LGBTQ+ Friendly · Chicago, IL
Transgender Electrolysis In Chicago
If you’re looking for trans-friendly electrolysis in Chicago, you’ve found one of the few clinics in the country built around it. Electrolysis 100% Permanent Hair Removal & Skin Care has spent years doing high-volume hair removal for transgender women and men, and it’s the work our founder set out to do on purpose. We’re at 1315 N Larrabee St in downtown Chicago, a few minutes from the Gold Coast and Old Town.
Laura’s Playground
American Electrology Association
Electrologists Association of Illinois
English · Romanian · Russian
Who We Are
The Leaders In Large Volume Electrolysis & Pre-Surgical MTF Electrolysis
Whether you’re transitioning male to female (MtF) or female to male (FtM), the hair removal part of your transition shouldn’t be the part that drags on for years. We build long, high-volume sessions around your timeline — your surgery date, your travel, your budget — and we treat you like an adult who knows what they want. This is a safe space, and we say that plainly because we know how much it matters when you’re deciding where to spend the next several months of your life.
The Method
Why Electrolysis Finishes What Laser Can’t
Electrolysis is the only method the FDA recognizes for permanent hair removal, and for trans clients that distinction matters. Laser is only cleared for permanent hair reduction. It targets pigment, so it can thin a dark beard quickly but leaves behind the light, gray, and fine hairs it can’t see, and those are exactly the ones you don’t want left. Electrolysis treats every follicle, one at a time, regardless of hair color or skin tone, which is why it’s the method that actually finishes the job on a face that has to stay smooth.
For pre-surgical work, surgeons require the area fully cleared, and many prefer electrolysis because it’s permanent and catches every hair. Laser is also widely accepted, and for some clients with dark hair a surgeon may even suggest starting with it. We’ll work with whatever your surgeon asks for, and we’re happy to coordinate directly with their office.
Most clients reach us from outside Chicago, so we run an intensive schedule. Instead of a one-hour session every week for years, we book long sessions and clear large areas at once. Many people finish the bulk of their facial work in roughly four to ten visits, depending on hair density and how often you can come in. If you’re traveling for surgery in the region, we work around your timeline.
Laser sees pigment. Everything without pigment stays. That leftover gray and fine hair is the shadow you still see in the mirror — and the hair a surgeon won’t sign off on.
Our Services
Our Trans Hair Removal Services
We split trans hair removal into two focused services so each one gets the time and the specialist it needs. Facial work and pre-surgical genital work are very different procedures, and we treat them that way. We also work with transmasculine and FtM clients on body hair and surgical donor sites.
MtF · Face & Neck
MtF Facial Electrolysis
Facial hair is the thing most trans women want gone first, and it’s the area where electrolysis clearly beats every alternative. We clear the beard, jawline, neck, upper lip, and chin permanently, working close to your pain threshold with numbing and sedation so the long sessions stay bearable. Our electrologists are specifically trained on coarse beard hair, which behaves nothing like the fine hair most clinics deal with day to day. Pricing, what to bring, and exactly how a treatment day runs are on the facial page.
See Facial Electrolysis Pricing And What To Expect →
MtF · Pre-Surgical
Pre-Surgical MtF Genital Electrolysis
If you’re preparing for genital surgery, your surgeon will require the surgical area cleared of hair first. Many ask for electrolysis specifically because it’s permanent and removes every hair, including the light and gray ones laser misses. This is sensitive, technical work, and we treat it with numbing injections and oral sedation so the longer sessions are manageable. It usually runs four to six sessions spaced several weeks apart, and the earlier you start before your surgery date, the better. Bring your surgeon’s hair-removal instructions and we’ll follow them. Full pricing, session structure, and insurance notes are on the genital page.
See Genital Electrolysis Details And Pricing →
FtM · Transmasculine
FtM & Transmasculine Hair Removal
Trans men come to us for two reasons. The first is surgical: phalloplasty and metoidioplasty use a skin graft from the forearm, thigh, or abdomen, and that donor site has to be completely hair-free before your surgeon will operate. We follow the diagram your surgeon gives us, exactly as drawn. The second is everyday comfort — chest, back, shoulders, or anywhere hormone therapy has left hair you’d rather not deal with. Same long sessions, same pain management, same room.
Ask About FtM Donor Site Clearing →Large Volume
Why Large-Volume Electrolysis Is Faster
Standard electrolysis means short weekly sessions stretched over years. That doesn’t work when you live three states away or you have a surgery date coming. Large-volume electrolysis is our answer: we clear big areas in long sessions, often with two electrologists working on you at the same time.
- Two electrologists can work at once, which roughly doubles how much we clear per session.
- You grow your hair out once before a clearing session instead of every single week.
- We can inject lidocaine to make sessions essentially pain-free, which also lets us work faster.
- Our progressive epilation technique with insulated probes is built around two things that usually fight each other: a high kill rate and low risk of scarring.
- Fewer trips. For out-of-town clients that’s the whole point.
Combined Approach
Laser First, Then Electrolysis — Both Under One Roof
One of the most common questions we hear is whether to pick laser or electrolysis. For most people that’s the wrong question. The best results usually come from using both, in sequence: laser to knock down the bulk of dense, dark hair quickly, then electrolysis to permanently clear everything laser physically cannot see. We do both here, so you’re not coordinating two clinics or explaining yourself to a new provider halfway through.
Start With Laser
Sessions run roughly six to eight weeks apart, timed to catch hair in its active growth phase. We use the GentleMax Pro Plus, which is safe across skin tones, and every new client gets a complimentary consultation and a test patch first so we can see how your skin responds.
Switch To Electrolysis
Once the dark hair has thinned out and what’s left is mostly fine, light, or gray, we move to electrolysis and clear it for good. If your beard is already mostly gray, or hormones have already softened it, we may skip the laser stage entirely — laser needs pigment to work with.
Finish On Your Surgeon’s Timeline
For surgical prep we work to your surgeon’s diagram and deadline. Published protocols put pre-surgical laser at roughly six to nine months before clearance, with electrolysis on top of that. Give yourself a full year if you can. And we’ll tell you honestly if your timeline is too tight.
Pain Management
Comfort And Pain Management
Electrolysis has a reputation for hurting, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise. What we will say is that we’re one of very few clinics in the US that offers a full range of pain relief for long sessions, managed by board-certified nurse practitioners. Depending on the area and your tolerance, that can mean topical numbing cream, lidocaine injections, oral sedation, IV hydration, or ProNox nitrous oxide. Several clients have told us the ProNox is what made four-hour sessions doable. You decide how much you want.
Results
Before And After Our Clients
Real clients, real skin, no retouching. Results vary with hair density, skin, and how consistently you can come in — but this is what permanent looks like.
Trust
Why Trans Clients Choose Us
Our founder, Valeria Tartacovschi, started this clinic partly because she saw how few electrologists were willing or trained to do trans hair removal well. That’s not marketing copy. One client wrote that what made her comfortable coming back was that we were upfront about being a safe space, and that we kept checking on her insurance fight instead of making a hard process harder. We’re TG-friendly verified by Laura’s Playground and members of the American Electrology Association and the Electrologists Association of Illinois. Our team speaks English, Romanian, and Russian. The clinic has a 5.0 rating across 100 Google reviews, a lot of them from trans clients who traveled to get here.
Your Electrologists
Meet The Team Who’ll Be Treating You
You’ll see the same faces every visit. No rotating staff, no explaining yourself twice.
Valeria Tartacovschi, LE
Licensed Electrologist · Founder
Valeria spent four years working alongside one of Chicago’s top plastic surgeons before opening her own practice. Electrolysis became her career after she had the treatment herself and called the result magical — and she’s spent every year since making sure other people get to have that moment in the mirror.
“After being in my client’s place and having 100% results, I know that permanent hair removal by electrolysis is the only method that really works for everyone.”
Nataliya Tkachova, LE
Licensed Electrologist
Nataliya came to electrolysis the same way a lot of our clients do — she tried it, saw it work, and wanted to do it herself. She’s been practicing since 2016 and has built a reputation for being the person clients ask for by name, largely because she’s steady, thorough, and doesn’t rush a clearing.
Adriana Besleaga, LE
Licensed Electrologist
Adriana is precise to the point of stubbornness, which is exactly what you want in someone treating one follicle at a time. She keeps current on new techniques and equipment, and she’s especially good at making a first-time client feel like nothing about them is unusual — because it isn’t.
Paying For It
Insurance And Payment Plans
This is the part nobody explains well, so here it is plainly. Two things can bring the cost down: a reimbursement claim through your insurer, and paying over time instead of all at once. Plenty of our clients use both.
How Insurance Reimbursement Works
Most insurers still classify hair removal as cosmetic. But hair removal before gender assurance surgery — and treatment for clients diagnosed with PCOS — gets approved case by case, and we’ve had transgender clients approved by several carriers.
We don’t bill insurance directly. To your insurer we’re an out-of-network provider, which means you pay us, we give you an itemized invoice, and your insurer reimburses you — sometimes the full amount, sometimes a percentage.
- Call your insurer before you start. Tell them you’re having surgery and need hair removed first for medical reasons.
- Send them the same documents that qualified you for surgery: your two WPATH letters, plus a letter of medical necessity from your surgeon. Your surgeon has written these before and knows the format.
- If they also want a letter from our side, we already have one ready.
- Get your prior authorization in writing, then start treatment.
- Submit each invoice promptly. Late submissions get denied even with prior authorization — this is the step people lose money on.
Buy Now, Pay Later With Affirm
Large volume electrolysis is a real expense, and waiting to save up costs you months you may not have before a surgery date. We book through Vagaro, which offers Buy Now, Pay Later financing through Affirm.
You can split the cost of your sessions into monthly payments, see your exact terms before you agree to anything, and there are no hidden or late fees. Checking your options doesn’t affect your credit score. We get paid up front, you pay over time — and you can start treatment now instead of next year.
- Monthly payments instead of one lump sum
- Terms shown up front — no surprises
- Checking eligibility won’t hurt your credit
- Works for single long sessions or a full treatment plan
Travel & Accommodations
Plan Your Visit To Chicago
Most of our trans clients fly or drive in. If you’re booking a multi-day clearing block, or you’re here for surgery in the region, these hotels are close to the clinic at 1315 N. Larrabee St and easy to get to and from between sessions.
Find Us
Getting Here And Traveling In
We’re at 1315 N Larrabee St, Chicago IL 60610, open Monday through Friday, 9 to 6, by appointment only — no walk-ins. There’s parking, and we’re an easy ride from downtown hotels if you’re flying in. If you’re combining your hair removal with surgery in the Chicago area, ask us and we’ll point you to nearby places to stay and help you plan sessions around your dates.
- Hours
- Monday – Friday
9:00AM – 6:00PM
By appointment only - Contact
- (252) 722-5006
[email protected]
Questions
Transgender Electrolysis FAQs
Is Electrolysis Or Laser Better For Trans Hair Removal?
For truly permanent results, electrolysis. It’s the only method the FDA recognizes for permanent hair removal, and it works on any hair color because it doesn’t rely on pigment. Laser is faster and cleared for permanent reduction, but it only sees dark hair, so it can’t clear gray, blond, or fine hairs. A lot of clients with dense, dark beards use laser first to thin things out, then electrolysis to remove what’s left for good.
How Many Sessions Will I Need?
It depends on hair density and how often you can come in. With our large-volume approach, many facial clients get through the bulk of the work in about four to ten visits. Pre-surgical genital work is usually four to six sessions spaced several weeks apart.
Does It Hurt?
It can, but you have options. We offer topical numbing, lidocaine injections, oral sedation, IV hydration, and ProNox nitrous oxide, managed by nurse practitioners. Most clients find the longer sessions very manageable with the right combination for them.
Do I Need To Clear Hair Before Genital Surgery?
Almost always, yes. The skin used in vaginoplasty has to be hair-free, so surgeons require the surgical area cleared beforehand. Many prefer electrolysis because it’s permanent and removes every hair, though laser is also widely accepted and sometimes recommended first for dark hair. Check what your surgeon wants, and start as early as you can so there’s time to finish.
Do You Treat FtM And Transmasculine Clients?
Yes. The most common reason trans men come to us is donor site clearing before phalloplasty or metoidioplasty — your surgeon will hand you a diagram of the forearm, thigh, or abdominal area that has to be hair-free, and we follow it exactly. We also do chest, back, and shoulder work for clients who simply want the hair gone. Same sessions, same pain management, same room.
Do You Work With People Who Travel To Chicago?
Yes, most of our trans clients come from out of town. That’s why we run intensive, long sessions instead of weekly ones, and we’ll help you plan visits and find somewhere to stay if you’re also having surgery in the area.
Will Insurance Cover It?
Sometimes. Many policies still call it cosmetic, but pre-surgical electrolysis can often be covered with prior authorization from your medical provider. We’ll provide and re-send itemized invoices to support your claim.
Can I Pay Over Time?
Yes. We book through Vagaro, which offers Buy Now, Pay Later financing through Affirm, so you can split your treatment into monthly payments. You’ll see the exact terms before you commit, there are no hidden or late fees, and checking your options doesn’t affect your credit score.
Booking And Cancellation Policy
To be fair to all clients and to use our time effectively, we have established the following cancellation guidelines: For appointments that are one hour or less, we require at least 24 hours notice. For appointments longer than one hour, a minimum of 72 hours notice is necessary. For treatments scheduled for four hours or more, we require at least 14 days notice. If proper notice is not given, a fee of 100% of the scheduled service will be charged. If you need to make changes to your appointment, please call us at (252) 722-5006 or email us at [email protected].
Next Step
Tell Us Your Timeline And We’ll Build The Plan
Send us the area you want cleared, your surgery date if you have one, and how often you can get to Chicago. We’ll come back with a realistic estimate — number of sessions, hours, and cost — so you know what you’re looking at before you commit to anything.
By Appointment Only · No Walk-Ins · English · Romanian · Russian
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