been taking estradiol enanthate via subq injection for the past 3 weeks, 0.15 ml every 7 days. i haven’t really felt anything different tho… is it too soon to tell? im not on t blockers, mainly bc im still closeted, but i thought by now id feel some change by now

  • NCC-21166 (she/her)English
    6·
    6 days ago

    Also if neither of you have started yet, voice training and hair removal take FOREVER. They’re almost as slow as HRT itself, so get started as soon as you can, if you can/want that to be part of your transition. Honestly I wish I’d done the hair removal a decade ago even without transitioning. It just feels so much better!

    • dandelionEnglish
      3·
      5 days ago

      and surgery takes a long time as well, so if you think you might want it, you want to start electrolysis for hair removal for a vaginoplasty a year before the surgery, and you will need to find a therapist who will write you a letter for that surgery (at least in the U.S., therapists are often gatekeepers in other countries too).

      Everything takes a long time, so get the ball rolling early.

      • NCC-21166 (she/her)English
        3·
        6 days ago

        I keep reading about this but I am missing something. Is it ok to start now even without a surgery date? If I finish electrolysis 6-18 months before a surgery date, do surgeons have an issue with this? I am intending to get on a schedule as soon as I am permitted to, so I want to get started on hair removal now. I just don’t want to hurt my chances with eventual surgery results.

        • dandelionEnglish
          3·
          5 days ago

          no, the earlier the better and if you can remove all the hair well before surgery that would be ideal - you have more time to catch any stray hairs that were not eliminated in previous growth cycles.

          I know girls who have finished hair removal for bottom surgery and still haven’t made the first steps towards getting a consult with a surgeon, let alone a surgery date.

          Meanwhile, I’m rushing my electrolysis and trying to fit it into 4 months because I started too late and my surgery date is this summer 🙃 Don’t be like me, it risks having hair in your vagina.

          • ZorsithEnglish
            2·
            5 days ago

            What would a non-rushed electrolysis timeline be? 6-8 months? Longer? Place near me runs about $90 an hour, and i want start (even if surgery would likely be years away).

            • dandelionEnglish
              3·
              5 days ago

              I think the common recommendation is at least 12 months, 2 years would be better because you have a chance to catch all the hair growth cycles twice and catch any that were missed the first 12 months.

              Genital hair removal for SRS should be started at least a year prior to surgery, and probably more. It needs to remain clear for the entire hair growth cycle to be sure its all gone. Any remaining hair may be impossible to remove post-op.

              from the trans surgeries wiki on Reddit

              Due to hair growing in cycles it takes a very long time to remove properly. If you removed all of it in each cycle (so about once every month or two) you’d need a year. In practice doing a full clearance right at the start probably won’t happen. To be assured its gone you need to count from when full clearance occurs and make sure it stays that way for a year. Worse there’s not a 100% kill rate of hair, so just because its gone doesn’t mean it won’t come back in a year - you’d want to wait another year to catch those hairs on the next cycle. Anything less increases the risk of hair, and how much risk you’re prepared to accept.

              from the hair removal section of the trans surgeries wiki on Reddit

              The surgeon usually removes or cauterizes the follicles during the surgery, and some surgeons even suggest not doing hair removal at all, but 7% (roughly 1 in 14) of women post-op report having hair in their vagina, and while rare, infections can occur and that can lead to situations you really don’t want to find yourself in.

              Anyway, I’m low-key terrified of having hair in my vagina, but I’m also worried my opportunity to get a vaginoplasty is under threat, so I’m hoping to get it done before it’s no longer an option.

    • tunasyneOPEnglish
      2·
      6 days ago

      yo hair removal ughhhh… been using an epilator for my legs and tweezers for my sensitives but like god damn does it hurt. don’t have the money for laser tho…

      • NCC-21166 (she/her)English
        2·
        5 days ago

        That’s very brave of you. I don’t think I could cope with the pain of tweezers! I get razor bumps already and decided to try out at-home IPL, but it’s only been two weeks so I can’t comment on results yet.