A Lakewood electrolysis clinic that built its business around LGBTQ+ and transgender clients has shut down, leaving workers without jobs and patients scrambling for a provider. The abrupt closure follows a months-long labor dispute and a state investigation into dozens of wage complaints.
Real You Electrolysis permanently closed its Lakewood and Vancouver locations after July 24, according to The News Tribune. Workers said they received termination notices at 4 p.m. that day, after staging a strike that began July 18 and picketing outside the Lakewood clinic.
A Trans-Focused Clinic With Patients Across Washington
Real You said its founders launched the business after seeing a shortage of permanent hair-removal providers focused on transgender clients. The company’s own account of its history says its queer and trans founders opened in Vancouver before expanding to Lakewood to serve the Seattle area.
The Lakewood clinic opened in October 2024 and served patients who sometimes traveled for hours from Seattle, Bellingham and other parts of Washington. The closure is especially disruptive for clients receiving long-term electrolysis, a process that typically requires repeated appointments rather than a one-and-done visit.
Labor Fight Escalated Before The Shutdown
The workplace conflict had already reached federal labor officials before the clinics closed. Records from the National Labor Relations Board show a representation case involving Real You and a proposed unit of electrolysis clinicians; the board’s June docket also shows it denied an employer request for review of an earlier decision in the case.
Workers told The News Tribune that direct deposits stopped in April and that some paper checks later bounced, delaying their pay. They also said they are raising money to support affected employees and eventually launch a worker cooperative, though the owners did not immediately respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.
Washington Labor Agency Reviewing 25 Wage Complaints
The Washington Department of Labor & Industries received 25 wage complaints against Real You between July 2 and July 20, according to the newspaper’s reporting. Twenty-four complaints came from the Lakewood location and one came from the Vancouver clinic, while workers allege they were left with unpaid or delayed wages.
The complaints are not a final finding that the company violated state law. The state’s worker complaint guidance says investigations can address issues including final pay and nonsufficient-funds checks, and L&I says a case can take 60 days or longer depending on its complexity.
For former workers and patients, the immediate problem is more practical than procedural: a specialized provider disappeared with little notice. Former electrologist Layne Wolfe told The News Tribune that the closure will leave a vacuum for clients who relied on Real You’s LGBTQ+-focused service and insurance access.
The owners, Anna Lantry and Leah Lafavor, had not publicly explained the shutdown by Wednesday. For now, the labor complaints and federal case remain unresolved while former employees seek pay, new work and a way to keep serving the community that made the clinic stand out in the first place.
