Laser and therapy

[naomi599]

Wow what a long day today! First thing I did as soon as I got up this morning was get ready and go straight to my therapist in Atlanta. When there, we dove more into my personal life and I was able to let her know what I was hoping to accomplish in the next two years, that went well. She has been very helpful and kind so far towards me and also let me know not to worry that she has personally helped many people in the past with transition. She listened to me and did not shut me down while talking and actually helped me organize my feelings.

As soon as I left her office, I went straight back to my home town to my first laser appointment. Wonderful people... I opened up to them as to what I was trying to accomplish by getting laser done to my whole face. The nurse and the tech were very accepting and also let me know that they have performed laser on many other girls like me. They applied numbing cream to my face and let it sit for a while after all was said and done, the fun began... It wasn't so bad at first then the tech got over my upper lip. Wow talk about pain! that hurt sooo bad. Finally all is done for me today. Its been a long day. I can still smell the singed hair as I type this.

[Kylie]

Awesome!  Glad you had such a good day!  It sounds like we are on a similar timeline, I had my first electrolysis appt yesterday and have a laser consultations scheduled for next week.  Not much was accomplished at the first electrolysis session, but taking my first permanent step forward gave me some relief that things are underway.  Did you get the same sense of relief?  Keep me posted, it will be nice to speak with someone going through the same things around the same time.

[Shodan]

They applied numbing cream to my face and let it sit for a while after all was said and done, the fun began... It wasn't so bad at first then the tech got over my upper lip. Wow talk about pain! that hurt sooo bad. Finally all is done for me today. Its been a long day. I can still smell the singed hair as I type this.

I had my first laser appointment last Saturday as well. I've always been really sensitive  in my neck area, and boy, towards the end of it I was holding back tears of pain. Fortunately I only have to do this once a month, and I'm hoping that I'll get good results out of it.

[Kylie]

Did the laser make y'all's face really red or do anything else that would need explaining if you went to work the next day?  I have had to answer a couple questions about the redness from my electrolysis at work today.  Will probably try to schedule future appts on Fridays.  How much were your sessions?

[naomi599]

I had my first laser appointment last Saturday as well. I've always been really sensitive  in my neck area, and boy, towards the end of it I was holding back tears of pain. Fortunately I only have to do this once a month, and I'm hoping that I'll get good results out of it.

Its funny because I tried to hold the pain off as long as I could until towards the end as well.

Did the laser make y'all's face really red or do anything else that would need explaining if you went to work the next day?  I have had to answer a couple questions about the redness from my electrolysis at work today.  Will probably try to schedule future appts on Fridays.  How much were your sessions?

My face looks like ground beef atm lol. The tech said most of the swelling and redness should be gone by the next day. We will see... I'm paying 150 per session. The owner usually charges 200 for full face sessions but she was very kind to me.

[naomi599]

Anytime I visit somewhere new that requires me to release information about myself, I feel hope surging inside of me to hear I'm not the only one they have seen going through what im going through. So far my family doctor, my therapist, and the laser tech and the owner of the facility have all seen successful transformations. This restores my confidence a whole lot, knowing that I'm not the only one in my home town that is going through this.

All that aside, here is a picture of the aftermath next day:
I will have to get electrolysis done on my face as well because oddly enough I'm half ginger on the face...

[devon14]

Glad to hear that you are making progress towards your goal! When I first started, the best feeling in the world to me was to know that there are people out there who understand us and are sympathetic to our situation.

[Kylie]

Thanks so much for posting that Naomi!  I actually just logged on to ask you what your skin was looking like today.  That isn't bad at all!

Anytime I visit somewhere new that requires me to release information about myself, I feel hope surging inside of me to hear I'm not the only one they have seen going through what im going through.

So, so true, I actually think it is helping me get closer to coming out to my friends and family.  It is almost like a dry run for coming out, and their acceptance gives you faith that the people in your life may be a lot more accepting than you think they will be *fingers crossed*

Electrolysis wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting either.  You get used to the sting after the first few minutes, until they switch to another area where it starts all over.  My skin was pretty red and the size of my pores where the hair follicles were was alarming and disconcerting, but at about 42 hours after, they have closed back up for the most part. I was really scared because my skin has always been so smooth. It is mostly healed now, I will try to remember to post a pic after my next appt.  Two people asked about my redness the next day at work, I just told them I must have gotten some sun.  It might be a little more noticeable with your fair skin.

[Shodan]

Did the laser make y'all's face really red or do anything else that would need explaining if you went to work the next day?  I have had to answer a couple questions about the redness from my electrolysis at work today.  Will probably try to schedule future appts on Fridays.  How much were your sessions?

Afterwards it was like I had a really bad rash (which I still feel today). I'm going to start lotioning it up with some aloe Solarcane to help with the burn and everything. She's charging me $500 for a package of 6 to cover my entire face, but I'm doing it in four installments of $125, which makes it much more manageable for me. 

[LivingTheDream]

Had my first laser session 30min ago, sucks ass lol. Think I'd rather have a tooth pulled! Even on its lowest setting still hurts like a mofo! Next time is gonna be worse she said...*gulp*... Think I need a shot (or 10)... The things we do to be beautiful..

[Allyda]

I'm staying home today so I'll probably give myself a treatment. I was supposed to treat last Sunday but forgot, lol! While it does take longer when you DIY these treatments, I have the benefit of not being in a hurry, and more important fine tuning the laser settings so as not to hurt too bad (it has to hurt some so ya know it's working.

[kaye]

Those able to get laser on their facial hair should count their lucky stars; never worked for me. Now mine is basically gone after 80 hours of electrolysis but there's a whole heap of gruelling pain and several thousand bucks I could have saved.

At least laser worked for my back and chest.

[Allyda]

Those able to get laser on their facial hair should count their lucky stars; never worked for me. Now mine is basically gone after 80 hours of electrolysis but there's a whole heap of gruelling pain and several thousand bucks I could have saved.

At least laser worked for my back and chest.

My being Native American, I wasn't ever that hairy in the first place. I never had any upper lip hair, nor hair on the sides of my face. Only sporadic patches on my neck and chin were the worse. And, if it were'nt for my age it'd be all gone. Fate however played a very cruel joke on me, and during the last year much of it turned gray/silver. It is those hairs I'm having the most difficulty getting rid of. It may take electrolosis to get them removed.

Ally

[LivingTheDream]

I'm part Native American but I'm pretty hairy   Your lucky that you aren't hairy. I don't got any gray body hair yet, only a bit on my head. I thought laser would be easy but it hurts like hell lol; I can't even imagine electrolysis cuz everyone says thats even worse!

[Allyda]

I'm part Native American but I'm pretty hairy   Your lucky that you aren't hairy. I don't got any gray body hair yet, only a bit on my head. I thought laser would be easy but it hurts like hell lol; I can't even imagine electrolysis cuz everyone says thats even worse!

You'll eventually have to gear up for it girl. For laser or electrolosys are the only ways to permanently remove beard hair. it will take many treatments too honey.

Ally

[naomi599]

I'm part Native American but I'm pretty hairy   Your lucky that you aren't hairy. I don't got any gray body hair yet, only a bit on my head. I thought laser would be easy but it hurts like hell lol; I can't even imagine electrolysis cuz everyone says thats even worse!

Its okay, for the most part I'm hairy as well. The T blockers have helped a lot in reducing body hair and Ive only been on T blockers for 2 months and DHT blockers for 4. My facial hair on the other hand... Is mostly Red... I foresee Electrolysis in my future lol. Don't worry too much, in the end the pain is only miniscule compared to the dysphoria.

[LivingTheDream]

She told me before she started that I have really sensitive skin... Any good tips to deal with the pain? Yes I'm a big sissy 

[Kylie]

Wow, ok, I just had my first laser treatment, and I have to say that electrolysis has been much less painful for me .  That was really annoying.  It was weird too because the numbing cream made my whole face feel numb.  I couldn't feel my face to the touch, but I felt every damn rubberband snap from the laser! Great anology btw whoever said that is what it felt like.  It is exactly what mine felt like.  I would hate to feel what it would be like without the cream!  Where are you all going to get it so inexpensively?  Mine is $350 a session!  I am going to a dermatologist where an RN does the laser, maybe that is why. I will have to say, I had no burning and there was never any sign i had it done. Does the at home laser really work?

[Allyda]

Wow, ok, I just had my first laser treatment, and I have to say that electrolysis has been much less painful for me .  That was really annoying.  It was weird too because the numbing cream made my whole face feel numb.  I couldn't feel my face to the touch, but I felt every damn rubberband snap from the laser! Great anology btw whoever said that is what it felt like.  It is exactly what mine felt like.  I would hate to feel what it would be like without the cream!  Where are you all going to get it so inexpensively?  Mine is $350 a session!  I am going to a dermatologist where an RN does the laser, maybe that is why. I will have to say, I had no burning and there was never any sign i had it done. Does the at home laser really work?

I have my own lasers and 1 IPL. My IPL is a Silkin Flash -n -Go and it actually works very well for larger areas such as my legs and arms. My face is too small for me to use it there because it needs it's sensors to touch skin before it will fire. I can use it on some areas of my neck though if I position it just right. For me the IPL is the faster path to hair removal.  During/after the initial pulse it's a little painful but that soon subsides. Your then left with a little redness that goes away in about a day. The biggest drawback to my IPL is the bulbs. They burn out after 1000 pulses so you need to replace them at about $35. a pop. I usually save up $100. and buy them 3 at a time off eBay.

As for my lasers, I have a professional grade Rio that will treat up to 60 hairs at a time, and a small single hair laser that I use on my eyebrows. My Rio is the one I mostly use to treat my face. It has a small round head compared to my IPL's larger rectangular one, and I can reach most areas with it. With my lasers I've found the intensity setting is key for best results. Many girls using personal lasers tend to use the lower less painful settings and as a result have poor results. If you don't feel that "rubber band snap," the setting isn't high enough. No pain no gain girls, lol!! I use it with a small round mirror focusing on areas about 3" x 3" while watching TV, listening to music, etc., which takes my mind off the pain. Up until I started dealing with these grays I've had good results over the last 9-10 months. However, I don't treat but once per month though as I've alot on my plate. As for my single hair laser the principal is about the same. The intensity has to be set high enough for you to feel that rubber band snap for best results.

I also recently bought a NoNo which to me was a waiste of money. It doesn't work as advertised and the thermacon tips burn out very easily. If I can find my purchase invoice I'll be sending it back for a refund.

I've also heard of girls having great results with the Tria laser on facial hair, however I've never used one and probably never will cause I've enough $$ tied up in what I have. Here's a breakdown of the cost of the devices so far:

Rio. $435. plus shipping
IPL. $326 shipped
Single $180. plus shipping
2 sets IPL bulbs. $220. shipped
Total: $1,160. so far.

However when you consider the price of each session to have this professionally done, IMO they've already paid for themselves.

Hope this helps.

Ally

[Kylie]

Wow, you should open up your own clinic Allyda . I will definitely check those out, thanks! I will probs finish out my face with the dermatologist since it ~is~ my money maker after all.  Might get one of those for the body hair though.  I never knew they actually sold those for home use.