Hello everyone...I’d like to share an idea I learned many years ago in dealing with something that most of us M-to-F transgender girls have to worry about and deal with on a regular basis and that is the extremely annoying facial hair problem before we put our make-up on.
Personally I have had over 100 hours of electrolysis done many years ago and have always regretted not finishing it but that is another story. The point is I still have to deal with that 5 o’clock shadow thing that everyone knows is such an irritating thing to worry about and I have tried and experimented with many different ways to deal with it over the years and so far I have discovered one way that works the best in my opinion for anyone who would like to try this. (Obviously electrolysis of laser hair removal is the best way to get rid of it permanently but here is a tip to try in the meantime if you can’t afford this yet.)
Here is what you do: Instead of using shave cream or shave-gel on your face, use a product called “Neutrogena Deep Clean Cream Cleanser”. It comes in a 7 oz. beige tube that you can find just about anywhere they sell facial cleaning products (like Wal-Mart for example) and is very inexpensive usually around $5.00-$7.00. Take a washcloth soaked in hot water and cover the hair on your face and neck for a minute or two making sure the whole area is nice and wet and hot. Next squeeze out a small amount of this cream (You don’t need much. Less than a teaspoon or so.) and apply it to your face like you would shave cream. Use a nice new razor (The best I’ve found is those dark blue Gillette Sensor 2 kind with the 2 blades and has a lubricating strip. You can typically find them in plastic packs of 10-12 but use the fixed head kind not the pivot ones.)
Anyway the best thing about this cream cleanser is that it allows you to go over your face multiple times with the razor until you get your face as smooth as possible. Whenever I have tried this with shave cream or gel I always seemed to get all of these nicks and cuts and it just didn’t work as well. I usually divide my face into 3 parts: the left, center, and then the right side. Start by shaving downward and tapping the excess cream into your free hand, rinse the razor in hot water and then shave upwards to remove most of the hair. Keep tapping the razor on the sink to unclog it then do the next section. First moving downward, saving the excess cream in your free hand, then going over the same area upward until you do your entire face and neck. Then take the excess cream in your free hand and re-apply it all over your face again. Keep rinsing the razor in hot water and now shave the area again in an upward motion against the grain of the hair. If you are careful and by using the fingertips of your free hand you should be able to do this until you feel your face getting smoother and smoother.
The whole process usually takes me about 10-12 minutes and then you can use some more of the same cleansing cream to wash your face after you are finished shaving with it. Another good idea is to apply a cold washcloth to the shaved area afterwards and then use a good facial moisturizer all over your face and neck. (Like Oil of Olay of whatever you prefer.) Then just shower as usual and then you’re ready to apply your make-up.
As I have said, I have tried a lot of different methods over the years and this stuff really works because it keeps your face and neck lubricated as you use the razor on your face over and over until you get it as smooth as possible. Plus it’s cheap too at only $5-7 a tube and once you add a pack of those Gillette razors for about $12, you can get a lot of shaves for the money. (Just Google-Images and paste “Neutrogena Deep Clean Cream Cleanser” to see what this 7 oz. tube looks like.)
I hope this tip helps anyone who wishes to try it and in my opinion is a good alternative you can do until you can afford electrolysis of laser hair removal.
Hugs...Sheila
Thanks Sheila. I will certainly try that. Like you, I did go through a lot of electrolysis, but I have yet to finish it. Other priorities bubbled up, and that plan got put in the 'hold' bin on the shelf for now. But I will certainly test that out the next time. Thanks, Michelle
Thank you Sheila for that tip!
I have not gone to the laser treatment phase but that is next.
In the interim I will try the Neutrogena option and let you know know how that goes
Facial hair seems to be on ongoing problem and I tried electrolysis but had to stop owing to the cost becoming prohibitive while providing negligible results after an entire year of sessions. The constant shaving was a pain and I would happily use Sheila's suggestion if I hadn't come up with an alternative that has all but eliminated eliminated my "shadow". Please note that my facial hair is 90% plus grey so laser was not a serious option for me, unfortunately.
Most of my male body hair has either stopped growing or changed to a vellus texture from the combination of HRT and waxing and that made me wonder why that happened on my body but not on my face? What was the difference? I had tried waxing my beard off and yes, it hurt but it was just like a slap and then it was over so nothing I couldn't handle. (No beauty without pain, girls! 😏 )
My research uncovered a few things that I did not know about hair like the fact that the hair root is supplied via tiny blood vessels and the type of hair is determined by RNA. I also found out that the face has more estrogen receptors than breasts and thighs. As someone who uses topical estrogen cream rather than pills that gave me an idea.
If using HRT and waxing caused my body hair to become fine and vellus like why not try that on my facial hair? What did I have to lose? I decided that I would wax my face once a week when there was enough stubble for the hard wax to pull out the hairs. The evening before I would apply the HRT cream directly to my face and then again after cleaning up afterwards.
After 13 weeks there was a significant difference to the thickness of the hair follicles, they were much thinner than before. That was when I came across a sale for epilators and I wondered if that might be a less messy alternative to waxing. It is but it is slower because my facial hair grows in every direction of the compass. (There are always strays that need plucking regardless of whatever method is used.)
Now at 21 weeks the majority of by beard hairs are vellus-like in appearance and feel. They are fine and I can go an entire week with no "visible" facial hair. The roots are still long and the hairs can get quite long but they don't feel like beard hairs anymore. Speaking of which there are still some thick hairs that haven't yet become vellus-like but they are becoming sparser.
In summary I am far happier with my method than anything else I have tried. I still have a beard but it isn't visible anymore and I am only aware of it if I touch my face.
Kind regards, Rowena 👩🦳
