I would so love the geniuses of this forum to give me a clue or two.

Right now I'm all but done with electro. My main worry right now is my upper lip. The hair that grows there doesn't have much time left with the amount of electro I'm doing. I get about three or four dark hairs a day there - and most of the rest are almost colorless and fine - though you can see hues of them if you pluck them. I still get tons of these.

I still have that fraking shadow, though! Some days I can see it, some days I can't - it depends on lighting. It makes me so self conscious! I pass so phenominally well - no one ever knows now that I'm stealth. I worry that this is a tell.

And I worry it means guys will feel the hair on my lips when I smooch them.

Can I expect this is something that will eventually be gone? Do I need to expect my electrologist to wipe all the velius hairs as well? Is this just damage from having so much work done? I have a good friend that has finished electro and she has that shadow too.

What's the story here?

Peaches!
Brilala

Shouldn't be a shadow? The skin should look like nothing was ever there. How did you heal after each treatment? Can you go into more detail about your treatments? How many? How far apart? How long were your sessions each time? What kind of equipment? A newer epilator or older one? Probe choice? Magnification? Light source? Aftercare?

I don't expect you to know the answers to all these questions, but it is not the norm for you to have shadow afterwards. None of my clients do and I have done a trillion upper lips.

What can you offer about your treatments and then maybe we can sort this out? I'm guessing this will all fade in time, but the goal is not to damamge the skin wilst trying to permanently remove hair.

Mucho thanks, Dfahey!

I did 6 treatments of laser. It barely affected the upper lip, though it really rocked for the rest of my face. After that, I had some work done with a Fisher SE-5. I started out having thermolysis done, because my electrolysis said it would be quicker. After hearing other information, I quickly decided to go to simple galvanic around my face, to minimize scaring risks. Right now I can tolerate a setting of 1.25- 2.0 on the machine for 35 seconds per hair on galvantic. Probe choice was a balet needle.

I think a main issue is that I've been plucking for about a year since going full time and having laser. I pluck on all the days I can't have electro - I mean, I'm stealth and it's just so embarrassing to be transsexual! I can't imagine letting the hair grow out. But perhaps I'm sabotaging my own efforts.

Right now when I pluck it's about 30-70 hairs a day, all on my lip and chin (But I am way anal about it, too). When I have electro done, it's definitely less than that - but I do hear from my electolysist and friends that have finished that I am nearing a stage of just having velius hairs.

I'm healing fine, though my skin always seems broken in a place or two (or 5). I don't know if this is my zeal in finishing this up, or in my zeal to pluck it all out on the off days.

Is it possible I am not as near being finished as I think I am?

I don't know - I hope this answered your question.

Brilala

Wow. Not sure how much of this forum you have read, but YES, YOU ARE BASICALLY WASTING MONEY ON ELECTROLYSIS BY PLUCKING IN BETWEEN. If you continue doing this, you will be going for treatments forever. Does your electrologist know that you are plucking? You can ONLY shave or clip the hairs while getting electrolysis. When you pluck the hair, it may not come back for months. If you do this consistently, you will be getting treatments forever like I said. You really need to read all the helpful information on this forum asap and take charge of your treatments.

The other thing that is incorrect in your post is that you assume that galvanic has less chance for scarring etc. That is absolutely not true. thermolysis or blend are just as good in good hands, only faster. You will get more bang for your buck if you switch to a good electrologist who does either one of those and who doesn't let you pluck!

To echo lagirl - stop plucking - trim the hairs close to the skin.

I am a long way from being finished (MtF also), and I do not have shadow anywhere except for where I am still trying to get first clearance. I am switching to a new electrologist this week and I have heard she is very good from other MtFs in my area.

Wow - plucking stops hair from growing back for months??? Maybe I'm nowhere near as near being finished as I think I am.

So - if I'm understanding you correctly, what you're telling me is that the shadow is there because I am plucking and those hairs are still growing beneath the skin? Am I understanding you?

Plucking has been the main reason I've been able to stay stealth while finishing this up. But - perhaps the hairs are light enough now that shaving and base will cover them up well enough. I'll just have to see.

It's like, on my cheeks it totally looks like nothing has ever grown there. But it's just not that way on my upper lip. Hmmm. It totally sucks, since I can only wear muted lip gloss and not lipstick because I feel it draws too much attention to it.

Also, lagirl, just to restipulate my logic on avoiding thermolysis on the upper lip - I have a really great friend that's gorgeous and passable in every way - but she also totally damaged her upper lip and scarred it with thermolysis. I just want to avoid that!

Anyway, thanks for the input, Nikki and lagal!

<3
Brilala

It's hard to tell without pictures at least what the shadow is from, but it is possibly from the hair that's still there. Or it could be from bad electrolysis. And yes, you may be farther away from completion than you think since you've been plucking. I would advise you to read up on hair growth cycles so you understand exactly what you're trying to do here. You will see while plucking doesn't make sense and slows down your results. Yes, once a hair is plucked, it takes a while for that same hair to grow in again, since there are 2 more cycles in between when other hairs are growing instead.

In terms of thermolysis, it sounds like your friend had bad treatments with a bad electrologist. That has nothing to do with the modality used and everything to do with the skill of the electrologist. What I am trying to convey is that if you can find a good electrologist using thermolysis or blend in your area, you will get finished a lot faster and cheaper. Try running a search here using your city or state to see if there are recommendations.

Keep in mind that best results are achieved when you get a complete clearance up front, so that you're only coming in to get the new hairs that pop up when they're still weak. If you follow this recommended routine, you won't have much to shave in between treatments, plus you will be done sooner and will spend less money overall.

I've got some hyperpigmentation around my upper lip, too, from a combination of (I think) hormones, electrolysis (right along the lipline) and, sad to say, one or two sunburns I carelessly got while on vacation. Normally, I strictly avoid sun exposure but while in New York I got burned during a day out, not thinking I'd get enough sun amidst all those buildings to cause a problem. Anyway, now I am looking in to fade creams and possible skin resurfacing.

I echo everyone else about the plucking. You're just wasting your time and will never get done with electrolysis. Just trim the hairs, and be sure to stick religiously to weekly appointments to get the incoming hairs zapped. That way, you catch them in their growing cycle and don't have to go around with stubble for very long.

I have had 3 sessions of Laser hair removal treatment to my beard growth area, I'm mostly pleased with results, the upper lip area does seem to be lagging behind. I have 3 more sessions to go of the pack of treatment that I funded, plus my NHS funded laser and electrolysis sessions so I have good hopes the upper lip area will be clear sometime in the near future.

Thank you so much for simplifying things by including information about yourself in the signature. That way, we don't have to ask a million questions about your situation.

It sounds like you are progressing as quickley as possible. This is another example of the value of using a combination of laser first, followed by electrolysis, to create a faster outcome . Do visit again and let us know how all this turns out for you.

Dee