Reader report: recent feminizing procedures |
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From a reader:
ELECTROLYSIS
-I started electrolysis on my face in March 2007 and the type used on me is thermolysis. I did laser on my face for about a year before that, however, I eventually decided that the results I was getting did not appear to be long-term.
One HUGE regret I have is getting electrolysis done on my arms twice awhile ago. Even though I only had it done twice, it was enough to leave noticeable scattered red dots that never went away. Before this happened, I thought the skin on my arms looked extremely beautiful, but now in certain light it looks like my arms have acne and/or look bumpy from welts.
Although I have very few dark hairs on my upper lip, it still looks like I have a significant shadow there because I have red marks across it that do not go away between appointments. It kind of looks like a black shadow was replaced with a red shadow. At first, I became afraid that the skin of my upper lip might be permanently scarred with those red marks, but then I read on your website that possible treatments exist for restoring the natural color of skin such as Neostrata, chemical peels and laser resurfacing. I have also noticed, in certain light angles, some bad pitting on my upper and lower lips. Pitting seems to be a problem on my jaws too. I plan to pursue your suggestions for treating those problems once I am getting electrolysis much less frequently. That is also when I will see a dermatologist for an additional opinion on how to eliminate the electrolysis marks on my face and arms.
LASER RESURFACING
-In December 2007 and January 2008, I had laser resurfacing done that is supposed to have results similar to CO2, but without the long healing time. The laser is called “Pixel” and I had it done on my face and neck by a plastic surgeon. I do not think it made my skin look free of flaws, however, I do feel it gave my skin’s color a more even and slightly tan appearance. I think the effect of the Pixel laser on me would be better described as laser skin
re-coloring instead of laser skin re-surfacing. This was unfortunate because I spent a total of $2,000 for the two treatments. I also think it would have been better to wait until electrolysis was nearly completed before attempting to resurface my face. I feel this way especially now that I see how pitted and discolored my upper lip has become from electrolysis. I think I will eventually have the traditional CO2 laser used on my face when I am, for the most part, done getting facial electrolysis. My hope would be that it takes away the discolored red skin on my lips and the pitting issues.
TEETH WHITENING
I had Zoom done on my teeth in January 2008 and I would not recommend it to others. My teeth were so painful after the procedure that I could not breath through my mouth. I was not told during my consultation that I would need to use bleach trays every 4-6 weeks to maintain the level of whiteness given by Zoom. I also found that using the bleach trays caused the severe pain to return to my teeth and I could not use them. The total cost was around $600 and it is really sad because now my teeth look about how they did before the procedure.
I had two small knicks on my lower teeth that never really caused me pain, but once I had Zoom done I felt frequent pain in those areas and I eventually needed a dentist to put caps over the knicks so the pain would go away. One other problem I have experienced is that the top of my upper and lower teeth at the front of my mouth now look almost transparent instead of being the opaque white color they were before.
What I have tried to do now is maintain the whiteness that I naturally have. I do this by avoiding habits that can stain teeth and it is actually kind of easy for me to do because I never really drink coffee, tea or cola. I was told that the Zoom procedure makes your teeth more porous, so I think that I might be more susceptible to teeth staining now if I consume what I wrote above in large quantities.
I went to a respected cosmetic dentist to learn more about veneers and although it seemed appealing, the cost was about $6,000 to get a veneer on each of my upper six teeth. My lower teeth show a bit when I talk though, so if I only got them on the upper teeth, I don’t think it would look natural.
HAIR TRANSPLANTS
-In September 2007 and April 2008, I had micro-follicular unit hair transplants. Around 1,000 hairs were transplanted at each appointment. My natural hairline never lost hair that I know of, however, it had a very strong masculine “M” shape to it. The goal of the hair transplants was to fill in my temples and give my hairline a feminine arc. I should know for sure the full effect by April 2009. If I measure from the top of my eyebrows to where the new hairline begins, the distance is between 4.5cm and 6cm depending on what part of the arc you are measuring towards. I spent a total of $9,500 for the two surgeries, but I view this as an investment in my future quality of living. I used a special cosmetic surgery loan to pay for it.
