I have my first electrolysis appt today. Any words of advice?
I asked for pain management advice not too long ago. Of all the wonderful advice I received, I found lidocaine the most helpful. Specifically lidocaine applied starting an hour before the appointment, and reapplied every 15 min or so until leaving to go see the electrologist.
I also wear headphones and listen to loud music to drown out the beeps so as not to over react from anticipation.
My last bit of advice is keep your muscles as relaxed as possible. The first few times I went I was super tensed up nearly the entire hour and it made my swelling and recovery times much worse. I have to sometimes fight the urge to flex my face but it’s definitely worth it to stay relaxed if you can. When I get home I apply a little aloe, and ice if needed.
I’ve been going just about every week for the past few months and am now getting to a point where I can feel the facial hair induced dysphoria fading. Certainly one of the best decisions I’ve made so far.
Been going since thanksgiving last year. I’m allergic to lidocaine so I can’t use the numbing stuff. Before you commit to it at the appointment try a little on an inconspicuous spot on yourself just to make sure it’s ok and have someone around in case you have a severe reaction.
What I do is try to keep a continuous train of thought about something and ignore what’s going on. It can be anything from groceries to a short story, so long as it requires your attention.
I've not heard of an allery to lidocaine before. What happens and how do you know its lidocaine?
The reaction I have is that I break out into a very red rash. My electrologist uses a cream with three different ‘caines in it and I broke out shortly after she applied it. A few days later I bought some lidocaine cream at the store to see if it was one of the other ingredients, but I turned red again.
Not exactly the most scientific method, but enough to scare me off using the numbing cream. That’s why I suggested getting something with lidocaine in it and trying it at home first with someone around, so you’re in a safe environment.
Lucky you didn't get an injection.
I'd try to look into that further. Lidocaine is used in quite a few medical procedures and it would be truly horrible if you didn't have an alternate solution ready. I did a quick look and the are diagnostic tests and some alternate drugs.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5586559/
Thanks! I’ll take a look at these. As soon as I can I’m trying to get into a dermatologist for allergy tests. Better to know for sure!
If it’s just redness and it went away shortly then I think that is normal or at least common using emla.
I also know I am allergic to citric acid which is a common ingredient in witch hazel and other cleansers that are used during and post electrolysis, so you can also check if you have an allergy to that in case you used that to wipe it off and then it appears.
Avoid caffeine. 4-4-8 breathing . Tell your provider what your goals are. Pay attention to their hygiene and cleanliness. Ask which method of electrolysis they use (I generally prefer blend).
If you're getting genital electrolysis, keep in mind that they see peoples' genitals all the time. If you aren't weird about it, they won't be either.
Electrolysis didn’t hurt one bit. Laser hair removal hurts much more. The key is to drink tons of water. Stay hydrated. It shouldn’t hurt. I was so paranoid my first time going because of all the things people post on here. But it didn’t even hurt. Pop an ibuprofen and stay super hydrated. Most places use some numbing spray if it’s for genital. Large areas should not be covered in numbing cream because some ingredients are not good for you.
Smoke weed everyday. Otherwise i always bring in my switch and listen to podcasts, the distraction helps a ton. Also, it gets easier with time so just stick through it and you'll be ok. You got this! 💖
Thank you all for your advice. I do need to get lidocaine. But it wasn't that much worse than getting a tattoo.
Talk to your doctor about more powerful numbing creams. My endo gave me a special numbing cream. It's a custom mix of 20% benzocaine, 6% lidocaine, 6% tetracaine. It knocks the socks off anything you can get over the counter.
Its possible to get better than that. Look here
https://www.reddit.com/r/TransWiki/wiki/hair-removal#wiki_pain_management
Its the lidocaine that does the job, not the other ingredients.
I've got about 4/5 aloe vera bottles floating around my house, at least two of them in the refrigerator. A little bit 2 or 3 times a day helps keep the skin healthy and soothes the burn after a session. Sometimes the cold bottles are a godsend. I also keep a tube of aloe in my purse.
I use the numbing cream and def listen to music. I exfoliate the day before, and try to avoid wearing the good old COVID mask the remainder of the day after my session.
I don't put anything on the treated area except witch hazel for 1-2 days after the application.
And I didn't fair well going out in the sun after facial electrolysis, so I kinda do an inside day.
As you get an area treated and retreated in my experience the hives / irritation is less and less each time
Super trio topical. This allowed me to get most of my surgery prep done with little to no pain. The link below is for amazon. I am not promoting amazon, it was just the first link I found and most places in the world can access it: Super Trio
Note: put some on and cover with plastic wrap for ~10 min for best effect.
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