How to increase pain threshold?

[SailorMars1994]

How can I jack my pain tolerance up for facial hair removal? I have heard near horror stories of how painful electrosis is and how Laser is far less painless, yet whenever i did laser I found it was at times unbearable. Well,s atleast around the lips and chin elsewhere wasnt bad at all really. I mean I can take many punches to to head and feel nowehere near the amount of pain i feel with laser. How can I increase pain tolerance ?

[Alora]

How can I jack my pain tolerance up for facial hair removal? I have heard near horror stories of how painful electrosis is and how Laser is far less painless, yet whenever i did laser I found it was at times unbearable. Well,s atleast around the lips and chin elsewhere wasnt bad at all really. I mean I can take many punches to to head and feel nowehere near the amount of pain i feel with laser. How can I increase pain tolerance ?

I'm not sure if you can?!? I naturally have a high pain tolerance. So I'm not sure.

I know there are some theories about using meditation as a form of pain management. But that can take years of training.


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[KathyLauren]

The pain of laser depends on the settings of the instrument.  When I complained about the pain level after one session, she adjusted the settings next time and it was relatively painless.  I think she made the pulses a lower wattage but a longer duration.  It still did the job, but didn't hurt nearly as much.

For electrolysis, I use Emla cream, plus Advil and Tylenol. (My doctor recommended both together.  Check with your doctor before trying that.)  And I take along some music to play on headphones.  That helps a lot.  If I get into the music, it's like the zaps are happening in another room.

[staciM]

For both laser and electrolysis I use Advil, Emla cream and don't have any caffeine or my daily HRT before my treatment.  I'm not sure if holding back the HRT before the appointment does anything, but it seemed logical to me . The caffeine thing as well.

[Draculess]

I honestly never found electrolysis to be that painful. If you're use to injecting E, I don't think it should bother you that much. I know things can be different for everyone though. I've never tried laser myself. One thing I've found is that because I associate the pain with the desired result, it is pleasant to a degree, kind of like exercise. Sometimes I get kind of stoned before the appointment, but I never use Advil or anything really.

[JillianC]

One thing I've found is that because I associate the pain with the desired result, it is pleasant to a degree, kind of like exercise.

I do that too.  It helps give the pain a purpose.   

You can try to meditate, focusing on your breathing and other sensations besides your face.

[LizK]

How can I jack my pain tolerance up for facial hair removal? I have heard near horror stories of how painful electrosis is and how Laser is far less painless, yet whenever i did laser I found it was at times unbearable. Well,s atleast around the lips and chin elsewhere wasnt bad at all really. I mean I can take many punches to to head and feel nowehere near the amount of pain i feel with laser. How can I increase pain tolerance ?

What method of application for the laser is your tech doing...swiping action or flash move over slightly flash move over...

Here are some things that people have suggested to me

Reduce coffee
Ensure you have plenty of fluids - hydrated skin is less painful
Ensure you are well rested
If using numbing cream ensure you cover it 1 hour prior to treatment
Practice some mindfulness techniques
Anti inflammatory meds maybe a med to help relax(I use a small dose of Valium about 15 - 20 minutes before)
Ice your face in sections prior to having the laser applied
When all else fails...find yourself a Dr prepared to give you facial injections...in the end it is the only way I have managed to get through my Electrolysis...but I have hypersensitivity on my farcical skin due to other surgeries through my life

Hope some of this helps

Liz

[Axolotl]

Learn how to shut down as much of your senses and responses as possible.  I think this is something that people who have had a lot of emotional pain can carry over to deflecting physical pain.  At some point it's like, the physical pain is not an accurate representation of how bad the emotional pain is.  Nothing can physically hurt more than you've been emotionally hurt.

[Dena]

One trick to think about a subject you can really concentrate on. Often I would pick a math or programming problem but you could listen to an audio book or music. What you are not doing is thinking about the pain and you are ignoring what is being done to your face. It's something you get better at over time so if you have difficult at first, just keep trying.

[Cimara]

Have you tried Emla cream?  I had a prescription for it once when I had to have a skin biopsy.  It really numbs the skin.

[SailorMars1994]

Thank you so much for the tips <3

I have tried Emla cream many o' times and  found it did absolutley nothing for me. The only thing i recall, was this time in Winnipeg my laser lady braught out an ice rollar (put it in the freezer overnight, roll it on spots being treated and it freezes the skin). I found the Ice rollar to be the best thing possible. Still, the pain I have felt in regard to lip area and the chin still hurt alot. Not to the point of tears or screaming like a donkey, but still very very uncomfortable and still painful. That is by far the best solution I have gotten but my pain tolerance for laser seems to be sorely lacking compared to other ladies I have known.

Thanks for all the inputs <3

[SailorMars1994]

What method of application for the laser is your tech doing...swiping action or flash move over slightly flash move over...

Here are some things that people have suggested to me

Reduce coffee
Ensure you have plenty of fluids - hydrated skin is less painful
Ensure you are well rested
If using numbing cream ensure you cover it 1 hour prior to treatment
Practice some mindfulness techniques
Anti inflammatory meds maybe a med to help relax(I use a small dose of Valium about 15 - 20 minutes before)
Ice your face in sections prior to having the laser applied
When all else fails...find yourself a Dr prepared to give you facial injections...in the end it is the only way I have managed to get through my Electrolysis...but I have hypersensitivity on my farcical skin due to other surgeries through my life

Hope some of this helps

Liz

Thanks Liz <3!

Question, why does reduced coffee intake offer better results for pain. Like what would be in the caffine ?

[LizK]

Thanks Liz <3!

Question, why does reduced coffee intake offer better results for pain. Like what would be in the caffine ?

The reason I was given is that it will dehydrate and and exhasabate the pain because it is a stimulant...I had  severely  reduced caffeine today and noticed a slight difference, I was able to tolerate quite a bit more

[Michelle_P]

I apply EMLA cream or a 4% lidocaine OTC cream (Aspercreme, CVS pain relief cream, etc) to just the area to be worked on and cover it with a piece of plastic wrap (occlusive bandage) an hour before treatment.

I will take a dose of naproxen (OTC pain reliever) shortly before starting.  I do have a prescription for Norco, and did sometimes use a part of a tablet sublingually before starting on a sensitive area.  Sublingual administration produces a stronger effect than swallowing it, and will last 60-80 minutes.

The single biggest help was mindful meditation.  I got my electrologist to play instrumental music that was relatively calm, rather than some of the harsher experimental jazz with vocals that she had been enjoying, and which constantly threw me out of 'the zone'.  With the meditation I could enter a flow state where I could let go of the 'zaps', rather than hanging onto and anticipating the next burst of pain.

We tent to focus on the pain, and can accidentally find ourselves concentrating on it, which intensifies it.  With meditation and calmness, we can release the pain, stop anticipating the next burst, and simply be in the moment, knowing that each sensation brings us closer to our goal of being free of these hairs.

It is not easy to reach this state, but it is a very powerful tool.  It gets me through two 2 hour sessions most Mondays, for example.  On occasion I haven't been able to reach this state, and the session was very rough indeed.  Getting the music changed helped enormously.  Silly, but true.

[LizK]

I apply EMLA cream or a 4% lidocaine OTC cream (Aspercreme, CVS pain relief cream, etc) to just the area to be worked on and cover it with a piece of plastic wrap (occlusive bandage) an hour before treatment.

I will take a dose of naproxen (OTC pain reliever) shortly before starting.  I do have a prescription for Norco, and did sometimes use a part of a tablet sublingually before starting on a sensitive area.  Sublingual administration produces a stronger effect than swallowing it, and will last 60-80 minutes.

The single biggest help was mindful meditation.  I got my electrologist to play instrumental music that was relatively calm, rather than some of the harsher experimental jazz with vocals that she had been enjoying, and which constantly threw me out of 'the zone'.  With the meditation I could enter a flow state where I could let go of the 'zaps', rather than hanging onto and anticipating the next burst of pain.

We tent to focus on the pain, and can accidentally find ourselves concentrating on it, which intensifies it.  With meditation and calmness, we can release the pain, stop anticipating the next burst, and simply be in the moment, knowing that each sensation brings us closer to our goal of being free of these hairs.

It is not easy to reach this state, but it is a very powerful tool.  It gets me through two 2 hour sessions most Mondays, for example.  On occasion I haven't been able to reach this state, and the session was very rough indeed.  Getting the music changed helped enormously.  Silly, but true.

I Like audio books so I am going to have to try this...see if I can't drown out the beeps, find a good book and try and get right into it...I think I need to get to this zone...I know once I get wound up then I have to work twice as hard to get down calm again...

"We tent to focus on the pain, and can accidentally find ourselves concentrating on it"

This is me...I need to prevent myself from getting to this point

[KathyLauren]

I can certainly get into a "zone" when I am listening to music during an electrolysis session.  It is something I have to actively pursue, often several times in an hour.  If she zaps a follicle that was not sufficiently numbed by the Emla, it will jolt me out of the zone and I have to work to get back to it.

The first thing is to relax my body.  I hold a lof of my reaction to pain in my back.  I actually arch my back off the table if it's bad.  So I start by consciously relaxing my back muscles and gradually lowering my back down onto the table again.  Then I work on relaxing my facial muscles and my shoulders.  I'd like to flex my jaw a bit, because I hold tension there too, but I can't if she's working there.  I repeat this cycle several times if necessary until my muscles are all relaxed.

Then, once my body is relaxed, I focus in on the music.  I picture myself in an auditorium with the musician on stage in front of me.  I see the instrument and the performer.  I start to pay attention to the words or to the instrumental line.  My attention is entirely on the (imagined) visual field and on the audio.  And then I stay there, enjoying the music.

My chin or cheek is far away, outside the auditorium.  Although I am aware of the zaps happening, they are similar to the sounds of traffic from outside the hall.  I pay as little attention to them as possible.

It does help if you have practised mindfulness meditation before.  If I lose focus (okay, WHEN I lose focus), I just repeat the process to get back there.  I find it works better than the painkillers.

[AlyssaJ]

How can I jack my pain tolerance up for facial hair removal? I have heard near horror stories of how painful electrosis is and how Laser is far less painless, yet whenever i did laser I found it was at times unbearable. Well,s atleast around the lips and chin elsewhere wasnt bad at all really. I mean I can take many punches to to head and feel nowehere near the amount of pain i feel with laser. How can I increase pain tolerance ?

I'll just say that I found laser far more painful than electrolysis.  However, laser is quick. I think maybe 30-40 zaps in the 15 minutes that she was working on my face and neck.  Electrolysis I actually found to be less painful but you're laying there for typically and hour or two at a time and that's usually 2-3 zaps per minute (I'm totally guessing at that number but I think it's pretty close).

Avoid caffeine, make sure you're plenty hydrated, Tylenol (or similar analgesic) 30-60 minutes before your appointment, topical pain relievers (be careful with these), are all good strategies to help minimize the pain.

[Michelle_P]

KathyLauren, I think we had the same meditation instructor!  That is exactly what I do, right down to watching the virtual performance. ❤️

I am immersed in the performance, and the rest of the world flows past. I am aware of it, but I don't grasp at the other sensations.

That is a great description of the technique. Thank you!



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[SailorMars1994]

Thanks girls!

The caffine thing is duely noted and i will hydrate myself properly when I go for my next laser treatment which sadly, probably wont be until September or October (good thing i got a whack of sephora make-up )

My whole plan was to do laser as much as possible and get the electrolosis to take care of what the laser didnt. I have found that doing laser on my face while on Estrogen is actually more tolerable then when i wasnt on estrogen. Which is weird as I heard that E actually lowers pain tolerance or something like that. I also found that while on estrogen I am yeilding far better results of areas treated then when I was a girl full of testosterone.

[Jennifer RachaelAnn]

You can't increase your pain tolerance. It's genetic. Either you can take it or you can't. For example, I broke my collar bone when I was 16 after landing wrong when I came off a bull. Yes I used to ride bulls. I didn't even know it was broken for a week. Finally my shoulder started bothering me, and my arm wasn't working right so we went to the hospital and found out it was broken. That collar bone didn't knit right, and now has extra corners, but it still works properly.