Electrolysis and Pain

Fri Dec 25 19:58:58 2020 UTC

(20 comments)

How would those of you who have done both compare the pain of genital electrolysis to facial electrolysis?

I've been undergoing facial electrolysis weekly for the last couple of years, and I'm very proud to be the only client my tech has ever had to never ask for a break due to pain. Not that it doesn't hurt, but I almost welcome the pain for the result it brings. Still, that upper lip is a doozy.

I'm looking into trying Precision Hair up in Chicago for my genital clearing, and one of the pricier options they have are pain injections performed by a doctor. They also provide topical cream as well, which is more than I use for my face. I'm curious as to how those of you who've done both would compare the pain levels of facial and genital treatments. Comparable? Totally night and day? Scale it 1-10? I've had enough body laser to know how unusually the skin can react to pain in the strangest spots that aren't used to certain stimuli. Feeling that laser run up and down your thigh is an experience the first time; not necessarily painful but the sensations can be almost bizarre.

As I type this I realize that the cream Dr. Powers came up with would probably be a cheaper alternative, but I'm uncertain my own doctor will cooperate. I'm pretty stubborn when trying to deal with pain. When I had my hair transplant, I didn't tell the surgeon that the anesthetic had worn off until he noticed I had tears streaming down my cheeks and could barely speak; I wasn't afraid to ask, I just assumed that was all the anesthetic I was supposed to have and figured I'd have to tolerate it. (they felt awful about the miscommunication, but in their defense I don't complain about pain until it's excruciating).

u/meg-trans

Fri Dec 25 20:08:29 2020 UTC

(0 children)

Facial removal was a more consistent pain. Genital removal varied much more, some areas almost totally painless, while others (not too many) were really quite bad.

I'd always hydrate well, stay away from caffeine, and use ibuprofen and paracetamol beforehand to help manage.

u/Forgetwhatitoldyou

Fri Dec 25 20:35:05 2020 UTC

Genital electrolysis is so much worse. The upper lip, upper sideburns, and parts of the jawline and neck can be bad. But much of the genitals is just another level, for me at least.

Topical or injected lidocaine is recommended. 4-4-8 breathing helped me immensely. I've started using a prescription antianxiety med, first hydroxyzine and now lorazepram. /u/meg-trans has good advice too, though ibuprofen doesn't mesh well with the meds I mentioned. Your tech can also use a lower setting and/or put ice on each portion before moving to it.

I've gotten to the point where I can get through a 2-hour session, and sometimes it's not too bad - just a few very brief spikes of pain - and other times my body is wanting to run away in a panic attack for half the session, but I manage to keep things under control. The breathing I mentioned is by far the most effective thing for me to manage/reduce the pain.

u/HiddenStill

Fri Dec 25 20:58:27 2020 UTC

This might help

https://www.reddit.com/r/TransWiki/wiki/hair-removal#wiki_pain_management

u/realbostonbarbie

Sat Dec 26 23:35:24 2020 UTC

I think it hurts more on your face than genitals. I struggled sometimes even w the numbing injections on my face in Chicago but there were times I did genital with only numbing cream

u/finallydecidedMTF

Fri Dec 25 21:37:46 2020 UTC

(1 child)

I had LHR and not electrolysis and I still second the lidocaine suggestion. I even had prescription strength and my sessions were tough. Worst pain ever..but well worth it and I'd do it again.

My GCS surgeon mentioned zero issues for me with hair removal. And, since I am at the 6 month mark, I haven't had the hair growth issue inside either.

Fri Dec 25 23:50:31 2020 UTC

I'd do genital LHR but the only clinic near me that offers it is shady af. With everything else I've got going on I figure scheduling an appointment every two months is worth it if I can be done within a year. From what the other girls say it can take months just to get a 2nd or 3rd treatment from this local laser place. My tech doesn't do genital laser or I'd be done by now =>

u/aspiringtobeme

Fri Dec 25 21:54:37 2020 UTC

(2 children)

I've heard both from people, but I found the southern regions to be far, far more painful. I'd always leave an hour session with sweat covering the back of my shirt - I'm generally not a sweaty person. Lidocaine cream helped, but only so much. Some places (Electrology 3000, Dr. McGinn's office) do lidocaine injections which help a lot more than the cream, but the injections themselves can suck too.

Fri Dec 25 23:51:29 2020 UTC

Injections don't make me flinch, I'm just wondering if the pain block is worth the price. I can take some serious pain and then some.

Sat Dec 26 01:18:53 2020 UTC

Well, if you're feeling confident in your tolerance, you can try it out first session and know for the following if you'll want it.

u/[deleted]

Fri Dec 25 21:59:41 2020 UTC

(5 children)

[deleted]

Fri Dec 25 23:45:41 2020 UTC

There’s techniques to make those injections a lot less painful than usual.

Sat Dec 26 00:31:53 2020 UTC

Sat Dec 26 01:54:58 2020 UTC

It’s in the link in my other comment here. Most of the pain is because Lidocaine is acidic, but you can neutralise it with sodium bicarbonate. There’s also injection techniques to minimise pain.

Fri Dec 25 23:52:42 2020 UTC

If it's free sign me up! The place I'm looking at charges $650 for pain injections and topical is free. I'm not sure if McGinn's place charges or not, it's a longer drive but possibly less expensive.

Sat Dec 26 00:47:35 2020 UTC

McGinn's charges $110/hour if you do lidocaine injections, and $85/hour without.

u/Adruvius

Fri Dec 25 22:56:06 2020 UTC

If you can handle facial electrolysis as well as you say you did, you can handle genital. I did both and felt that they were similarly painful.

I used burn cream with lidocaine at first, but after a few months I stopped using any pain relief at all. I never flinched and never took a break. I figured out a couple months ago through dabbling in BDSM that I was actually a masochist. That explained it.

u/seastalk

Fri Dec 25 23:10:22 2020 UTC

I’ve had both and facial electrolysis is much more painful for me, but it seems to be different for different people. Personally I’d recommend a combination of ingested CBD, ibuprofen, and BLT (benzocaine/lidocaine/tetracain) cream topically for either area.

Sat Dec 26 01:02:27 2020 UTC

Just make sure you have your movie picked out in your phone ready to distract you instead of cruising through what to watch while you're busy trying to get yourself distracted. Yeah

u/MaddieB82817

Fri Dec 25 20:03:25 2020 UTC

(3 children)

Imagine a tiny hot needle stabbing each hair follicle in an extremely sensitive area. That’s pretty much what it’s like. Hurts a good bit. I have a high pain tolerance and was able to soldier through it without any numbing cream, but I’m probably an outlier there. Try to get numbing cream if you can, it’ll certainly help.

Fri Dec 25 20:05:32 2020 UTC

But was there a difference between the pain levels of Facial v Genital Electrolysis? Anything about the pain of one or the other that stands out? I'd think with a topical I could manage genital E.

Fri Dec 25 20:16:35 2020 UTC

I haven’t had electrolysis on the face, so I can’t say for sure, but if I had to guess I’d say the pain is on par with the upper lip. I had laser on the face and the upper lip hurt like hell, so that’s my best guess on that.

Fri Dec 25 20:21:06 2020 UTC

I've done both on the lip, electrolysis is worse but usually because it's so condensed an area, if one had their lip lasered for thirty minutes that might be worse lol. And the majority of the pain is the worst in the philtrum just below the nose, the further away from that you get the more bearable it becomes. At least I don't cry anymore but we've got a lot less to treat, back when it was taking 60 minutes to clear my lip I couldn't help but cry.

Electrolysis and Pain

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