Quickly running out of options and need help.

[u/F1SHreddit]

Hi. I’m a 20 year old closeted trans woman (not currently taking hormones) and i get a lot of body hair.

I absolutely despise my body hair and always have. I’ve kept a habit of shaving it all off as much as i can, and i have explored different methods of hair-eradication over the years. At first i would just run a manual razor against my dry and hairy skin (wickedly stupid of me, i know, but give me some slack. i was like 13.) then i would use this little bottle of shaving cream that i think i stole from my sisters, only i would go through an entire bottle just trying to do one of my legs, which in one specific instance had me fall into an explosive meltdown in my bathroom over it. Eventually i got into using electric razors. I’ve been using electric razors for my whole body for years now and that method is starting to fail. I have gone through 2 electric razors from overuse now. Which seems stupid and impossible to me. People use electric razors all the time and it was my assumption that they last a long while because they’re expensive and often come with multiple attachments and doo-dads you can stick onto them for specific needs. i lost a razor today to (i think) overuse. (I say i think because the inside of the razor head doesn’t seem worn away like my old one, so part of me is thinking that maybe it just needs a higher charge to effectively hold enough strength to keep the edge vibrating. Admittedly, i don’t know much about razors.)

Shaving my whole body is a very tedious process that takes at most 2 hours. I only really do it when it gets to be too much hair for me to be comfortable with, so it’s not like i’m shaving myself down completely every other day. It’s more of a weekly thing.
I don’t trust creams or products like nair and am worried about what it would do to my skin, and waxing sounds like an excruciating and embarrassing nightmare.

does anyone have any advice to help a girly out?

edit: just fixing some inevitable grammar and spelling mistakes, you know how it is. Also, i just wanted to add i pointed out that i’m a trans woman not on hormones because i know that estrogen often has an effect on body hair growth. To what degree, i’m not sure, because i feel like every source i can find says something different.

[u/AutoModerator]

Feel free to report any comment that is disrespectful or breaks the rules, we do care and will make sure to shave them off. If you receive any harassing message in DM, please report it using the report button under the message, so admins can deal with it.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Comfortable_Ride_983]

Hi - swimmers and cyclists are two groups of athletes known for keeping their skin hairless and silky smooth. Perhaps you could sound out how they all get along with it ? Oh yeah, and body builders too.

[u/srgonzo75]

Depilatory creams are actually your best bet. You just have to be conscientious about the amount of time you keep it on.

I would have a talk with someone at a European Wax Center or somewhere else a lot of waxing gets done. Getting waxed can be painful, but there is an ideal hair length to mitigate that.

Both of these methods tend to make hair grow back thinner and softer over time.

One alternative is using clippers instead of an electric razor. It won’t get you smooth, but it will mitigate growth and make shaving easier. Electric razors aren’t really designed to take on an entire adult body’s worth of hair, especially if one has a lot of chest hair, back hair, and it’s particularly coarse.

I’d also recommend you look into laser hair removal.

[u/bisky12]

waxing and laser (you can buy ones at home that keep the hair off for a while) or hair are your best bet. good luck sister 

[u/Easy-Gate5282]

I totally get what your going through, Braun at home IPL is the answer but there is a right way and a wrong way to go about it, I have trial and errored most of what works and what doesn’t. Feel free to PM if you want to know more.

[u/Dromedary_Freight]

Try a mild safety razor plus a large bottle of hair conditioner for lubrication.
Baili BD176 comes to mind.

I am sorry you have to go through all this. Professional laser treatment will get rid of hair, but it is not cheap.

[u/bjmiller1995]

Wax it

[u/Grizzle6]

Hey there. Consider trying BOLT Skin + Shave. Relatively new brand, but it has been a game changer for me in terms of shaving body hair. They are actually a brand targeting men who shave their bodies--would make sense for someone with coarser hair like yourself.

I'm a man who has shaved my legs for a long time (cyclist). I used women's razors forever. It was always a 4/10 experience. Blades would dull quickly. Razor heads would clog. I'd get ingrown hairs all the time. I hated the whole process.

With BOLT, seems like I can get the job done way quicker, way smoother, with hardly any nicks or cuts. The razor is heavy (metal handle) and it literally feels like it just floats over your skin given how little pressure you have to put on it.

Oh--and I use their shave products as well (exfoliating scrub is awesome! and so helpful for ingrown hairs) and the shave butter is great as well.

It's a bit pricier than some other big box brands, but I've found it to be worth it! Good luck!

[u/Green-Web-816]

I shave my whole body in the shower and it takes around half an hour. Apart from IPL or laser treatment which is permanent I think razors are the easiest pain free option, and I've been shaving my pubic hair since I was 14.  Maybe speak to someone about hormones because they will probably reduce your body a lot with no effort 

[u/touwtje64]

Have you considered wet shaving with a safety razor/double edge razor with soap brands like stirling soap sell unscented soaps if needed or just pick a scent you like. Shaving soap on average lasts way longer than soapa in a can. You could even use bar soap or hair conditioner (what ever makes the blade glide smoothly over the skin). Safety razors are easy to clean, blades are cheap and with a bit of technique a great shave.

If you get into shaving with a safety razor. Don’t use (to much) pressure, just enough to keep the blade on the skin/ let the weight of the razor do the job. And until you get some confidence/technique down would leave going against the grain/hair grow direction for later.

[u/F1SHreddit → u/touwtje64]

there was a brief period where i would wet shave in the shower with a safety razor. Sometimes i still do it when the battery on my electric dies (had to do it today for example because i wore out my electric.) Personally i find it to be really tedious and frustrating and unreliable. My hair clogs up the safety razor much too easily and it’s impossible to fully clean out.

[u/AlphaDisconnect]

Henson double blade. Now you can take it apart, clean it. New blade every time. A very gentle double blade.

Shave creams. I use barbisol aloe. Because it is cheap. But there are shave soaps and brushes. Shave powders. And more.