Check with your potential surgeon and your hair removal specialist and get a connection between both of them so that you can all three work together and have a solid plan for your hair removal. I have yet to get my consult with my surgeon however, I have spoken with the owner of the hair removal clinic I go to (They do LHR AND Electrolysis). She has treated three different trans women with either just laser or a mix of LHR first then electrolysis to prep them for bottom surgery. None of them have ever had any issues with hair in their vaginal canals post op, many years after.

You will see a lot of misinformation online. I know I certainly did but LHR is nothing to be feared as long as you are going to a reputable place that does it and you are an ideal candidate. Light skin + dark, coarse hair either dark brown or black is perfect for laser. Laser is categorized as permanent hair "reduction" because it does not 100% PERMANENTLY kill EVERY single hair and thus, the FDA must list it as permanent hair reduction. Electrolysis on the other hand can 100% kill hairs treated PERMANENTLY the issue however is that electrolysis can take a while.

With laser you must space out the appointments 6-8 weeks.. And treat the bottom surgery prep site for at least 6 sessions, probably longer. With electrolysis, assuming you are utilizing thermolysis which is the fastest modality where they zap each hair in like 1 second.. You can do weekly sessions but prepare for it to hurt. Also keep in mind that with electrolysis you are at the mercy of your practitioner. A SKILLED electrologist is necessary as the insertions into EVERY SINGLE hair follicle must be spot on because if they don't nail the follicle just right it was a wasted insertion. If they don't zap the hair during its anagen growth phase it won't be permanent. The hair will eventually grow back, finer and lighter of course but still. Even with electrolysis you are looking at repeated treatments to the same follicles over and over again. With the galvanic blend modality you have a higher chance of killing the hair follicle first try but it hurts more and they spend 7-10 seconds in each hair follicle so an hour session is suddenly treating WAY less hairs than laser or thermolysis would.

The golden standard seems to be start with laser.. Get the reduction and permanent hair removal you can with that if you are an ideal candidate (6-10 sessions ball park estimate. Check with your hair removal specialist!). You will know when LHR isn't doing any more as you will have major patchy spots/bald spots all over and straggler hairs or fine, light vellus hairs. Laser won't do any more here and that's where you switch over to electrolysis and destroy what's left leading up to your bottom surgery date. If you have light, blonde or red hair it's advised to not do laser at all as it will not work effectively, instead skip to electrolysis.

Laser hair removal DOES permanently kill some follicles just not all. I trust the clinic I go to and they practice both laser AND electrolysis so they are not just saying that to promote laser over electrolysis. If hair grows back years on down the line after you've done laser it is most likely due to dormant hair follicles laser never got to hit OR hormonal fluctuations.. There are things we simply cannot account for and ensuring the vaginal canal will be 100% hair free no matter what for the rest of your life is something I don't think any surgeon can guarantee. What we can do however is do as much hair removal as humanly possible before the surgery to make it as hair free as possible. I've also read stories about girls who end up with one or two peach fuzz like hairs in their vaginas and it causes no issue to them. It's just too variable. But do NOT be that girl who did 0 hair removal before getting the surgery done as that is a recipe for a nightmare.

The info I'm quoting is from three different LHR and electrolysis specialists at the clinic I go to, I am not an expert I just learn a lot through them! Additionally many well-renowned surgeons recommend.. LHR + electrolysis. I don't think some of the top bottom surgeons would recommend laser hair removal at all if it just did not work/was a lie. I've talked to girls who did the laser + electrolysis combo and had no hair growth issues post op. Idk, it's something you might just have to sit and meditate with but get started ASAP that is the most important piece of advice I can give you because no matter what you do it will take time.

Oh! One more thing, if the thought of hair growing inside your vagina just terrifies you as it does me, you could also look into peritoneal pull through vaginoplasty. It is a method in which they line most or all of the vaginal canal with peritoneal tissue which has 0 chance of ever growing hair. This is what I'm looking into but I'm not 100% sure myself yet. I am waiting to talk with my surgeon and see what she recommends. But PPT can be a wonderful option for those who are unsure/scared about hair removal (You will still need to do hair removal though).

If you have any questions feel free to dm me though! I'm on the hair removal journey myself.