As a trans woman or crossdresser, removing body hair can be a big part of feeling your best as a woman. After all, there’s nothing like silky smooth skin to make a girl feel extra feminine!
While a lot of attention is given to facial hair removal, including MTF beard removal, body hair removal is equally important.
Between the legs, chest, bikini area, and underarms, there’s a lot of ground to cover – and that’s where things can get tricky!
In this blog post, I share 7 male to female body hair removal methods to consider, along with their pros and cons.
7 Transgender Body Hair Removal Methods – Pros and Cons
1. Shaving
Shaving is a simple and affordable method of removing body hair that can be done quickly and easily at home. Whether using a manual or electric shaver, it can be one on virtually any part of the body.
Pros:
- Quick and easy hair removal method
- Inexpensive compared to other hair removal methods
- Can be done in the comfort of your own home
Cons:
- Potential for nicks, cuts, razor burn, ingrown hairs, and razor bumps
- Hair regrowth can happen quickly and feel coarse or stubbly
- Requires frequent upkeep to maintain smooth skin
2. Waxing
Waxing is a popular method of hair removal. It works by applying warm or hot wax to the skin and then quickly removing it, taking the unwanted hair along with it.
You could either visit a salon for a professional wax or try doing it yourself at home. If it’s your first time using a home waxing kit, it may take several attempts to achieve optimal results.
Pros:
- Results last longer than shaving
- Hair regrowth is slower and may be finer
- Can be done on large areas of the body
Cons:
- Can be painful, especially for those with sensitive skin
- Can be expensive, especially if done at a salon
- Requires hair to be a certain length before waxing
3. Sugaring
Sugaring is an ancient Egyptian hair removal method that uses a sugar gel or paste made from natural ingredients such as sugar, water, and lemon juice.
The sugar paste is applied to the skin and then swiftly removed with a swiping motion, pulling the hair out from the follicles.
Pros:
- Can be less painful than waxing
- Made from natural ingredients
- Results last longer than shaving
Cons:
- Can be messy
- Can be difficult to find a salon that offers sugaring
- Requires hair to be a certain length before sugaring
4. Laser hair removal
Laser hair removal is popular for transgender facial hair removal, but it can also be used on larger areas of the body such as the underarms, back, legs, and bikini area.
The procedure involves using pulsating beams of light to target and damage hair follicles, inhibiting future hair regrowth.
Pros:
- Results are long-lasting
- Less painful than waxing or sugaring
- Can be done on large areas of the body
Cons:
- Can be expensive
- Multiple sessions are required for optimal results
- Not effective on all hair types and skin tones (especially light hair and dark skin tones)
5. IPL (intense pulsed light)
IPL is similar to laser hair removal, but it uses a different kind of light. Instead of a concentrated laser beam, IPL uses a broader spectrum of light that isn’t as focused.
Because of this, IPL can cover a larger treatment area, but it takes more sessions since the light is less powerful.
Pros:
- Faster than laser hair removal since it covers a larger area
- Good availability of at-home devices
- Usually less painful than laser hair removal
Cons:
- Requires more sessions compared to laser hair removal
- More risk of irritation due to the broader light spectrum used
- Can only be used on lighter skin tones / darker hair tones
6. Depilatory cream
Depilatory creams use chemical compounds to break down hair proteins and remove unwanted hair.
These creams are applied to the skin and left for a short period before being wiped or washed away, taking the hair along with them.
Pros:
- Can be done at home
- Quick and easy hair removal method
- Hair regrowth is slower than shaving
Cons:
- Chemicals in the cream can cause skin irritation
- Results may not last as long as other hair removal methods
- Strong odor
7. Epilator
An epilator is an electronic device used for removing hair from the skin. It works by using a series of small tweezers or rotating discs to pull the hair out by the roots.
Pros:
- Results last longer than shaving
- Hair regrowth is slower and may be finer
- Can be done in the comfort of your own home
Cons:
- Can be painful, especially for those with sensitive skin
- Hair must be a certain length before using an epilator
- Can be time-consuming, especially for larger areas of the body
What about electrolysis?
You might be wondering why electrolysis wasn’t included in this list of transgender body hair removal methods.
While electrolysis is the only method that offers permanent hair removal, it’s best for smaller areas since each hair needs to be individually treated multiple times.
Electrolysis is highly recommended for beard hair removal. To learn more, see my blog post on MTF Facial Hair Removal: Top 8 Ways To Remove Or Reduce Beard Hair.
In Conclusion
As you can see, there are many MTF transgender body hair removal methods that can help you achieve smooth and feminine skin.
I encourage you to experiment to find the best method for YOU!
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. What is you preferred body hair removal method? Please take my poll and share your experiences in the comments below.
Love,
Lucille
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P.S. If you liked this article, you will love my FREE Male to Female Transformation Mini Course.
2 years on slow HRT regimen, all but smooth in most places, but look to go Laser to be completely smooth on face and Everything below.. Privates and Armpits too…
I find that what works for me in all regions of the body except where the sun don’t shine is a single blades safety razor. It has all the ease of use of a regular multi-bladed razor but with only a fraction of the potential for razor burn, and I find that it’s less prone to nicks. Even when I do nick myself with a safety razor it doesn’t take an eternity to stop bleeding like with a multi-bladed razor. Furthermore, contrary to what most of us think, the only important difference between men’s and women’s razors is the pink tax. Some safety razors are specifically marketed as a way to avoid the pink tax. I personally use a safety razor made by Henson Shaving for both my facial hair and body hair, using the same lather and shaving brush for both. Pro tip for shaving any area of the body, try to shave immediately following a warm shower. Doing so will greatly reduce the chance of nicks and ingrown hairs, and the severity of any skin irritation. I personally shave immediately following my morning shower.
I am shocked you didn’t include IPL. I started using one several months ago and think it’s the best.
Thanks Trisha, I added IPL to the list! I’m actually considering the Braun Silk-Expert Pro 5 IPL for myself after seeing a few people mention it here.
Yeh worked really well for me too. Hrt was better still, all my body hair disappeared after a year on them.
Omg as a crossdresser I use nair it works great but after I use it the auroma makes me nervous cause I still have to go to work as a man for now love to know what I can do to remove the aroma thank you GIRLS HAVE A BEATIFUL DAY
I too work in my male persona and use Nair, all scents. I was nervous about the scents at first but now I don’t even worry about that. I haven’t noticed any stares or gotten any rude comments about how I may smell, I even use Secret deodorant.
Don’t know if this helps or not, but our perceptions may have us worrying for no reason sometimes. I hope this helps and you figure out what’s best for you.
I started with shaving, but it just felt awkward in some areas and then there’s the nicks. Then I tried Nair, at first I had to Nair at least twice a week but slowly the regrowth dwindled to near nonexistent and the burning is all but gone now. I even use it down there with relatively no burning. The silkiness is well worth it for me. I’ve even gotten the facial formula, but I haven’t tried it yet. Come on girl, what am I waiting for? Try it!
Oy vey! The struggle is REAL. Personally I would love to get electrolysis over my entire body. I would happily put in the time but unfortunately I don’t have the money.
Shaving works in a pinch, but my hair is very dark and very coarse, so anytime I shave I have one day (if not hours) before I start to get a shadow.
I’m currently doing a full body wax every 6-8 weeks. Over time my hair regrowth thins out slightly but if I go too long between sessions, it goes south pretty quick. The salon I go to recently started to offer FULL body wax options to both men and women, so I’ve been doing a complete sweep for several months now. The only problem for me is making sure to exfoliate regularly. As long as I keep up with that, my results are pretty good. It also makes putting on forms much easier which does a lot for my confidence in a lower cut top .
Thank you so much Lucille for always being such a great supporter and advocate for the trans community. Your help and advice is always welcomed and appreciated ❤️
I hear you Meghan! Since your hair is very dark, you might be a great candidate for laser hair removal or IPL. Thank you so much for the kind words. ❤️
I agree that Lucille’s pros & cons for each of the various methods are right on the money.
I’ve tried shaving, at-home hot wax beads, at-home sugaring, depilatories and an epilator. I have fair skin and light-colored hair, so laser/IPL is out of the question. In the end, shaving is what provides the most satisfying result for me, overall.
I was pretty comfortable with the hot wax beads, and even had my wife helping out during one of my sessions. (It’s very difficult to reach certain areas of the body, so assistance is very welcome!) I withstood the pain very well — it wasn’t bad at all, especially given the benefits of waxing. There were a couple of disappointing aspects of waxing with this technique: 1) I had little red spots — not really bumps, just little red spots — that persisted for a day or two after the waxing. Once those faded, my skin was the softest it had ever been, but… 2) It remained baby-bottom smooth for far less time than I expected. In less than a week, I could feel the beginnings of stubble.
Depilatories. Gotta be careful here, because I do ‘full body’ hair removal, including the full bikini area, where certain parts are highly susceptible to chemical burns with these things. The only time I’ve had anything close to success with a depilatory was the initial application when the body hair was longer. This is an area that shares a big disadvantage with waxing: neither method works well with hair that’s barely longer than stubble. I don’t want to let the hair grow to 1/4″ or more before it can be effectively removed with waxing or depilatories. That’s not ‘smooth’!!! I’ve tried Nair/Veet on hair that’s barely longer than stubble, and might as well have just poured it on the shower floor — it did NOTHING to remove hair that short.
My experiment with my wife’s epilator was also unsatisfying. It was fairly painful and didn’t seem to even remove the hairs. Maybe I didn’t know what I was doing, or maybe it was a sub-par epilator. I just know it wasn’t for me.
So that leaves me with shaving. I use a 5-blade razor and it gives me a smooth result. I’m lucky that I don’t have issues with bumps or razor burn, have only been cursed with an ingrown hair a couple of times, and — best of all — if I need to be smooth tomorrow, I can shave in the morning regardless of how long or short the hair is at the moment.
If I had my way, I’d be dipped in a 55 gallon drum of depilatory and spend the rest of my life as a smooth, smooth gurl!
As always, Lucille is spot on for information. The only thing I felt was missed was for shaving and the possibility of nicking yourself. Even with a safety razor I have to be especially cautious.
Good point, Stephanie! I added that the cons of shaving. Thanks!