was one of the biggest obstacles I had to overcome.  I was always so self conscious and felt it was a major reason I had trouble “passing” in public.  The only thing I could do was wear thick, pancake makeup to cover my face and nobody wants to have that much foundation on first thing in the morning and have it looking like crunch and munch by happy hour.  I was lucky to find a very open minded electrolysist back in South Mississippi to begin working on my face when I was 18.  I’ll be completely honest, electrolysist now isn’t the most pleasant experience ….but… electrolysis 20 years ago was pure torture.  The technology has definitely come a long way… as well as the numbing cream.

   I have a unique perspective being that I have two friends in the Dallas area, both at the top of their game in their respective fields of electrology and laser hair removal.  I have also personally had both done and on every single part of my body. Yes! I’ve even had it there.  During electrolysist,  an electrolysist places a tiny probe into each hair follicle, and the energy travels through the probe into the follicle which results in the removal of hair roots by the application of heat using an electric current.  Laser hair removal, on the other hand, uses the hair instead of the probe.  The light from the laser is attracted to the dark pigment in the hair, so the energy pulls into the hair and travels down it to reach the follicle.  It works best on dark coarse hair whereas electrolysist will work on all hair types.  Another key difference between in the two is electrolysis is approved by the FDA for permanent hair removal while laser hair removal is approved by the FDA for permanent hair reduction.

   I’m going to give an example where both could be very useful.  A trans woman transitioning from male to female with thick coarse hair on the face could benefit from utilizing both methods of hair removal.  One could start off by doing several sessions of laser hair removal on the face to reduce the amount of hair because laser is going to cover a larger area faster.  Even after several laser treatments, there will be hair left behind and some of it could be lighter or finer.  This is when it would be great to start regularly seeing an electrolysist to remove the lighter, finer hairs and of course the dark coarse ones left behind.  A lot of my facial hair was light and fine for the most part, so electrolysist was the best option for me on my face, and I still go in for touch-ups.  I have, however, had great results using laser hair removal on my legs, underarms and bikini area because the hair was darker and coarse.  I noticed a significant reduction on my legs after just one treatment of laser hair removal but still will require more treatments before i have the silky smooth legs I’ve always wanted without having to shave them.

   Hair removal can be a very sensitive and embarrassing subject to talk about both among trans and cis women.  My advice is to do your research and go in for a consultation for each and discuss your needs and expectations and get a treatment plan in place.  For those that are in the Dallas Ft Worth area, I have two people I highly recommend for both.  For electrolysist, Valerie Jackson at Hair Today Gone Tomorrow is my go to person.  You can book a consult and or treatment with her at 682-593-1442.  For laser hair removal, the go to guy is William Moore at Advanced Skin Fitness.  You can book a consult and or treatment with him at 214-521-5277.