Facial Hair Removal
The removal of facial hair is seen as an essential part of gender reassignment for trans women, for people who are trans feminine and some non-binary people. This is recognised in the Scottish Government’s Gender Reassignment Protocol, which notes that it ‘is an essential treatment… Removal of facial hair relates directly to confidence and safety’.
Please see the NGICNS network’s Guidelines for NHS Boards on facial hair removal for people identifying as trans women, trans feminine, or non-binary.
Hair Removal from Donor Site
If hair is not adequately removed from areas directly involved in reconstructive genital surgery prior to surgery it can become a significant post-operative complication.
People assigned female at birth require hair removal prior to radial artery phalloplasty or radial artery urethroplasty; otherwise the patient would have hair-bearing skin on the inside of the neourethra. People assigned male at birth usually require hair removal prior to vaginoplasty and sometimes require this for labiaplasty.
Electrolysis may require 32 sessions over a period of 6 months (ensuring no re-growth). Sometimes the hair follicles can be removed during surgery, this would have to be discussed and agreed with the surgeon performing the procedure.
Hair removal provision is set out in the Gender Reassignment Protocol (GRP).