Regular shaving

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  • I want to soon have a go at living full-time as a girl. However, I am worried about my beard.

    If I go out dressed for an evening, I do not shave for several days before and find that helps me have a very close shave.

    Soaking my beard for several minutes before shaving also seems to help.

    Then I have a very close shave and am able to go out looking great.

    However, I am worried that when I start to go full-time, on my second day I will not have much growth and will have to make do.

    Is shaving your face a problem girls? I would love to hear from any girls who live en-femme full time and have had this probelm already.

    How can I solve it? What do you do. Is there a special kind of make-up you use or do you have some other tricks?

    Thank you.

    Femmy
      January 31, 2006 8:13 PM GMT
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  • Femmy,

    Well may not work for all, but what i have been doing is close to what you do... 1st day i soak in a hot bath... face in the wate alot.. then a very close shave with a new very sharp razor ( not a cheapy! ), 2nd day i just go a bit more with foundation make-up to cover, aand third day I start all overagin with soaking and close shave.. ( My facial hair doesn't grow real fast so that helps. And looking into electolysis, have an apt end of the month going to start that next.. Sorry i'm not much help, but that's my normal routine right now

    *hugs*

    ~Valerie xx
      January 31, 2006 10:37 PM GMT
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  • Hi Femmy,
    Have you tried plucking? I think I read a post from one of the girls here where she said she plucked her whole face. I recently plucked part of my face to tidy up my beard area. So there was no shadow at all in that area and it lasted a whole week. It was a bit laborious doing just the bits I did and I don't know how you would get everything under your jawline without some help.
    I usually shave every second day too to get a clean shave but even then there's still shadow that i'd need to cover up if I was going out. It's amazing the difference plucking made on the parts of my face I did.
    I'm thinking about buying a facial epilator tomorrow to redo the plucked parts. I also have alot of hair right up to my eyes nearly and between my eyebrows and hairline so I'm hoping to use the epilator to keep that tidy in future.
      March 31, 2006 1:30 PM BST
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  • Hi Femmy-

    Just my thoughts, but I think Jenny has some good advice, if you don't want to go through the expense of electrolysis or laser epilation, then plucking or using an epilator might be the best thing to try, though I bet an epilator would hurt like crazy at least at first.

    One thing to watch out for is ingrown hairs, though. When you pluck (or epilate, same thing) they grow back finer and have a harder time pushing through to the surface which can lead to little red bumps that can even get infected. Right now I'm getting lasering done and the girl who is doing it warned me about that (lasered hairs also grow back finer) and sure enough, it is happening. She recommended plain unbuffered aspirin in a little water or alcohol applied topically to help dry them up. I think this trick has been discussed in another thread here on TW.

    Good luck, have fun.

    Hugs...Joni
    "Be yourself, everyone else is already taken." -Oscar Wilde
      April 9, 2006 6:21 PM BST
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  • Femmy,

    A toughie that one and one I think we have all thought about at one time or another.

    Me I use a good razor, Gillette Mach 3 Turbo, and a good shaving oil, King of Shaves, when I wet shave. Taking your time and shaving after the shower gives a good close shave. I know they say not to but I find going against the grain helps get a really really smooth shave. Downside is you do tend to nick yourself more. To stop the bleeds use an alum stone or Styptic Pencil and let your face rest.
    I then use a moisturiser that also helps slow down the regrowth, Roc's Soya Epil Control, which does actually make shaving easier and slows down shadow growth.
    I use a good foundation matched to my skin tone with a concealer underneath. For the beard area I have started using ColorTration concealing foundation and this works realy well and doesn't rub off.

    For days when I don't wet shave I use a good quality electric razor, Braun something or other, and have found that it can give me as close a shave as needed for a normal day rather than a going out on the town day. Again moisturise afterwards.

    And I do pluck out a few errant hairs and have done my top lip from time to time, recommend a bottle of red wine to dull the pain though. And yes regrowth is less. I've noticed my top lip actually regrows with more blonde hair than dark which is a bonus.

    I would suggest you give your face one day a week off to allow it to recover a little, so maybe have a slob around the house day on Sunday.

    Hope that helps and good luck,, let us know what happens.
    Life's Too Short Not To..... Living on Dreams and Custard Creams...... You're Only Young Once...But You Can Stay Immature Indefinitely.....
      April 13, 2006 3:41 PM BST
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  • WEll shaving has been... anything but fun! n matter how we deal with it ( Facial ) so I'm looking into electrolysis...

    Hairs everywhere else have gotten finer, sfter etc on the hormones.. and i am thankfully naturally a very non hairy person body wise.. even if wanting to be male i couldn't grow a beard if i tried and bought hair seeds for the crop LOL

    But what i do have facially is suttorn.. so thinking elctolysis...
    Anyne with any experience in that?

    *hugs*

    ~Valerie x x
      April 13, 2006 8:17 PM BST
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  • I use a venus divine razor and it works great..the male razors I have tried broke me out very baddly but this one has never cause me any issues.

    Ingrown hairs are a force to be reckoned with...I have had over the course of several years some of them becoming staph infected. Be sure to keep razors clean and whatnot or new bladed. Also like someone said..STAY AWAY from CHEAP razors..Bags of bic razors are bad bad for the face...though they seem ok for legs at least for me...If you want a close shave then you will spend money of a good razor. the shadows are just part of the male gene and has to be covered or dealt with. Hormones may suppress it from growing out at fast but I believe you may have to have it lasered off.
      January 8, 2008 9:39 AM GMT
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  • 734
    Hi Peony,

    Agree entirely. The Venus is the razor I use. I have very soft, quite sensitive skin and find the top branded female razors to be the best for me and provides the closest shave. Although they can be a bit pricey in the UK if you're on a budget, about £6 for the razor plus two blades and about £8 for a refill.

    Cheap blades such as BIC just cut me to pieces. The only use I can think of for them is if I decided on a course of DIY FFS!

    Fortunately I'm not prone to body hair in any quantity and facial shadow is minimal. So what I detest most about the beard area is'nt a shadow but simply that it still feels a bit rough to the touch - I want it smooth at all times!

    Much love

    Rae xx

    www.raekelcou.com
      February 24, 2008 3:17 AM GMT
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  • Hi Rae, if shadow isn't a problem then you are very lucky!!! As for the smoothness, that's the easy bit.

    All you do is shave against the grain which gives you a very close shave and total smoothness. Pay particular attention to areas such as the jawline, around the mouth and upper lip and you will have no problem.

    A good test is when you have finished, put on your usual moisteriser and feel your skin then. It should feel lovely. If not, you can go over any areas again with the moisteriser on as this helps to identify stubbern areas.

    I hope that helps.

    Nikki
    Every woman is beautiful, some show it with their faces, others show it with their hearts.
      February 24, 2008 10:38 AM GMT
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  • 734
    Hi Nikki!

    I've always shaved against the grain as far as my neck is concerned and with the grain above the jawline. No idea why.

    I do suspect, though, that I've become a little lazy with the act of shaving. And it is an act, not something I really want to do. But I shall follow your advice and pay a little more attention to doing it... [yuk!]

    And, yes, I am very very lucky with aspects of my body. Whilst I'm happy with what I have - now - the road behind me has a lot of ruts, bumps and holes in it. Its really only the past five, six, seven years or so that I've begun to fully understand that I was'nt born a freak and that having a bit of a mixed up body has given me a bit of a head start should I pursue aligning my body into one gender. Even so, thats still not a simple decision and one I'm intending to spend more time on contemplating. [many apols, I think I'm in serious danger of wandering off post...]

    Anyway, so much love to you and all here on TW.

    Rae xx

    ps: yep, always moisturise after shaving - it helps the skin recover. x
    www.raekelcou.com
      February 25, 2008 1:08 AM GMT
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