I’ve noticed I still get some hits from older posts about hair removal, and wanted to give an update. I’ve had a full treatment (I think 4-6 sessions?) of laser on my face, which cost some unknown mom-financed amount of money. I’ve also finished 5-out-of-6 of the package of sessions I bought for my arms/legs/chest/stomach, which cost $4,300. On top of that, I’ve had some touch-ups on my face, for the niggly hairs below my lip and on my jawline that just can’t take a hint – maybe one touch-up a year, at $50 a pop, for the last few years. I also wouldn’t be shocked if I choose to do touch-up sessions on my arms/legs/etc, even when I finish the 6th session sometime in the next month or two. So easily $5,000 or $6,0o0, of which I paid for about $4,500 with my own money.

I’ll cut to the chase: Was it it worth it? Hell yes.

I’ve tried shaving, Nair, NoNo, and waxing, in addition to biting the bullet and doing laser. All of those work, to varying degrees, but I can’t put a price on how it feels to go from shaving my thick, bushy legs (and arms, and chest) 3+ times a week to doing so maybe once every two weeks, and only because I’m anal and there are a few spots that the laser didn’t quite hit. (Patches of thinner hair here and there on my otherwise-mostly-hairless legs, for example.)

Yes, laser is expensive. Yes, laser hurts. But, were I starting my transition over, I absolutely would do it again, and sooner if I could. The mental shift of not feeling hairy, regardless of whether I needed removal to “pass,” is wonderful. As I said, I still shave my legs, arms, chest, and face on occasion to catch hairs that still haven’t been zapped. But I’m not sure I need to, or that anyone would notice, just that it makes me feel feminine to be that much more hairless. And it’s not a full-on “this takes fucking forever” procedure, it’s a few spots of shaving cream and a few swipes with a razor.

I still catch myself getting upset at jokes on TV about hairy men, because – at some level – I still think of myself as hairy. But then I look at my arms, feel my legs, think about the sensation of water over my body in the shower, and remember that my being hairy is a thing of the past.