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Go to http://www.hairfacts.com for the latest commercial-free consumer hair removal information. EpiLight page: http://www.hairfacts.com/makers/laser/esc.html EpiLight first-hand reports
Deane's experiences Deane writes in March 1998: "I was in one of the experimental programs for EpiLight in 1996, too. I had read about it in a local paper, then I heard about the study on the radio, so I decided to give it a try. It seemed to thin the hair but it was far from hair removal . I have since reverted back to electrology." Deane returned my EpiLight survey on May 13, 1998:
I don't remember the energy level anymore. I had one pulse per pass. The sensation was like getting hit with a rubber band. I had redness for about a day no permanent side effects. Dr. Navarro used to give me a lotion to apply afterwards that took away some of the pain. My face stayed clear for about one week. I needed to shave between visits. It did kill off approximately 50% of my dark hair. It made electrolysis a lot easier and cheaper, though I don't think you need to have up to 10 treatments to get the same results. At the time Dr. Navarro was new with EpiLight and I was one of her first test subjects. From what I have read, techniques have changed a lot from when I was going through it. So maybe it would be best to do both Epilight at first to get rid of a large portion of hair fast and then electrology to get the really rough hair along with the white and blond hair. Clint's experiences I did have five EpiLight treatments on my shoulders and back between June and October 1998. The results were 100 percent regrowth within 3 months after the final treatment. In fact, the hair started growing out about 21 days after the fifth treatment. The skin care center that performed the procedure said 3 or 4 treatments may be necessary for lasting results. The also claimed it was painless (false) and that clinical studies demonstrated that that long term hair removal lasted a minimum of 2 years, but was probably permanent. My back was as smooth as a baby's bottom 2 weeks after the 5th treatment, but now it has the same amount of hair as it did before the treatment (quite a lot). Do you know if the studies they are referring to are the studies by Fitzpatrick (1997) and Raulin, et al. (1996)? Are these the same studies cited by ESC Medical Systems on the 510(k) application? I'm trying to get all studies on EpiLight before June 1, 1998 (when my treatments started). I wasted $2,500 so I'm suing the ass off this clinic for feeding me all this bull. Their advertisement said permanent, but now it says long-term. The company's president told me that long-term is "a matter of perspective, it could mean a few weeks or a few months". What a con man. Anyway, I'm having trouble getting these critical studies. I need to prove in small claims court that the studies were inconclusive. Do you know if any study proved that only 4 treatments on a males back or shoulders would remove nearly 100 percent of the hair for a minimum of 2 years? That is what they promised me. Linda's experienences I had tried epi-lite laser and I have had no result (my skin is dark brown, dark hair). They keep telling me be patient, but after 6 treatments over 1 year and no result- I was surely not happy. What a waste of money. Daffney's experiences Daffney is the perfect case study of EpiLight efficacy. On May 13, 1998, she supplemented our personal correspondence with more data on her EpiLight experiences. In July 2001, Daffney sent the following update:
You can write Daffney at: ts82xmacno1fft001@sneakemail.com Background:
As you can see below, Daffney has been receiving aggressive treatment at very high fluences (around 50 J/cm^2 with three to five pulses). She was told "if after 6 treatments I wasn't cleared, they would continue until I was done." Costs: List price just under $500/treatment. Treated at Your Touch - Cary, NC. Physician/technician: Bill & Shirley Treatment dates:
Daffney notes: "The fluence is the total for all pulses of a treatment. So if 4 successive flashes are used, the energy is divided equally between the pulses. The theory I was given is that the skin cools quicker than the hair, and the very short pauses allowed the skin to cool while the hair still is heated. I did notice that when they adjusted the levels if they didn't increase the number of pulses, it became more painful. Also they didn't start using more than 3 pulses till around the 4th treatment." Sensation during treatment:
Side effects and lasting:
Results:
Did you need to remove or conceal hair between treatments?
What led you to try EpiLight?
Experiences/Advice:
Andrea's experiences I am a pre-op ts from Northern Ireland. I have come across your site which i think is great and use as a reference point for ts related information. You asked about people's experience with laser electrolysis. I have found it to be useless. All it did was remove the colour from my beard. My beard started of as brown/red and is now completely white. My skin is white [ scots/irish ]. I have had twelve sessions with an EpiLight system. It had no effect on the hair growth or density. The hair folicles are however slightly shallower on my cheeks. Went from average of 4.8mm to 4.1mm. They also lost all colour. I have now bought myself a professional thermolysis based electrolysis machine from a salon supplier to clear my beard. I can't afford a blend machine. I have had training in using electro machines and have cleared some ts friends for surgery and done some of there beard work. The reason i went for the laser treatment is because firstly i didn't want to do electro in a mirror and secondly my doctor referred me for it and i was under the impression it was permanant. Fortunatly i was able to get on the health service for free. From my last few conversations with the consultant dermatologist who did the laser treatment she is starting to come to the conclusion privately that laser electro doesn't work but can't say publicly because her seniors in the hospital says it does. In this country doctors stick by each other like glue and get free holidays from hospital suppliers [i didn't say that]. Background: Age 29. About 40 hours of facial electrolysis prior to laser. "Scarring resulted on right cheek. Removed by demabrasion." She had laser treatment From july 97 to nov 98. 12 sessions total. She began hormones at the time she started EpiLight. Treatment: Consultant dermatoligist performed treatment.The settings were as follows:
Sensation during treatment: Sort of like a punch without the force. It was a sharp pain followed by a burning sensation for a few seconds. Pain was bearable without pain relief. Not as painful as needle electro. Entire beard and neck was covered each session. Others i know had bother bearing it. Side effects: Facial redness. First session redness lasted about 5 hours. Each session the redness lasted less coming down to about 1 and half hours at last session. I had some freckles on my face and it removed them along with broken thread veins in the area covered permanately. Permanately removed all the colour form my beard without damaging the growth. Results: Initially hair density dropped by about 40% but it all grew back completely colourless making normal electro more difficult as it is harder to see. Sometimes i had to remove hair between treatments. I removed it by waxing the entire beard. Advice for others on making laser treatment easier? Save your money and get normal electro instead as it doesn't work. I know three people who had laser electro and they had bad results. One friend had laser genital electro a year ago. Her hair grew back completely. Fortunatly she had to wait for a year to get her op at xmas as it took her that long to raise the money for the op. I had to start her genital electro in september to get her ready for her op two weeks ago. Fortunatly it was cleared in time ( only just ). I just pray she has no re-growth. Areas besides face: Once only, on the frontal part of my left shoulder. Didn't repeat as the pain was unbearable, skin blistered heavily with some scorch marks. Took about five weeks to heal. Cost all in came to £86 (about $130). Additional comments: Again i wouldn't recommend it to anyone. You may write to Andrea. Alina's experiences Alina was the first to send in her completed EpiLight questionnaire (May 11, 1998). She's German, and has had five treatments to date. She had no prior electrolysis and started hormones at the same time she began EpiLight treatment. After her fifth treatment, she remained clear for one week.
23rd October 97
24th November 97
7th January 98
25th March 98
4th May 98
Costs:
Where was the procedure performed and by whom?
Sensation during treatment
Side effects and lasting
Describe how long your face stayed clear.
Any advice for others on making EpiLight treatment easier?
What data or information influenced your decision to try EpiLight?
Thanks very much to Alina for such a detailed response! Zarah's experiences On January 12, 1998, Zarah wrote: I have some experience with a system called EpiLight. EpiLight works with high energetic pulses of multifrequent white light, therefore it is rather a flashlight. The application is kind of the same as with traditional laser hair removal systems, though a larger area of the skin can be treated with a single shot. Also, the limitations and risks are the same as with other pulsed lasers. That means the darker the hair, the better it works, but it has little effect on hair without any pigmentation. And for reasons unknown, it works better for some people than for others. I have seen very impressive results with women whose facial hair was mostly dark. If applied properly, the hair can be removed without any scaring and therefore no damage occurs to the complexion. Because of the selective effect to dark hair much of the shadow vanishes after a few (5-6) sessions, which I think is a big advantage. So, even if it's not possible to remove all facial hair with this system and additional electrolysis is required, it can save you many painful hours and the stubble (needed for electrolysis) is easier to hide if it consists of fair or colourless hair. Risks: it is critical for the success of the method, that the pulse and energy parameters are set to fit your complexion. Too conservative settings will reduce the effect, too much or too long can be devastating to your complexion. Then it can burn deeper areas of the skin and scar tissue will remain. So, before starting the treatment make sure that the dermatologist a) has experience with the method AND with the treatment of trans-women and b) is a responsible person. As with all hair removal methods there is a lot of money involved, especially when it comes to trans-women. So some dermatologists may promise impossible results (e.g. permanent removal of all hair in three sessions). According to my experience, this is pure fiction. For most of the people I know, it took 10-20 sessions (maybe more sometimes) for a good result. But a significant reduction can be seen after 5 or so sessions. But surely some of the hair will come back. In Germany EpiLight is used only for 2 or three years. So it's hard to tell something about any long term effects, and if the removal of the hair is really permanent. I stopped treatment some 8 months ago, and what was gone then still is gone... For the treatment the hair should have a length of 1-2 mm; if it's longer or shorter, the effectiveness of the method is reduced. The treatment itself doesn't hurt that much (but has anybody ever heard of a painless AND effective method .... sigh... ), and it takes approximately half an hour to treat the whole face. After that it's a pretty COOL idea to cool the face for a while, because it hurts like having a sunburn. This could last for a day or so, though for me it usually stopped after an hour. Some say that 2 or 3 days after treatment the treated hair can be easily plucked, but this didn't work for me. I had no undesired side effects from the treatment, no inflammations, no burns and no scars. The scars I have are from electrolysis I had in the past. So after what I've seen of the method, it may not be the perfect way for everybody for permanent removal of all hair, but it can be a relative quick and safe method to remove a significant amount of facial hair. So it's probably the best way to start epilation with EpiLight and remove what is left with electrolysis, if you feel it to be necessary. On May 13, 1998, Zarah responded to my request for additional details. I do not think that my Epilation experience is that typical for TS women. To start with, I always had incredible strong and dense hair growth in the face and in addition a fine skin structure, so some dermatologists refused electrolysis at all, because they saw no way to perform complete electrolysis in a reasonable amount of time and, considering the skin structure, feared that electrolysis would damage my complexion too much. However, I found an electrologist who was willing to perform electrolysis on me and I spent some 120 hours with conventional electro (thermolysis) for one year. I started this rather late, approximately a year after I began HRT (high dosage estrogens pre-op), partly due to reasons concerning coverage by the health insurance. The results I obtained with conventional electro were somehow in the range of what could be expected, which means there was a regrowth rate of approximately 70 % for the treated hairs. But I also experienced side effects like scars, swellings... though the electrologist was very experienced and is a trainer for electrolysis herself. Since there was no significant visible effect after that year (due to the sheer amount of hairs) except for some scars, I quit the treatment. In addition, as I was already living full time at that time, it became impossible to let the hair stand in the required length for a longer period of time. Electrolysis was definitely not an option for me and I didn't do anything about facial hair after that (except shaving or plucking of course) until a few years after srs. I saw the results of Photoderm VL and EpiLight treatment on 5 or 6 other TS women and found them very convincing (even considered the limited effect on fair hairs), especially because there were no negative effects on the complexion (something that from my experience is always the case with any sort of needle epilation if someone has a fine complexion), so I gave it a try. I had 7 sessions in the first quarter of 97 and a very significant effect on darker hair, and a rather limited effect on fair hair (no surprise). But enough to extinguish the shadow to a large degree. I then paused until the beginning of this year and had another 4 sessions up til now. There was no significant regrowth in the 9 month interval without treatment. I experienced no negative side effects of the treatment, though I have a very fair and sensitive skin. The situation right now is that most of the darker hair is gone, but about 50% of the fair and colorless hair is still there though it gets finer and grows somehow more slowly. Which means, I still have to shave from time to time, but when done I pass without any makeup. So I guess I will continue with EpiLight for a while and see what happens to the remaining hairs. The treatment is covered by my health insurance and costs about 200 DM (~115$) per session (complete face). Considering that some electrologists take the same amount of money per hour, I really do not think that it is overpriced. Jayne's experiences [It's not clear whether Jayne had EpiLaser of EpiLight treatment, but since her treatment was with Dr. Fitzpatrick (see clinical data above), I believe it was EpiLight. I'll verify this as soon as possible. --AJ] On March 1, 1998, Jayne wrote: I had treatment by Dr. Fitzpatrick at San Diego County Dermatology as their experiment last year. According to them, there were several TS patients they treated; one of them was myself. My first treatment was June 1996 for about 30 minutes, because they wanted to know different areas of my face; upper lip, lower lip, chin, cheek. Then I had another treatment 3 weeks later-- same areas of my face. Third treatment was quite painful because Dr. Smith tried to make it more powerful (duration of the light) or I am not sure. That was quite painful and left discoloration. I felt it damage my skin, next day there was a terrible burn that did not heal about 2 weeks, but result was good. Most my facial hair was gone. Finally 4 weeks later, last treatment was less powerful/weak pulse or lights that made it less painful. At that time, my facial hair came back almost 50%. Follow up was one month later to count my regrowth rate by the assistant, and took several pictures at that time my facial hair regrowth rate about 70 %. I believe the laser treatment was effective only short time solution, however my chin area's hair and side burn areas became noticeably thin. upper lip area about 70% of regrowth rate. Cheek areas about 60%. I think [it] is a short term solution for 4 treatment. I believe 4 sets of treatments which 16 treatments would be remove my facial hair permanently, but my facial skin will not tolerate the pulse or light. On May 14, 1998, Jayne responded to my questionnaire, saying she has requested her records from the treatment center that performed her procedures. I will post her results as soon as they're available. Robie's experiences On April 7, 1998, Robie wrote:
On May 15, 1998, Robie replied to my request for detailed information:
Natalie's experiences Natalie is a TG woman who has been getting EpiLight treatment as part of a trading of services with a physician. Natalie designed the physician's EpiLight website and in turn gets treatment. She first told me of her treatment on May 12, and on May 18, 1998, she sent the following details:
The hair starts falling out approx a week after treatments, it's pretty cool, I would run my hand down my face and there would be hairs on it. :) It does grow back for a bit, hair grows in cycles, not every follicle is treated at the same time. I have noticed that there was a slowing in the re-growth and that it was not coming in as thick. The white hairs are a bit more difficult, the light penetrates the darker ones better, but I am losing some of the white ones as well, just not as many or as fast as the darker ones. To try to get the lighter hairs, my Dr. raised the intensity of the light, I did get two small blisters from that, but not bad and no scarring. It does seem to work best on darker hair and I am a red head. I did not want to go through the electro process...too impatient for that. I was plucking for a while, but I could never get the whole face and that too was painful. H__'s experiences This respondent would like to be called "The girl from wooden shoes and tulip country," but I've shortened that to H__ for Holland.
Treatment dates: (fluence/pulses unknown)
I changed to EpiLight Amsterdam because it is a lot closer to my home. Maastricht is about a 500 KM drive. So Amsterdam is cheaper because I do not lose a day work and I do not have to travel so far. You should be aware of the fact that there is big difference if one gets treatments at regular intervals NOT shorter then approx. 8-10 weeks. If a doctor or whatever person suggests that one should receive treatments every 2-3 weeks they do not know what they are doing but this does not mean that EpiLight does not work. Another big mistake is waxing the face after treatment. The damaged hair follicle is torn out the face leaving behind the possibility of regrowth because the body cannot "solve" the misformed follicle itself. After 6 treatments you can see that the interval gets longer. I did not shave since the last treatment on 08-04-1998 [39 days]. In the beginning I just shaved but now if I see a "lonely" hair I just [pluck] it out. The first time I heard about Epilight was on the net and because of the horror stories about years and years of electrolysis I decided to start. All the costs are paid for by my insurance. This is an exception I have heard from others in the Netherlands... C 's experiences C____ writes: October 5, 1997
October 18, 1997
October 18, 1997
M 's experiences M____ writes: I am a part of the original study group for the assessment of the EpiLight system as tested by Dr. Peter Cooperrider of Kirkland, WA. (he's in the book.) In connection with this project I have five friends who were also part of this study group, two of which are no longer receiving treatments. Results:
None of us has had any marking or scarring of any kind. The foregoing is just my personal experience and knowledge and isn't presented as anything other than anecdotal evidence. I don't work for anyone, I am not a doctor, I haven't done a lot of research on this and I am not a laser expert by any stretch of the imagination. However, some points seem to me to be evident:
ANYway, I am not disputing the studies Ted [Molczan] posted [on the newsgroup]. Yes, the results are very spotty. Yes, a lot of people seem to have temporary results. Yes, it is VERY (obscenely?) expensive some places...but so is 250 hours of needle and drugs at $50/hr. don't forget. Yes, the results are not properly called permanent, assessments like that come only through time given the marvelous regenerative powers of the body. Yes, it can burn or scar if used improperly. But so can needle electro. And I can positively state from personal observation that many of the Ts's I have met have significant pitting from needle electro. That is one of the primary things I don't like about it and the reason why I am experimenting with the laser. Still, I wouldn't consider any laser a complete replacement for the needle at this point by any means. But I DO think it can significantly reduce the amount of time needed for needle electro. Good enough for me and worth what I have paid as well. Lea's experiences Background: Skin color : I rate it at 2. Facial hair were brown and quite dense between 2% gray (white, uncoloured). Age 32. 3 months HRT before EpiLight. No electrolysis prior. Treatment: PhotoDherme / EpiLight (Flash light). Started 02/97. $500 per sessions (7 achieved). Performed in PARIS France (tryed differents centers). Physician: MD. BERRIER (The only one that has to be mentioned for his honest and good practice). Fluence (energy level): Increased gradualy from stage to stage). Lower for more hair to prevent burns and heavyer the last ones to affect lighter and thiner hairs. 2 pulses separated by a 20ms gap. Sensation during treatment: Some kind of an elastic failure on your face (more painfull when more hairs) Side effects: Burned once at 2nd degree, some surface vuessels dilated lasted red several months. Results: Treated hairs dropped naturally between 10 to 20 days after threatment. Regrowgh of next hairs generation occured 4 to 6 week later. Hair _must not_ be removed (shaving allowed) after treatment (can reduce the effect of the treatment) Advice:
What data or information influenced your decision to try your laser? One of my friends tryed it and got satisfying results. I had heavy hairs and got no good electrologist in my area (couldn't have several hours of electrolysis each week). With EpiLight I just had to go every 6 to 8 weeks. Laser experiences (Body): 3rd stage on my hairy legs. Don't know yet ho well it work yet. $1000 for legs from top of feet to near my genitals. Normal price at $1300 but lowered if you practice regularly at the same center. Legs took around 2 to 3 hours each time. Not quite painfull but be patient. Rachel's experiences >Background Your skin color (1 = very pale, 6 = black) 1 very pale 2. Your facial hair color and density Black/blonde - corse hair - 0% gray facial hairs 3. Your age 32 4. Hormones before laser? (dosage and dates) Had one laser treatment first. HRT started Sept 4th 1998 with a 6 week ramp up to 5mg Premarin/50mg Spironolactone - Added 5mg Provera and started cycling on Jan 16th 1999. 5. How many hours of facial electrolysis prior to laser? None Laser treatment (face only) See Answer 19 6. Brand of laser Epilight 7. Date(s) of laser treatment See Answer 19 8. Costs of laser treatment See Answer 19 9. Where was the procedure performed? NewLook/Cosmedix - Beverly hills California 10. Who was the physician/technician who performed treatment? Registered nurse - it Varies with their schedule 11. At what fluence (energy level) were you treated? See Answer 19 12. How many pulses on each pass? (usually 1, 2, or 3 ?snaps" each time) 1 pulse per pass - one pas per session Laser experiences (face only) 13. Sensation during treatment Mild to Moderate Electric Shock 14. Side effects and how long they lasted Slight Redness for 4-8 hours - mostly beneath skin surface due to the burning of the hair folicle. Told not to shave for 36-48 hours after treatment, and to stay out of the sun for 72 hours after treatment. I usually go on Saturday mornings, and don't shave until Monday morning. I have gone into work a few hours after a treatment and no one said anything. Looks like razor burn. But then again, I stay burried in my cubicle anyway, and only emerge for nature calls and food. 15. Describe how long your face stayed clear. Never completely cleared my face - but the hair has been thinning in consistancy, and less has been growing back. I was told it would take 5-10 treatments 4 weeks apart to clear the face. 16. Did you need to remove or conceal hair between treatments? Shaving - But I'm not full time yet, so I didn't have to hide my stubble. 17. Any advice for others on making laser treatment easier? If you're doing face and body have your technician do your face last. I've found that the body is much less sensative, and the technician can experiment with power settings to give you the mose effective zapping. Once they have determined an effective power setting, then move onto the face. When Doing face, divide it up into 7 sections. Left moustache, Right moustache, Right cheek, Left cheek, Chin, Left neck and Right neck. Have technician apply the cold gel, then zap and remove gell from one area before moving on to the next. This will lessen the pain of the zap on your face, because the gel does not stay on your face long enough to warm up due to contact with your skin. The zaps are less painful, and the technician may even be able to use a higher power with little increase in pain, and less chance of burning the skin. 18. What data or information influenced your decision to try your laser? It seemed like I could remove my beard without the substantial investment of time that conventional electrolysis requires. The only thing I'm concerned about is permanency. If I experience substantial regrowth and am required to treat this conventionally, I may have to let the hairs grow out in order for the electroligist to grab hold of the hair. This may prove difficult once I have gone full time. I have a number of blond hairs in my beard, on which the laser does not work. So I am facing conventional electrolysis anyway. It was my hope that Laser would take care of what it could - so far so good!! Laser experiences (Body) 19. Area treated, costs, and dates Date Area Treatment Time Cost Energy Level
These prices reflect a "summer sale" Normaly beard price would have been $900/session My price was $250. This company has changes their pricing structure to time based. $10/minute which reflects an overall drop in prices. So if it takes 20-30 minutes to treat a beard, then the price would be $200-$300. Which is good news. I guess there's alot more competition out there. Since conventional electrolysis is approx $50/hour, this is equivalent to 4-6 hours of conventional treatment. I have seen dramatic results in 5 laser treatments. If it proves to be more or less permanent, and allows me to reduce the amount of conventional electrolysis needed, then I win!! So far the hair is substantially thinner, or totally gone. It has not been proven permanent though, and hopefully this will not backfire in a year or so with heavy regrowth. If the regrowth is managable, then I plan to continue on with conventional electrolysis until the regrowth stops 20. Additional comments about body treatment. None. Comments about treatments in general: I was told this when researching Laser treatments: It will take between 3-5 sessions spaced 6-8 weeks apart for the body 5-10 sessions spaced 4 weeks apart for the face to achieve total clearance. That's 6-11 months! But the total time in hours of treatment is substantially less. The reason they space the treatments apart as they do are twofold:
After the first session, the hair may grow back coarser, but with the second zapping, the hair diminishes greatly. Since each cycle needs two zaps, that's 4 treatments total to give ALL the hairs two zapps. It's logical that 2 zaps may indeed miss some hairs, so 3 zaps per cycle (6treatments total) is a reasonable expectation. So as you can see it's best to approach Laser electrolysis differently than conventional electrolysis. My theory was to decrease the corseness of the hair (or eliminate it totally) using Laser, and following it up with conventional electrolysis thereby reducing the amount of conventional electrolysis needed to achieve complete clearance. Hopefully, since Laser has not been proven permanant, the regrowth will occour at a slower rate, so that continued conventional electrolysis will keep my face clear, and will eventually handle all of the regrowth. I don't think Laser in itself has not yet come into it's own, but I think that by taking a hybrid approach to hair removal, the amount of pain and hours involved can be significantly reduced. Due to the cost of treatment however, this may end up costing more $$$ than conventional electrolysis alone, but if you live by the old adage; "time is money", (....actually, time is infinately more valuable than money) then you may still win. Body regrowth cycles are 6-8 weeks, face regrowth cycles are 4 weeks apart I was told not to expect complete clearance until 5-10 treatments on the face. My torso hair is so thin it's only visible up close after 4 treatments, I may give it another zap just to be sure. I havn't seen the results of my fifth treatment on my face, as it's only been 3 days. In a week or two, when the hair works it's way out, I'll know for sure how effective it is. I am going to follow this up with conventional Electro for the blonde hairs and any regrowth. At that time I think I'll stop the laser treatments completely. Important tip with regard to zapping your face. Epilight uses a cold gel to reduce the pain, and the chance that the skin will burn. I've found that it's best to divide the beard into 7 sections and have the operator apply the gell, zap, and remove the gell for one section before going on to the next. The sections are Left Moustache, Right moustache, Chin to lower lip, Left cheek above the Jaw Line, Left Neck Below the Jawline, Right cheek above the Jaw Line, Right Neck Below the Jawline. By doing smaller sections at a time, the gel dosn't warm up, thereby causing less pain to the victm. This may also enable your operator to use a higher power withough damaging the skin. Cathy and Susie's experiences 2-17-99 Hi all... Life continues to be interesting, with something new almost daily. Sometimes it's infinitesimal and you have to search for it, but it's always something. Yesterday and today marked a new phase in this "grand experiment".....as many of you know, Susie and I had not completed our electrolysis before taking to the hiways of the country, much to our dismay. We have had to constantly fight against the ongrowth of the cursed hairs upon our faces. It can get rather vexing to be worrying unendingly about something seemingly as simple as shaving, but shaving two or three times each day? Come on !! I've witnessed slaughter houses where they were more kind to the animals than I've been to my face. Yesterday.....I stopped shaving. Oh, it's only for a week. You see, we've been debating this for quite some time, having made many inquiries and pursued as much information as we could find on the subject and we've elected to try laser hair removal. Epi-light, to be specific. Our GRS surgeons in Montreal were offering the treatment while we were there last April, and we considered it mightily at that time, but we'd been happy with the steady progress we were making at eradicating the cursed fuzz using the tried and true thermolysis method that we had been undergoing, painful and slow as it was. We were at least dealing with a known element, and we were making progress. But things do change. Thanks to the upheaval in our life's and the impossibility of continuing with our hair removal, we feel we need to do something a bit more drastic and experimental. Epilight. We will be going to the same dermatologist that is performing the laser-removal of our tatoo's, people we have experience with and whose skills we feel we can trust. They state that the procedure will eliminate most, if not all, of the unwanted hair from our faces in only four treatments. These treatments will be scheduled approximately three months apart, to allow time for re-growth of the dormant hair folicles. That schedule fits ours perfectly, as it is difficult enough for us to arrange for any time off at a specific location at a specidied date. The infrequency of the appointments is ideal for us. Cost will be attractive, as well. Only $200 per session, toalling $800 altogether. Not bad, considering. The downsides? Does this procedure really work? Or, like so many thing offered to the TG community, are we getting experimented upon, with the priviledge of paying the bill, and, oh yes....there is no gaurantee. (Yes, I'm a little miffed at the crico-thyroid approximation,...the "voice surgery", that we each had 1 1/2 years ago. Mine failed completely with 10 months, and Susie's is starting to go now, as well. That was a $4,500. "experiment". More on that later, however.......) Another large, and to be considred seriously, downside to this procedure.... they must have a minimum of 1/8 th of an inch of hair to work with. That's the shortest hair on your face, not the longest. We're hoping that not shaving for only a week will allow enough time for the required growth, but have you ever considered what a week of having that "stuff" grow back would do to your work, home, and social environment? What about your mental image of yourself? A woman with a beard is not acceptable in this country, let alone many others outside of Iraq, so it will require that I engage in cross-dressing.....yep, that's right. I never was a cross-dresser before transitioning to living full-time as a woman, but I get to spend a week playing at trying to pass as a guy. Oh, good god....I thought that time was over for ever. Well, it's started. Yesterday was my last day to shave, Susie's was today. This morning, sitting in a truck stop working on the computer, a young man sat down across from me and tried to engage me in conversation. Within minutes he was making suggestions that we go to his truck for an hour. In no time he had his hand on my leg, inching his fingers upwards, brushing his fingers across my breast several times, and not backing off when I kept telling him no....I had to get up to leave. Gee, would he be excited to see me this afternoon? (Giggle"""""" ) The carpet pad on my face is already impossible to cover with makeup and foundation, so I've scrubbed my face clean, tied my hair back , removed my earrings, and hopefully, will be living as a guy for the next week. What the heck am I going to do with these 40 C's ? Susie has it even tougher, with her double-D's. I think she will be hiding out in the truck for the next week while I try to handle all of our "outside" activities. Today, she is doing the shopping, the loading, the scaling of our truck, etc. while I'm in the transitional phase between one and the other gender. By tomorrow I will have to be handling it all as we don't think she will be able to step out of the truck during daylight hours. Our biggest problem will public bathrooms, a challenge yet to be worked out. Ah well....this will be the last contact for a week. No, I'm not going into another truck stop (NO WAY !) or going online until we're safely sequestered in a motel room in San Diego next Monday afternoon. (that should be fun checking in !!) I should have something to report about this coming week at this time. 3-8-99 Well, let's see ; when last we left our intrepid heroines they were embarking on yet another experimental treatment regimen to try to complete the final phases of transition....... a process that never seems to end. So, we quite shaving. By the close of day two, I was sans makeup, earrings, and nail polish, and was doing my best to "pass" as a guy. And to my great relief, and disgust, I was able to achieve the deception without a sideways glance from nary a soul. Well, there was this one guy... I was fueling in a truck stop in New Mexico and had no choice but to take a restroom break. This was on the fourth day and there was no mistaking the fuzz on my face for anything other than what it was. Because of the beard I certainly could not go into the lady's room, so... into the men's room I did travel. The only guys in there were in the stalls and I ducked into one quickly. Whew !! Made it, and so far no problem. Maybe this will work out okay, after all. There was one man washing his hands at the sink as I left the stall, so I went to the far sink, bent forward to hide the bumps of my breasts, and commenced washing up. He glanced over at me. Then he looked at me again. He went to the towel dispenser behind me and watched me closely while drying his hands, then stepped up to the mirror again. Turning directly towards me, he starred hard for a moment, then went out the door. I finished my business and also left the room. There he was, talking excitedly to one of the employees and gesticulating back towards the men's room. (I don't think he was trying to tell them to put more toilet paper out..) I left quickly. I don't know what triggered his interest, though I have spent quite a bit of time speculating and haven't yet decided what he saw. I just didn't want to wait around and find out. It had been my fear that I may not be able to make it, that I might appear too "effeminant", and maybe I did, but it was "sir" this, and "sir" that...... to the point that by the end of the week I was sick of hearing that word. At the end of the week we had to check into a motel in San Diego. and frankly I could have kissed the young lady who checked me in. As I'd known she would, she asked for a driver's license. Here I was, with a weeks growth of hair on my face, and presenting her with a driver's license with the name of Cathryn, female, on it. She looked it over, glanced at me, handed it back and began "maam" this, and "maam" that. She never hesitated. Gee, can I take this woman home? Now I can truthfully say that I have been a crossdresser !! (giggle) Two things stand in my mind from that week-long experience... my sense of identity is stronger now than before. I had feared having to adopt the trappings and appearance of a male once more for what effect the external could possibly have on the internal, but I no longer fear it, even though it is appalling. The other thing is that I don't want to have to do it again ! However, how often do we get to do what we wish? The Procedure Okay, we showed up at Dermatology Associates of San Diego, at the Encinitas office complex, and proceeded directly to the "Spa" where they specialize in massage, peels, laser treatments, etc. We were embarrassed to be seen in public with our faces looking the way they did, but the receptionist greeted us warmly and had us seated and waiting a few brief minutes until we were ushered into the inner sanctum. ("We" being three of us; myself, Susie, and a close friend of ours, Kristen, who had a personal interest in the process as a potential patient) We were introduced to Kathy, who took over and conducted our question and answer consultation. She explained that they are set up to deliver four treatments, over a period of about three months between each, and that should clear up your face completely. The charge would be $200. per treatment, up to $800. If another treatment is needed they will perform the fifth at no charge. Any follow-up treatments that may be needed to pick up strays and stubborn hairs, they charge $25. for a fifteen minute session, basically enough to redo the entire face again. The Epilight system works best on darker hair, and light skin, and is less responsive on blonde hairs, or dark hair on dark skin. The dark pigmentation of the hair picks up the light and carries the heat directly to the root, killing the follicle. Dark skin, or light hair, decreases the effectiveness, but they are still working on new procedures for those particular problems. She described one possible method they have recently come across to kill off "white" hair, which was an important bit of information since Susie has some blonde and white hair mixed in with some dark, so called salt-and-pepper. We mostly knew the answers, having made up our minds way before this point. I was first on the table. Kathy inspected my beard closely, then announced that my hair was too long.... WHAT ??? Too much length means too much absorption of light and too much heat generated. She picked up a pair of electric clippers and trimmed the length down. Jeez !! And I had been so worried that it wouldn't be long enough !! She told me that all she really needs is enough length to get a pair of tweezers around, much the same as in electro. I spent a week in the growing and I could have done it in just two or three days at the most. (chagrin !) : ) Kathy set up the equipment and, after handing out safety goggles to guard our eyes against the intense light, set up to try a test flash under my chin. Ok...it hurt. It was a burning sensation, but it dissipated quickly. Much quicker than did the acrid odor of burning hair. She reduced the power slightly and tried again. This was ok and I felt I could stand it. Zap. Zap. Zap. In about fifteen minutes she had covered my entire face with concentrated flashes of laser light, in patches that measured about 3/4 by 2 1/2 inches. Some of the spots were sensitive and painful, but again with a fast disapation of the heat, and it was over quickly. Compared to thermolysis, it was nothing, in fact a little disappointing. Is this all there is to it? It didn't hurt enough. No pain, no gain, right? Everything seems to extract the maximum price and delivers marginal results over a long period of time. This was TOO quick, TOO easy, TOO good to be true. I left the table somewhat depressed, thinking that I had just wasted my money. Susie was next, and because of the lighter color of her hair, a higher power setting was called for. Again, ZAP ! Kathy decided that the treatment would be at no charge, since it was not conclusive if it would even work on her. Before leaving the complex, we went to the powder room and lightly shaved off the burned and crinkled stubble. It came off incredibly easily, with no scraping required to get a clean shave. Hmmm, maybe that's a good sign? The Aftermath That afternoon my cheeks and ears developed a slight sunburn, but that was over by the next morning. Neither one of us had any burns or specifically sensitive skin at any time following the exposure. There was no real aftermath..... it seemed at first that nothing was different. This was the primary reason I delayed this report ; I wanted enough time to pass to gain some impression of whether or not it was working. Now, at two weeks post-treatment, I now am shaving once every two days, versus the twice a day routine I was following before. The color of the hair that remains is lighter, and easier to conceal with foundation. The size of the pores on my face are beginning to shrink, leaving a much smoother appearance. This was something I hadn't thought about, but the heat does have some effect on the skin itself and leaves it in much better condition. That's just a little side effect that I hadn't anticipated, but welcome gratefully. I still am skeptical about the hair-removing capability of the Epilight treatment, but evidence is beginning to amass that is slowly swinging my opinion around. At this point, I find myself more satisfied with each passing day, and I am looking forward to the 2nd treatment with anticipation that just that much more hair will be eliminated, hopefully permanently. Only time will tell as to it's permanence, but the short-term results are wonderful and exceed my expectations. As stated in the previous report, I have undergone in excess of 175 hours (the exact figure eludes me) of thermolysis, Susie is close to the same, and I am quite certain that all of the time, expense and effort was well worth it, as we had cleared some spots on our faces more than once, a few places cleared completely. This previous clearing MUST have some effect on the results of the treatments we are now undergoing, perhaps in making the hair folicles more subject to quick kill-off. I wonder how much results could be achieved with a fresh subject who had not received ANY electro prior to exposing herself to the light? Well, I'll not ever know, and it bears not relevance to our particular situation. I would not recommend at this time that anyone rush out and make an appointment for Epilight. Not yet, anyway. In the next couple of months, and then into the aftermath of the 2nd treatment, I will have a much clearer perception of the viability of this procedure, and I will pass along what I learn. Stay happy, all of you. Look towards the future. Till the next time..... love Cathy and Susie |
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