MtF Transition: Three Options for Facial Hair

Facial hair is a pain. Unfortunately, as a trans woman, you’ll have to deal with whiskers, in some shape or fashion, for a while. You’ll want to learn how to remove or camouflage your beard soon after you begin your transition.

Unfortunately, shaving isn’t enough. The whiskers under the skin cause a dark discoloration (even with lighter beards) that is a major determinative cue for gender. Even if you are on anti-androgens like spironolactone, your whiskers will still grow, albeit more slowly and probably lighter in color.

You have two choices for facial hair: removal or camouflage. For most trans women, you’ll need to do both at some point. Removal takes a while, and so hiding your beard hairs with makeup is a key skill to learn while you are in the process of permanently removal.

Let’s walk through the different options.

Option 1: Camouflage with Makeup

The easiest, safest and most pain free way to deal with your beard is makeup. A heavy foundation and concealer can hide the discoloration (5 o’clock shadow) that whiskers cause on the face.

One key thing you’ll need, especially if you have darker facial hair, is a color corrector. This is a specially colored primer (usually orange) you put on before your foundation to cancel out the darker pigments. This is especially important for maintaining coverage as the day wears on – the more beard hair grows the darker the color will get.

I like the LA Girl Pro Concealer from Amazon.

In the short-term, makeup can be necessary, but longer term you’ll definitely want a permanent hair loss solution; if you are trying to ‘pass’, heavy makeup can make you look more like a drag-queen rather than a cis-female. Permanent hair removal let’s you try many more makeup styles that look more natural and may be a better fit for your style.

Option 2: Laser Hair Removal

If you want a more permanent solution, consider laser hair removal. This works by using a special laser to zap the hair follicle, heating it up and permanently killing the cells at the base of the hair. This prevents the hair from regrowing.

Laser hair removal is usually done at a doctor’s office, and can be quite expensive. Expect to pay a few thousand dollars for a full treatment; usually it takes 3-6 visits spread over a year to completely remove facial hair. There are home options for laser hair removal, like the Tria, but these usually aren’t approved for use on your face.

Though it used to be true that laser only worked on people with fair skin and darker hair, newer laser technology can be effective on blonde and gray hairs.

One last note; laser treatments can hurt. It’s not excruciating, but the zap of the laser feels like a hot needle poking into your skin. On sensitive areas like your upper lip, this can be quite painful.

Option 3: Electrolysis

Electrolysis is the most reliable and most proven method of permanent hair loss. Electrolysis works by inserting a small needle into the base of the hair follicle and then using a zap of electricity to kill the cells that generate the hair. This permanently removes the hair.

Electrolysis works for all skin and hair types, but can be very time consuming because each hair needs to be treated individually (usually more than once). Expect many sessions over months in order to remove all the hair on your face.

It took about a year of once-a-week electrolysis for my facial hair to largely disappear. The pain was tolerable, though it can get intense on places like your upper lip or jaw line. But, for my light colored hair it really was the only option for permanent removal.

Treatments are done in office, and will typically run in the thousand dollars for a full treatment package.

Have you had success with other hair removal options? Let me know if the comments.