Let’s talk Gender-Affirming Surgery. Over the course of my career, I constantly find myself running into clients that have surgery dates but have not completed electrolysis. Most of the time clients are uninformed. Plus, there’s often a conflict between what the electrologist is telling you to do and what your surgeon.
So, let’s get informed:
- If you are thinking about gender-affirming surgery, then you should speak with a surgeon regarding the surgery AND an electrologist regarding the hair removal.
- For electrolysis, generally you want 18-24 months of electrolysis performed. Within those 18-24 months we should be clearing the area each time. If you would prefer to do a section at a time, then the timeframe will be extended based on the amount we are clearing and the number of sessions. I know this sounds like a lot of time, but when speaking about the rest of your life, it's not that long.
- Laser is a great service to add for more dense areas with dark hair. However, laser is NOT considered permanent by the FDA so you will need to incorporate electrolysis. In addition, you generally want to stop laser a year before treatment to avoid activating dormant hairs.
- For your electrolysis appointment, please provide the surgical dimensions. Often your surgeon will have something available.
- Finally, this will be a journey. I'm not living in your shoes and walking through your life, but I will do everything possible to get you cleared for surgery.