So this page is aimed at trans-women.
Hormones do not get rid of facial hair! Starting HRT can reduce the amount of hair on your body and the speed that it grows, but unfortuantly facial hair once developed tends to be permanent and does not go away when starting HRT. Most trans-women use temporary hair removal methods such as shaving, waxing, or epilating but eventually it becomes time to start looking at more permanent options.
So the first thing you need to know, is that getting rid of facial hair permanently is slow, like very very slow! It can take between 1 and 5 years to get rid of all of your facial hair, so starting early on in your transition is always advised, and if you decide that transition is not for you there are quite a lot of guys without facial hair, so don't see permanent hair removal as a point you cannot go back from. So even if you are still in the questioning stage, permanent hair removal may be something to consider early on. A lot of post-op trans women tend to still get regular hair removal, so hair removal may be one of the first things you start and last things you finish.
NHS Funding
Once you get to a GIC you will be given a funding voucher that allows for either £1,600 worth of electrolysis or 8 sessions of laser hair removal. It cannot be used for both!!! The voucher has no expiry date, and it is recommended that you self fund laser first via one of the many cheap laser deals and use your funding voucher for electrolysis to mop up any of the remaining hair. By self funding laser and using your voucher for electrolysis you could potentially save yourself roughly £1,500 in the long run.
It is important to be realistic with your voucher, it will not cover all of the costs!!!! An average person will require 8-20 sessions of laser (and the voucher only covers the first 8) or 200-400 hours of electrolysis (and the voucher only covers the first 16-26 hours). You will have to self fund some of it yourself!
The following clinics will accept the nhs voucher:
- Avilo
- Sk:n
Laser Hair Removal
Laser Clinics UK
Laser Clinics UK are the new kid on the block They offer a special deal of six sessions of facial laser hair removal for trans patients for £120, just mention this website and the £120 deal when booking. They are incredibly friendly, and the technician Abby is incredibly trans-friendly. They are based in the city centre next to MacDonald's. They do not accept NHS funding, although for £120 we highly recommend self-funding.
We highly recommend this provider!
Skin Destination
Skin Destination used to be an amazing little clinic in bold street (not to be confused with skin) unfortunately though they went out of business in December 2022, at the present time some ppl have yet to manage to get their money back.
Sk:n
Skin is one of the more well known laser hair removal clinics, but generally it name is the best part. There are generally no special offers, and it offers average results. Therapists also come and go quite often as its a big brand name and the staff turnover is quite high, so you may have a different technician for each session. They are based on bold street. They do accept NHS funding.
SkinHQ
SkinHQ are known for their full body laser hair removal deals, £599 for six sessions of full body hair removal (including the perineal area) They are very cheap for full body laser deals, but they are a cheap no-frills company. Staff turn over is incredibly high and generally they only allocate 45 minutes to do a full body session whereas other places would allocate 2 hours… The results are not the greatest, although your millage may very. I personally found their machines to not be serviced as often as other providers and their staff were generally not officially trained, i.e trained in a few hours by another member of staff. There have also been reports of burns. They are based on rodney street. They do not accept NHS funding.
Saying that though, they are one of the cheapest if you want full body laser. Generally we advise to avoid using this provider, while the cost is good, for a lot of people you just don't get as good a results as some of the other places.
The liverpool branch has been rumoured to have closed may 2022, they have had problems with staffing for the last two years and a lot of appointments are regularly cancelled.
Just Skin
Just Skin is a small independent laser skin care clinic. They offer full face laser hair removal treatments as well as any area on the body. The owner, Jo is very LGBTQ+ friendly and has a number of trans clients. The clinic is not the cheapest, prices for laser hair on the face start at £280 for 6 treatments, but they do offer discounts for multiple areas as well as payment by installments. They are based in Henley Road, off Allerton Road.
They use a Cynosure Elite+ laser suitable for all skin types, and they have been recommended by a number of local trans clients. Jo is very welcoming and accepting.
Electrolysis
Electrolysis is where they insert a needle into your hair follicle one hair at a time and essentially burn the hair out with electricity. There are three main modes thermolyis which uses heat, diathermy which uses a chemical reaction, and blend which uses a hybrid of both. It is painful and takes between 100-400 hours to clear a beard, this translates to 1-5 years to get a beard fully removed. It is permanent though, and works on all hair types
Avilo
Pricing
£65-£75 dependant on location.
Waiting Lists
There is about a 12 month waiting list as of april 2022
Location
How to get in Touch
Christianos
Pricing
£75 per hour for facial electrolysis £100 per hour for genital electrolysis
Waiting Lists
As of april 2022, about 1 month.
Location
How to get in Touch
Sk:n
Sk:n also do limited amounts of electrolysis, this is not advertised on their website but is available. I personally only know one person getting their electrolysis done there so information is slightly less available.
Pricing
Sk:n charge £339 for 5 1 hour sessions
Waiting Lists
Unknown
Location
Sk:n are based in liverpool city centre at the bottom of bold street.
12 Bold St, Liverpool, L1 4DS
How to get in Touch
Telephone: 0333 060 5914
Website: https://www.sknclinics.co.uk/clinics/the-north-and-scotland/liverpool-bold-street
The centre for Advanced Beauty
The centre for advanced beauty is ran by two ladies, who used to work for the company, but took it over in 2020. One lady focuses on electrolysis while the other lady focusses on facials and other procedures. They provide a eye mask to wear during your treatment, and play relaxing music. After your treatment they give you a complimentary red light treatment which susposedly can help with reducing the redness post session. They use an epiplus senior machine and use pico-flash (thermolysis) they do not offer blend. Pico-flash is where the needle is inserted, the peddle pressed, and then the operator waits for 1-3 beeps depending on the size of the hair.
I personally have the criticism that they may be actually doing 3-9 beeps and over treating the area causing potential skin problems. On a positive though, they are very trans friendly and nice, when a session starts they start a timer so you literally have 60 minutes of electrolysis, they do not include setup or waiting time etc in your allocated minutes. I would estimate they get about 1 hair every 15-30 seconds.
Waiting Lists
As of april 2022, they generally don't have a big waiting list and you can get an appointment in about 1-2 weeks.
Opening Times
Tuesday, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat
Pricing
Consultation: Free 30 Minutes: £30 1 Hour session: £52 4 x 1 Hour Sessions: £180 (Effectively £45 per hour) 24 hours notice required for any cancellations.
Location
They are located next to broadgreen hospital, and are about a 30 minute bus ride from the centre of Liverpool 391B Eaton Road, West Derby, Liverpool, L12 2AJ
How to get in Touch
Telephone: 0151 538 3135 Monday: 10am-4pm Tuesday: 9:30am-5:30pm Wednesay: 930am-8pm Thursday: 930am-8pm Friday: 930am-730pm Saturday: 930am-430pm
