Help fund a transgender woman's laser..

.. hair removal! Laser hair removal!

Sorry. Didn't mean to get you too excited.

Now that I have your attention, though, perhaps you could help me out...

My name is Jaelin K. I'm a 46-year-old transgender woman. I am an artist and theatrician (I build things for singers to carry and use in operas). I'm not really sure what more to say here. That's who I am. Nice to meet you!

I'm not good at asking for help for several reasons, so I'm just going to type and hope for the best.

(*Note: Yes, I work in opera. No, I don't make much money. Some people hear "opera" and assume that everyone involved is well off. This is not true.].)

I'm asking for help in paying for laser hair removal for my face and chest. I have tried everything to rid myself of hair in these places. I've shaved, waxed, used epilators (not on my face), IPL devices, and creams. ( I've "settled" on shaving my face and using an epilator most other places, with periodic waxing.) Some of them last almost two weeks.

And then I wake up every day feeling like there is fiberglass in my face and chest. I reach up to scratch at the discomfort and there is something with the general texture of sandpaper on my face. When I look in the mirror, it appears that someone has drawn dots on the lower half of my face. So I carefully drag a razor across it, often cutting myself, in an attempt to remove it as cleanly as possible. I've been medically transitioning for 17 months, so my skin gets razor burn and irritation easily. Then comes aftercare, which feels like ice and fire. Once it dries fully, it can be removed so I can put on makeup.

All of this takes a fair amount of time each morning ( about 2 extra hours), and I often spend all day feeling like my face is on fire.

So I'm asking for money to pay for an expensive service that would otherwise be well beyond my means. Any help you could give would be invaluable to me.

Thank you for reading, even if you don't donate.