Hair removal and psychological well-being in transfeminine adults: associations with gender dysphoria and gender euphoria

Purpose: Hair removal procedures, including electrolysis and laser hair removal, are the most commonly pursued gender-affirmative medical interventions by transfeminine people, but previous empirical studies have not examined their relationship to psychological well-being. Materials and Methods: Participants were 281 transfeminine adults in the United States who responded to an online questionnaire. Results: Satisfaction with one's current state of hair removal was negatively correlated with situational body image dysphoria, depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and negative affect, and positively correlated with positive affect. Conclusions: Results of this study suggest that hair removal is associated with both decreased distress but also increased subjective well-being (e.g. higher positive affect). Though the construct of 'gender euphoria' has been introduced in previous publications, it has thus far not been rigorously defined or operationalized within health research. These results suggest that gender euphoria can be understood in terms of increased subjective well-being associated with gender affirmation, including gender-affirmative medical interventions. This study demonstrates a significant association between hair removal services and depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, situational body image dysphoria, positive affect, and negative affect in transfeminine adults. These findings cast significant doubt on the assertion that hair removal services for transfeminine people are 'cosmetic.'