How to deal with chronic 5-o-clock Shadow?

Lasering facial hair will take you a good number of sessions, and you'll still need to go back for touch-ups/follow-ups. I initially had a full 6 sessions, and while they helped soooo much, I had to get a few more after for some stubborn areas. Even with all of my sessions, I still have hairs I have to shave/trim every morning. It's waaay less work, and is good enough for me to not feel too much dysphoria over. I didn't really notice major changes until the end of my initial course.

Ideally, once you've completed your laser course, I'd recommend finding a place for electrolysis; that's the only guaranteed way to fully keep hairs from coming back. They'll be able to get any remaining hairs and the ones that may eventually come back after/if your follicles repair. Laser is unfortunately not guaranteed permanent, but it is a quicker way to clear hairs.

For body - I also had a few sessions for my lower arms, upper and lower legs, and my armpits. Sooo recommend. I've paid for a few more sessions of each, but just haven't gotten around to them; however, it's still sooo much less work maintaining! Everything grows back slowly, thin, and sparse (I was quite hairy before 😅).

Razor/trimmer recommendation: Philips Norelco OneBlade 🌟 I loooove it so much! It gets a super close trim, is incredibly easy and forgiving, and can be used anywhere. I started with their cheap base model, but eventually upgraded to the Pro 360 model with the led screen that displays the remaining battery. The heads last quite awhile, can be used across models, and they have sensitive skin ones with a guard for areas that might need more TLC (armpits, bikini area, etc). It completely changed my relationship with hair maintenance. It can be used on dry skin, but I recommend cleaning your skin with warm water and using a shaving oil/cream. I super like Billie Whipped Shave Cream; I prefer their sensitive skin one that's fragrance free as my skin can be a bit sensitive.

Additional thoughts:

• If you're prone to ingrown hairs, I recommend applying glycolic acid to your dry, clean, post-shaven skin. I would honestly recommend using it a few times a week regardless, as it removes dead skin and clears clogged pores. You can get a biiiig bottle of The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner for super cheap. Transfer some to a little spray bottle and spritz it over your skin. Use your hands to spread and gently work it in. Make sure to apply a lotion/moisturizer after it dries!

• Before lasering my body hair, I used VEET hair removal cream a few times. It worked incredibly well, but you need to follow the instructions. It can be super harsh on your skin if you leave it on too long (chemical burns). Work in areas and not all over at once. I never had any issues, but I'm sure you'll see reviews with people who did (that didn't follow the instructions). I wouldn't recommend it if you do plan on lasering since you'll need to wait a few weeks for everything to grow back.

It takes a while. My facial hair is pretty deeply rooted, so laser wasn't especially effective. I did electrolysis for about 6 months, but even that only gets what is currently growing. Your hair goes through cycles. I have been using at-home IPL to continue to clear the thicker stuff for a while, but there's still that blue skin shade. I do plan to eventually do another round or two of electrolysis.

But I use a color corrector under concealer and foundation to cover it when I put on makeup.

Laser will do it eventually but ist usually more like 8 sessions when the difference starts to be seen

There are tutorials on YouTube for covering shadow with makeup, which worked for me for the most part. Stick with the laser, although electrolysis is the better treatment option, if finances are not a concern for you.

Just a baby trans here so not much advice first hand, but I know another transfem (no name for safety reasons) that was in a similar position to you and they have gotten laser and it worked well for them, 3rd session sounds a little early to be worrying about results yet but I wouldn't know all that well. Once you have done most of the laser treatment, you can try looking at electrolysis (if you can afford it) which should kill the hair growth completely, but I've heard that it can be painful and cause irritation.

As for me, I'm only about half as bad by the sounds of it (shave evrry 1-2 days) but makeup seems to work pretty well for temporary release, that and focusing on the prettier aspects of myself in hopes I can get laser one day.

Sorry I'm not of much help, but I hope the laser works out for you <3

I've been trying to get rid of my own facial hair, and after several months of laser removal, it still grows, although far less slowly than it used to. I can sometimes get away with not shaving for a day.

I wish I could afford Electrolytic hair removal, but sadly it's expensive and insurance no longer covers any gender affirming care except viagra.

for me I shave with a Harry's razor and cover up with concealer/foundation, usually good till around 7pm (I shave at 6am). i plan to get electrolysis some day tho, its done wonders for my girlfriend

I've been doing 2 hour sessions of electrolysis every month since June 2025. I'm now finally seeing more noticeable results. It, unfortunately, just takes a long time and persistence. Facial hair is thick and wirey and notoriously resilient. Laser and electrolysis sessions have to be consistent as to treat as many follicles as possible that are in their new growth phase.

It's a dysphoria that I mostly just try to live with and understand that it'll reduce over time. I have a pretty new throat tattoo so that helps mask the color gradient caused by facial hair shadow on my neck. I mostly just try to shave as close as I can using tge shaving attachment of my Braun epilator, followed by a normal men's electric razor, and finally dry shaving prominent areas like my chin or upper lip. If I put makeup on, I use a peach color corrector (since I'm white) under foundation and concealer.

I love my electrologist and I'm glad that I'm finally seeing results and that they'll be permanent. But I would probably opt for laser if I had to do it over again.

As others have noted electrolysis is the gold standard. It's pricey though, I paid $100/hr and the tech told me it would take about 60-100 hours to get rid of all my facial hair. I ended up having to stop because my life situation changed, but it worked extremely well. Before that I got laser, which was also expensive, but faster and less painful. One note about laser though, it will not get any hairs lighter than medium brown. If your hair is blonde, light brown, red, or white it won't get those hairs at all. Both are extremely painful though. Laser felt like getting every sunburn I'd ever gotten in my entire life all at once and electrolysis could be used to torture prisoners for information. Getting a numbing cream from your doctor can make the difference between having to stop mid session to cry and finishing.

One thing I didn't see anyone mention though is orange concealer. No matter your hair color facial hair has a blue undertone so the orange will neutralize the color so your foundation can cover it more. You don't even need a full coverage foundation either, a partial coverage foundation blended well will make the shadow invisible.

Permanent hair removal takes time. Be patient. You are making progress. Hair has growth cycles, and you can only treat the ones actively growing. After a month a new set of follicles will start growing, and all the hairs you treated reach the point they would have stopped growing on their own. Changes won't be visible for a while. You'll get there.

Shave as close as you can and then use makeup. That's what I've found worked best. I have a concealer that's a bit lighter and redder than my skin, and I put that over the whole beard area. Then foundation all over the face and a bit of powder to keep it in place. I don't like makeup, but this helps the shadow.

Shaving is limited in it's effectiveness on the face. I have gotten a professional straight razor shave. Smeone who really knew what they were doing applied a bunch of special skin treatments to make sure the skin was in the ideal state, then used surgical precision to shave the hairs as precisely as possible. It was a very relaxing experience, it felt great not having to do it myself for once, and it was by far the best shave I have ever had. But still disappointing. The beard was still clearly there.

Don't worry a lot about shaving technique. The best possible shave is only marginally better. You need something stronger, and you're in the process of getting it!