I've been on hrt for a couple of months and one of the hardest things I've had to deal with is my light skin + dark body hair. While I'm not out to the world yet it'd be nice to have a smooth chest without short, visible hairs after shaving, which leads to my question. Have any of you dealt with this and found someway to at least hide body hair stubble?
It really shouldn't be. Not sure how it is where you are but where I live (Argentina) there's a lot of salons that use Chinese clones of Soprano machines (like "[something random] Ice") and those are really cheap, like 10 USD for a full body session. Don't look at Candela places for the body lmao
The downside to that combination is that your hair is more visible. The upside is that it responds really well to laser. It's not cheap, but you know that if and when you do get it, it's going to give you good results compared to many other folk
Same. I have thick, coarse dark hair and it's been a pain to deal with most of my life. But, it responded really well when I blasted it off my face with laser :)
My skin tone and hair color are similar to your description: it was significantly visible enough on my legs after shaving to make the act seems pointless. Epilating does work very well and makes me feel much more comfortable in my skin. Either as a result of the epilator, hrt, or both, its no longer so bad on my chest. There are still some hairs around my areolae and belly button but I could get away with just shaving my chest if I wanted. As a bonus the epilator will be better for the planet and save you money but the real true draw for me is the abject bliss of the pain. :)
I've had an epilator for a while, but with how epilating only cut the hair on my legs rather than plucking it I'm a little concerned about what it'll do to my chest. Any specific prep I should do?
Just mentioning it as an option since I haven't seen ppl talk about it, but nair is also an option and leaves you without any stubble, if you can deal with the smell and how harsh it can be on your skin. IF you want to do nair patch test a part of your leg/arm first to see if you get any sort of negative reaction.
Avoid using nair if you have any cuts/abrasions for any reason.
It's also a bit more expensive than your other options. My hair is light enough that I can often get away with shaving so that's what I do if no one else is going to see it, but I wish you luck on finding a solution that works for you!
Can't afford an at-home IPL for now but I honestly had no idea they existed until I read your comment. I'll keep it in the back of my mind since it seems really handy. π
My body hair was quite dark but after about 8 months I noticed how leg to chest was significantly lighter and less dark. Only my facial hair stayed corse and dark without laser. Shaving my legs early on was painful now it's mainly just a chore. Of course everyone has a different experience but I would say give it time. Unless you have the cash to full body laser then I'd say do that.
I personally use an at-home Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) hair removal device. Wirks great for dark hair on light skin. But it is a costly device.
A regular compact epilator is also a good chraper option. I use it on my facial hair
Laser hair removal is great for that combination. I got started on it after a couple months of hrt, and it's done a lot for body hair over a short time