this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2026
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Trans Joy

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the place to post trans joy!

selfies, other stuff, whateversies really. if it gives you gender euphoria or brings you joy or anything like that it can go here!

needless to say, bigots will be yeeted on sight

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i still can't believe I am so happy with my looks that I can share a picture without makeup or anything on, I never thought I'd see the day

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[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 2 points 2 days ago

Nikki, you look fantabulous, just the way you are. You keep being you and giving my LGBT+ siblings an example in courage and grace. So many need it, especially in the Deep South USA, especially LGBT+ PoC, please and thank you so so much.

Love,

Your cishet sister,

Maeve ❤️🫂🫂🫂🌈

[–] SuperNovaStar@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 3 days ago (1 children)

HRT really is magic!

I'm also starting to like myself more, but I really need laser hair removal 😭

[–] irotsoma@piefed.blahaj.zone 9 points 3 days ago (2 children)

A cheap IPL gun can get a lot of it if you have dark hair and light skin. It's not perfect for all skin types, but considering a couple of laser treatments can sometimes cost more than the gun, if you're willing to put in the time, shave well before, and keep your skin well moisturized after, it can save a lot even just as a supplement to laser and electrolysis. And you own it, so you can continue touch-up treatments for free.

[–] dreamy@quokk.au 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Would an IPL gun work for thick facial hair too? Asking because I've heard that they are usually ineffective for that.

[–] irotsoma@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Maybe. I use it, but had some electrolysis mixed in as well. Everyone is different and effectiveness depends on a lot of factors I can get into with more information about your specifics. The reasons laser and IPL have been less effective for me are mostly because my roots are deep and it's hard for the light to be as intense at the root. It definitely reduces growth and the blue/black appearance as it's damaging the hair under the skin somewhat, but some roots are just too deep with follicles being at shallow angles to the face. Still more effective than shaving or plucking. Second is the pain with all of the sensitive nerve endings, so it's more difficult to hit each area with enough pulses. And third is around the lip the skin is darker, so more heat is absorbed by the skin rather than hair and that in turn increase pain as well. And finally there are some spots where it's just to hard to get the lenses into position like around the nose. You also need to avoid the light getting too close to your eyes, so like the area between nostrils would expose too much light towards the eyes to be safe IMHO. Even with protective glasses, the light shines under them if they dont fully wrap around.

Anyway, it can be effective on the face, but may not be as easy to use or effective in the area around the mouth and nose, and there are safety concerns getting that intense light near the eyes. Plus you may not want to accidentally remove hair you want to keep like around the ears, so having a pro do it can avoid some issues. But I have enough experience and understanding of how it works on my body that I do use it to an extent.

But also as i mention for thick, dense hair. Start at lower intensities and short treatments or start at an edge and slowly move in over time. Thick dense areas will absorb a lot if heat and will burn if you move too aggressively.

[–] SuperNovaStar@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Good to know. Are there any you've used and would recommend?

[–] irotsoma@piefed.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The super cheap ones get made in bulk and then the company disappears. I had one branded as ARTOLF. It now links to this one on Amazon, but can't 100% say they are the same: https://a.co/d/0aIR7EI3. It had three major flaws. First the business end didn't have a flat surface. Basically there is a lens half an inch inside and on the sides there is the reflective surface covered by the lens, but the end is open. This made it difficult to clean and made it hard to use cooling gels/ultrasound gels since it would go inside. Second is that the cooling function isn't strong enough to keep it as cool as I'd like to reduce pain, but that might also be because of it's biggest strength. On the highest setting it was by far the most powerful handheld IPL gun I've seen. Probably, violating some safety guidelines or something for home devices, lol, but that meant it was extremely effective. And third, it takes time for the light to charge when set to high intensities and usually with IPL you have to let it pulse two or three times in each spot to build enough heat in the root to really kill it. So, it's slow to cover large areas. But again might just be a power vs speed balance that can't really be avoided with a home device.

Eventually the edges of the plastic lense started melting because it would get black residue on it and that would get very hot under the pulse. But that was with near daily use for nearly a year. So, cheap, powerful, but somewhat flawed.

I tried a few others and returned most because they just weren't powerful enough to do much. All had good return policies. And also most had poor cooling or other flaws here and there. At that point I had gotten rid of the thickest hairs completely and needed it more for touchups of thinner hairs.

I settled on the Air 10 from Ulike. It has really good cooling and if you use the SHR function, it significantly slows it down and requires manually pushing the button each time it charges, but it is nearly as powerful as the other device. No others I tested were even close. But at the lower settings it just doesn't seem to do very much, but again I never used it on especially thick hairs. It is a more reputable company than the other and it has lasted a while with no issues so far. But it costs at least twice as much as the other one.

Really the things that have to be balanced are cooling and pulse charging speed vs light intensity. Of course lower settings will always make them run faster and cooler, but I always use the highest setting. A little pain is worth the time it takes to do it at lower intensity. And the pain isn't that bad as long as the hair is cut flush with the skin. If any hair is left outside the skin it will burn the skin it's touching and the thicker the hair, the more heat it absorbs and thus the more intense the burn. Also, dense areas of thick hair will obviously absorb more heat than areas with fewer, thinner hairs, so use lower settings or fewer pulses in those areas and it's generally not that bad at all, especially compared to electrolysis.

[–] SuperNovaStar@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

That's quite the writeup, thank you so much! I'll probably get one, do you have any more tips and tricks for using them?

[–] irotsoma@piefed.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

If you're pain sensitive, get some 5% lidocaine cream. I use Curist brand in a blue tube. Also, of you're going to do face, near the lips and nose are extremely sensitive. Definitely recommend the lidocaine. Don't fall for the "tough it out" attitude. Take the pain relief in sensitive areas.

Though also realize while some pain is normal, extreme pain can indicate over-treatment and cause blisters or worse. So, start with something less sensitive like legs to get used to what's good and what's not and how your body reacts and how many pulses at each spot.

Face is the exception. It always hurts, lol. Genitals, too. I did electrolysis supplemented with IPL on those areas so a pro did most of the work and because bottom surgery required electrolysis so insurance paid for some. I also find it easier to distract myself when someone else is inflicting pain on me than when I'm doing it, but needs to be a pro for that since the other person can't feel the pain and needs to know other signs.

Also recommend witch hazel toner, I use Thayer's because it's unscented and no menthol or other harsh stuff, mostly just witch hazel and aloe. And cortisone cream with aloe is great or just plain aloe for sunburn, nothing with other ingredients or pain killers like menthol since those strip moisture and aren't good for treating burns. Witch hazel both before and after for clean up and general anti-inflammation, and cortisone after for the swelling. You're basically going to feel like you have a mild sunburn after.

And watch out for skin color differences. For example, avoid hitting dark freckles too hard and avoid birthmarks. Use lower intensity on darker skin like around genitals or underarms. And as mentioned of there's a cluster of dark hairs, start slow and low intensity and/or just hit the ones on the edge and slowly work inward over several sessions. Hitting a big patch too hard can cause severe burns. I only burned myself badly once and it was a fold of skin that was hard to see and didn't get shaved well enough and happened to be a big cluster of thick hairs. They never did come back though. LOL. Fortunately, I didn't end up with a scar after the blistering healed.

Probably could infodump for a while, bad habit...but that's most of it. Happy to answer specific questions though if I missed something.

Thanks! I really appreciate the info!

[–] brookedSmile@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Proud of you and your journey girly! Its been a pleasure to see your pictures, each one a little more joyful than the last. Seeing you live your life happily and be able to participate in the outside world is such an inspiration to the rest of us. Seriously, never underestimate your position here. People rave about you, the entire community loves you or at least knows about you. I think thats really special. The ability to help guide others and make them feel welcome and safe at the same time is a great power, and you wield it so well.

I love you girl (platonically lol) and even if you stopped posting tomorrow, i would never forget you. Youve made such a huge impact in this community, in my life and many others, that it would be impossible to forget you. Ill remember forever, and i count myself lucky to be able to have such a ray of sunshine permanently stuck in my mind palace. And when im 80, because trans people can be old now, ill think of you, and remark how amazing it is to have witnessed this community and your journey ❤️❤️❤️

No apology this time, im dumping out my purse on you, deal with it 😂

[–] Nikki@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

this was a sweet message to read on my break :) its nice to hear something as little as posting my day can make so many others day better

Least i can do for such an inspiration!

Also i feel like everyone sees you as very well put together and all that. But i know even the most put together people have their own battles. So dont hide from us, if you ever have anything you need to talk about, ill listen ❤️

[–] gandalf_der_12te@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

sweet. best picture so far. (i have a thing for no-makeup pictures)

actually you know what, just to elaborate: i like this picture specifically because you're so relaxed in it, comfortable and i think without trying to show anything to anyone, and yet you're beautiful, and that's the actual goal.