VERY AFFORDABLE ELECTROLYSIS & LASER IN NYC/IMPORTANT FOR LOW-INCOME TRANS WOMEN
Recently, I asked activist/all around badass Cecilia Gentili if she had any recommendations for electrolysis, and she she told me she DID, and boy did she ever.
She recommended a school of electrolysis out in Queens. Have you ever had your hair cut at a cosmetology school, where students are putting in clinical hours (under the supervision of an instructor) in order to obtain their cosmetology license? Itâs the same principle here. But hereâs the kicker:
ELECTROLYSIS: $10/30 minutes
FULL FACE LASER: $50-75 per treatment
That is an extremely good price on both of these treatments, even at deep deep discount Groupon rates. The absolute LOWEST price I have found on trans-friendly electrolysis in Manhattan is $75/hour, and it seems that $110/hour is kind of average. Laser pricing is all over the place, what with all these crowdsource advertising schemes, but you never know exactly what youâre getting yourself into with those deals and that is still a very very good price.
But this is not merely an anonymous pass-on of information, offered in a Tumblr vacuum! No! Partybottom actually assembled a small coterie of brave trans woman friends, found a trans man with a car (thanks actual for-real IRL allies!) and trucked our ass out to Queens to see what the real deal was.
The school is in a very quiet residential neighborhood that is somewhat difficult to access via most forms of public transportation â this is really the hardest part about it, just the getting there. If you live in Queens and are super familiar with the bus lines, I suppose this is no big deal, but if you live in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island or the Bronx, it will be a bit of a schlep. I recommend buddying up, and finding a friend with a car, and arranging a car pool. It could be a fun afternoon or evening!
Everyone we spoke to there was very polite and respectful to us as trans women. They asked us several times who had referred us, and when I dropped Ceceliaâs name, it seemed to make them happy. âOh, she brings a lot of girls out here.â I get the feeling that they are very familiar with trans clients. One of my friends even asked about genital electrolysis â the man at the front desk said, yes, they did it, but just to remember that all the services were performed by students.
Their hours are a little spotty, and they are only open in the evening two days a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6-8pm. When we got there (about 6:30) all their electrolysis students were booked up for the evening, so my suggestion is, if you are interested in electrolysis (which I am, because my hair is mostly blonde/red) make sure to show up when they open the door in the evenings, or go in the daytime, when it might be a little slower.
HOWEVER, both of my friends had laser treatments by an instructor (hence the $75 â treatments by students are $50, but only offered a few days a month. The front desk guy said that in general, the larger the surface area treated, the deeper the discount) She was very nice, and asked us where we had gotten laser before, and who had done it, and it turns out she had trained an operator that had worked on one of my friends before. She used an Alexandrite laser (none of this wimpy IPL stuff) and I get the sense that they have a couple different lasers on hand to deal with different skin tones. She also asked us if we liked to gamble and what our favorite casinos were and gave us some good recommendations in that department, too. :)
All-in-all, it was a good experience. I was a little bummed that I missed my shot at electro, but I will certainly be back in the new year, jumping at my chance to take advantage of this opportunity.
HERE IS THE 411:
BERKOWITZ SCHOOL OF ELECTROLYSIS
107-25 Metropolitan Ave
Forest Hills, NY 11375
(718) 544-4234
(800) 526-9334
Last I checked, they were open M-F, 9am-12pm and 2pm-4pm, and Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 6pm-8pm. But I would also recommend calling before you go! I know millennials and trans women are two of the most actual-telephone-call-averse groups, and Tumblr is full of both, but really, I encourage you to pick up the phone and ask them questions. They are really nice!
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM PARTYBOTTOM
2014: BORED WITH PROBLEMS, ALL ABOUT SOLUTIONS
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