Okay, so ...
*takes a deep breath*
I have to mention a couple of things before-hand. I have very coarse, rich, thick (whatever you want to call it) facial hair. Secondly, I never considered myself having a high pain threshold.
Now, concerning that ...
It hurt so. Bloody. Much. I have never before in my life experienced pain even close to it. Granted, I never did experience much physical pain, but wow. Nothing prepared me for it. It feels as if someone inserted a dozen pliers under the skin, and yanked the hair out, all felt in a milisecond.
The most painful parts for me were under the jawline and most definitely the part above the upper lip, especially around the very centre.
The technician was downright awesome, though. She kept encouraging me and laughing at my awful jokes. She went with my pace (which was sort of fast, rather do it quickly than stretch it out), and she used a Lightshear laser on a 25 setting (out of 40), which she said was quite well.
I was laughing throughout the session, a couple of tears streaming down my cheeks, she said "Why are you laughing so much? You seem to be in great mood in spite of pain," to which I replied "It's either laughing or screaming, and I picked the first."
The whole session took about 25 minutes, with a 1 minute break inbetween.
So, the aftermath? My face is only slightly swollen, the sides of my face are somewhat red, and a few burned hairs are clearly visible - some even fell out during the treatment. My whole face stings really badly, had to use a cooling cream, and it smells of burned hair. Kind of a nasty smell.
So, my suggestion to anyone out there who's planning on laser treatment and is pain-sensitive, take painkillers -- I know I will be the next time. The thicker the beard, the more powerful the meds.
Hope this post gives some insight into the procedure.
