My name is Meghan Krause, I'm a trans girl from the SF Bay Area and I'm trying to start a new Electrolysis practice for our very under served area. I have personal experience with the dehumanizing experience of trying to find trans-affirming hair removal options in the bay. The short time I managed to find someone, I spent tens of hours and hundreds of dollars on electrolysis that got me no significant hair reduction and has left my face scarred.
As I've come to learn, these experiences are sadly all too common and have made me extremely passionate about trying to provide a better path for the rest of the Trans community. The sad reality is that the skilled practitioners in this profession are overworked and have no openings.
That's where you can come in! I've just received my certification to perform Electrolysis, but the schooling and certification process has taken a lot out of me financially. Starting a business, even just the cost of the machine and a few months rent to lock in a location, has become well outside what I can afford after the expense of school and some of the hardships of the last few years. Helping me raise the funds to start this business will be helping to give back to the local Oakland community, especially the trans community, in a very significant and tangible way.
More and more people are turning to Electrolysis as a quality of life medical necessity, sometimes for gender dysphoria or just general body dysmorphia. Beyond that, the stigma against hair removal treatments has become relatively non-existent.
Of course, there’s also laser, but laser comes with a laundry list of potential issues, but the most significant of those is that only a tiny fraction of people qualify for it. Laser only targets dark pigmentation - so the only people who can get it are those with pale skin and dark hair. Anyone with hair too fair in color or whose skin is too dark won’t have success with the treatment. Further, laser will never get you to true hairlessness because it has diminishing returns and can even cause NEW hair growth after a time.
As a trans woman, I am pretty concerned about the damage to my face from improper treatment, and think there is a better way. Other modalities that rely more on electrochemical reactions that destroy the hair rather than heat can be used. As a result, they can be used without damaging the skin and can even reverse skin damage in minor cases.
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Common Signs of Electrolysis Skin Damage
Of course, I don’t expect this to all be taken on my word. I have gathered a small collection of photos from patients who have been scarred by overzealous treatment or misuse of the wrong type of electrolysis, but it is sometimes a bit graphic. Thanks to these pictures and case data goes to Charlotte Lai (@gothdecider on Twitter)
This woman received thermolysis (heat-based) electrolysis improperly on her face. As a result, the scar tissue formed at the tip of the thermolysis probe has contracted, leaving her covered in dimple-shaped scars.
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A trans woman, mid-30s, had her face stripped with thermolysis under anesthesia several times. She had this work done in the late 90s or early 2000s when clear-cutting with flash thermolysis was common. Her skin slowly began to cave in due to scar contracture.
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This person's scarring has resulted in minor lightening discoloration (hypopigmentation) and what appears to be an actual skin texture change, with some minor keloiding appearing.
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Fundraising Milestones
Unfortunately, getting this certification has drained my finances to the point that getting started is a mountain that will be almost impossible for me to climb alone.
BARE Minimum Threshold - $6000
This is the cost of the machine itself. I need at *LEAST* to make this much, even to find some way to make things happen and begin earning money to put back into the business.
Lower End Threshold - $8000
This is a much more comfortable minimum. In addition, with the extra couple thousand, I can buy sanitation supplies and additional secondary needs such as a mobile cart to move the machine around the room if necessary and hold the rest of my supplies and other related minor items.
Minimum Independence Threshold - $14,000
This is around my PERSONAL minimum goal amount - the absolute bare minimum that I can imagine, getting the minimum amount of equipment I’ll need and taking care of initial business expenses such as rent, insurance, etc.
Full Glory Threshold - $17,500+
This is, frankly, the dream. Not only enough money to BARELY get started independently but also enough to buy some technically “nice to have” but pretty straightforward and non-frivolous items like chairs for the waiting room, a desk for me to work at, reading materials for clients, etc.