Laser hair removal on face...super painful!!!

[Stephanie_b]

Hi everybody, I haven't posted much yet so, here's the quick scoop: I am transitioning from mtf, and am 33 years old, have only had laser on face 3 times a few years ago.  I am pre-hormones.

I am getting zapped early next week and am afraid because of the last time I had it done.  That last time I was on estrogen/spiro and I cried like a little girl and was psychologically scarred for a short while after.

Is there anything I can do to lessen the pain?  I am going to do this no matter what but I'm scared.

[Annah]

hmm..i had laser and felt very little discomfort. The only real discomfort I had was the sunburn feeling on the face afterwards.

When someone feels pain during laser, that "usually" means the shave to the face wasn't close enough.

If I were you, I would buy a new good sharp razor (not the disposable kind) and shave immediately before your trip to the laser center.

[Siren]

You could try a topical anaesthetic cream.
We have one here in the UK called EMLA. I don't know if that's available where you are but I'm sure there would be something similar.

[Stephanie_b]

An anaesthetic cream eh (Canadian)?  I will look into this asap and I will try buying a better razor and shave closer...I had no idea that might help but I will try it. 

If anyone else looks here, what about pain killers?  I have taken very little in the way of any kind of pills or meds in my whole life, so I am kind of clueless about this

[Annah]

Some questions I need to ask:

1. Were you using a disposable razor prior to laser
2. How long prior to the session did you shave?

I ask these because if you use a good razor and shaved right before going, you only should feel a tingling sensation.

Using a vicodin is a little extreme for laser. I know girls who may use one for electrolysis...but I never seen a girl use one for laser. Because on the selling points of laser vs electro is that it is virtually pain free for laser.

If you shaved an hour before laser that is too far apart.

If you shaved a few hours before laser, I would not wish that on my enemies.

Laser burns the dark hairs in the skin....if you hadn't shaved in a few hours then there is more hair to burn.

Using a bad razor or not shaving immediately prior to laser is like shaving your face as soon as you get out of bed without using water or moisturizer... a dry shave with a dull razor

[Keaira]

I have had one session and they told me not to shave. And OMG, it hurt so bad. It was like someone snapping your face with a rubber band. over and over again.

[JenJen2011]

Beauty is pain.

[BrokenCode]

Stephanie_b I know what you mean, especially on the top lip. Omg that f'n hurts. She does that part last for me, so I'm going to ask her to do that first sense the numbing cream is still full effect.. But it also depends on how the intensity of the light is. My sessions, she uses a pretty high setting because my skin can take it. But it hurts.lol ... Mabe drinking some alcohol works. Jk.lol.

[Padma]

I found it not so much painful as shocking - it reminded me of accidentally touching an electrified sheep fence. Oh, and the cold air up the nostrils is definitely to be avoided!

[Annah]

I found it not so much painful as shocking - it reminded me of accidentally touching an electrified sheep fence. Oh, and the cold air up the nostrils is definitely to be avoided!

what were you doing kissing an electrified sheep fence?

[Kitty_Babe]

Beauty is pain.

LOL it certainly 'can' be.. yeah, I haven't tried the laser treatment myself, I went with good old Electrolysis. 'That' is pain of a different kind, especially in sensitive area's 

[Padma]

what were you doing kissing an electrified sheep fence?

Oh, my body is very interconnected...

[Stephanie_b]

Thanks everyone, for your input, and to Annah:  that makes perfect sense to me about what you said (the timing of shaving and quality of razor), and I will definately use the advice given in these replies. 

However, they won't give me an appointment now until I have started hrt so for now I am going to wax.  I'm presenting as male now, but I don't care: the whiskers have got to go and shaving closely isn't good enough for me, they have to be gone.

[Padma]

Check with the laser people before waxing - I know that plucking and laser are not good to do too close together, so just make sure first, you can end up with a very sore face otherwise.

[Maja.V]

Yep, it's very painful, even if shaved as close as I could. It's awesome, though, after two sessions I'm almost hair-free. Just a few more spots of hair left.

[shortNsweet]

I've had two sessions on my face so far. The first one I didn't really feel a thing. I mentioned that at the beginning of my second session and my technician upped the laser setting. I felt it more during the session but afterwards it just felt like that sunburn feeling. Also there were patches where it almost looked like i had bruising. It cleared up after a week. We'll see what happens after my third session on the 24th.

[JenJen2011]

I went with good old Electrolysis

Same here.

[Stephanie_b]

Check with the laser people before waxing - I know that plucking and laser are not good to do too close together, so just make sure first, you can end up with a very sore face otherwise.

Good idea.  I am not sure how long it will take for the hairs to grow back after waxing...that would be lousy if when the time comes for laser, that there are no hairs to zap!  Lol

[shortNsweet]

I was told not to do any waxing 2 weeks before an appointment.

[Padma]

It's also because plucking/waxing irritates the under-skin, so when the laser zaps it can make the skin very sore, especially on the face.