Electrolysis Down South

[Morgana]

     The good news is that I'll be able to get S.R.S in about a year. The surgery doesn't really scare me. What scares me is the genital electrolysis, or rather, how much it's going to hurt. I've heard that it's worse than laser, and I'm about half way through laser for my face. So, would some of you who have had genital electrolysis be willing to tell me a bit about it? How long does it take per session? How many sessions? I'm considering getting a double tray mouth guard to bite down on during electro. Any other helpful info or advice?

[ForeverLacey]

Ask your Primary Care Doctor for a prescription of Emla. To be honest, it's no worse than the face. There are areas that are sensitive and areas that are tolerable. The worst area for me was around the base of the penis, the scrotal skin and perineum were both manageable.

I believe it took me about 20 to 25 hours going every other week for an hour or two over the course of a year.

[Karen]

Are there medications for pain...lower or face?

I am in the middle of electrolysis now, and while bearable, it gets tough after about an hour.  Would love to do more, faster. 

[Kendra]

I used EMLA cream for the more difficult areas - available over the counter in most countries, requires a prescription in the US. 

What I found more important than EMLA is avoid all caffeine 8 hours before electrolysis and drink lots of water beforehand. 

I endured south pole electrolysis for a year, similar experience as ForeverLacey.  It's not a joy but you get through it by thinking about the goal and the benefits.  Some areas down there were surprisingly easy, but a few areas were ...holy smoke.  I'll admit one time I startled my electrologist when she noticed a deep bite mark on my hand - I had done that myself.

[AnonyMs]

It may be possible to get a topical anaesthetic compounded that's a lot stronger than Elma.

[zirconia]

Hi, Morgana

So, would some of you who have had genital electrolysis be willing to tell me a bit about it? How long does it take per session? How many sessions? I'm considering getting a double tray mouth guard to bite down on during electro. Any other helpful info or advice?

I did it on myself, so this may no be exactly what you are looking for, but...

I think it took a total of around 30 hours using flash modality to get rid of everything from the anus to the belly line except for a triangle shape that I wanted to keep. I spent something around two hours per session–spaced a day apart—until everything was clear, and then waited until enough had grown in to start the next round.

The total time span was about a year. I could probably have spent more time per session and/or worked faster, but working on oneself requires a bit of contortionism so I didn't feel like doing really long sessions. Also, the absolute time span would have been the same due to how growth cycles work.

I adjusted the power to where I could be absolutely and positively certain each insertion killed the hair—certainly higher than most electrologists would when treating clients. I knew it would cause some hyperpigmentation but didn't care, as I knew it would completely disappear in time.

The pain was sharp but bearable, but then I guess I can stand pain fairly well. The spots that hurt the most were the base of the penis and the area right adjacent to the anus. Technically the groin line was the most difficult, because the hair pattern was the hardest to follow.

During the following year I saw maybe ten or twenty small/thin hairs awake in the area. That was to be expected, as the growth cycles are not set in stone. One year is really too short to ensure that every single dormant one awakes and can be treated.

The only real advice I can give is to relax and accept the pain. Tensing up only intensifies it. Also, I'd ask your doctor to suggest when to time the last session before surgery, and schedule the previous sessions to enable the electrologist to make a careful final clearing at that time.

[DawnOday]

It may be possible to get a topical anaesthetic compounded that's a lot stronger than Elma.

I believe 5% lidocaine is as strong as you can get. Which Aspercreme claims 4%. ELMA is 2.5% lidocaine and 2.5% Prilocaine. Be careful though. You can overdose and it is not any fun when you do. Let's just say, I have some experience.

[AnonyMs]

There's a standard topical anesthetic formulation, which I think is called BLT that's over 30% anesthetic ingredients. If you add DMSO its even better. You need a prescription to get it compounded in Australia. Probably best not to spread it on too wide an area.

[Dani]

If the topical anesthetics are not effective enough, then the only method more effective is injectable lidocaine. This can be done only by a doctor or dentist and needs to be done right before the electrolysis.

Here in Florida, we have many Medical Spas that are supervised by doctors and some offer electrolysis. They can inject  lidocaine or other anesthetic before electrolysis and you will not feel anything. This costs about twice what a regular electrologist charges.

I had genital electrolysis a few years ago and this worked for me. Not all Medical Spas offer this, so you must call around to see if any particular Med Spa is good to go or not. Some electrologists who offer marathon sessions can do injectable anesthetics as well.

[Maybebaby56]

Hi Morgana,

I have gone both routes: injectable lidocaine and topical EMLA cream.  I had the same fears you do, so my initial clearing was done at Precision Hair Removal in Wilmette, IL under IV sedation and a local anesthetic.  It is associated with Dr. Zukowski's FFS clinic.

They start an IV on you and give you a shot of narcotics, which is supposed to put you in a "twilight sleep".  Yeah, right.  I got a good buzz, for sure, but when Dr. Z stuck me with the lidocaine injections in my scrotum and genital area, it hurt like hell.  Still, that was the worst of it. Then Irina, the electrologist, goes to work while you are in a pleasant fog. 

I had a complete clearing done in 4 1/2 hours, but it cost me $1000. Since I needed to do that at least three more times, it just wasn't practical for me to fly to Chicago and lay out that kind of cash.

Fortunately, the electrologist I was seeing in Alexandria, VA for my face also did genital electrolysis.  I got a prescription for EMLA cream and slathered it on there at least an hour before hand and stuck plastic wrap all around my crotch.  It was a breeze. Transcutaneous absorption in the genital area seems to be much better than on the face.  I did five more clearings every five or six weeks, each taking less than an hour, and my SRS surgeon was pleased with the results.

The good thing about the lidocaine injection route is that the electrologist can really turn up the current and take her time finding and destroying the hair follicles.  That made it possible for my local electrologist to sweep the area with a laser and then go after the few stubborn hair follicles by electrolysis, making it a quick process. On the downside, my scrotum was a red, scabbed, swollen mess and I was walking funny for a couple of days after coming back from Chicago!

~Terri

[laya_lumbee]

Morgana - congrats on being able to get your surgery! Promise that year will fly right on bye. From my own personal experience I was told to get laser hair removal before getting my surgery, which I did. They say the more laser you get done the less & less it will hurt. Well I'm here today to tell you the truth lol - IT DIDNT GET BETTER! I had about 8 treatments done prior to my surgery and it was awful. I actually suffered even more pain because I went through with the braziallian (front and back) for extra smoothness. I have never had electrolysis but did happen to look into it once before. I could only imagine how much more pain it would be 🙈

I wish you well on your hair removal journey !

Hugs !!

[Ashley32]

Hi, Morgana

I did it on myself, so this may no be exactly what you are looking for, but...

I'm trying to do electrolysis on myself in prep for GRS using galvanic method on a home made device. I'm using ballet stainless probes, F shank size 4. I can reliably kill a hair in 10 seconds with 0.5mA current when probe is inserted properly. Problem is, I'm having an incredibly hard time getting insertions right. I'm using a usb microscope and viewing the stream through a program called "Open Broadcast Software" on a large TV. I have it set to flip the image on the horizontal axis and set the rotation angle such that movement on the screen makes sense with what I'm doing. I can put the tip of the probe anywhere I want no problem but getting the angle correct is incredibly difficult. Do you have any tips on how to get placement right? How did you manage to do this?

[Dena]

The insertion angle is determined by the direction of the hair shaft. It might be more difficult for you because you see in 3D because of depth perception and working off a TV screen restricts you to two dimensions. Even if I could have treated myself, I think it's better to have somebody else do it as it allowed me to concentrate on pain control.

[steph2.0]

I had my second session of down below electrolysis yesterday.

The first one a few weeks ago did not go well. I thought I'd properly prepared, but after only ten minutes I was literally crying on the electrologist's shoulder, and I had to quit for the day.

Yesterday was so much better. What I hadn't done the first time was adequately hydrate, and wrap everything in Saran Wrap. I must have drank most of a gallon of water yesterday morning, and I really slathered on the numbing cream and wrapped it in plastic wrap before the 1:20 drive to the clinic. I won't say it was a breeze, but it was definitely tolerable. There were a few pretty painful pokes here and there, but they were infrequent enough that I didn't have to be scraped off the ceiling.

I use the BLT cream. You need a prescription, and you have to get it through a compounding pharmacy. It's a mixture of 20% Benzocaine, 6% Lidocaine, and 4% Tetracaine.

The cream is expensive, but don't go too light on it. Slather it on an hour to an hour and a half before the procedure, and make sure it's very well covered by plastic wrap.
Skip all caffeine for at least 8 hours (that includes the obvious coffee and tea, and also soft drinks with caffeine and I think chocolate, too).
Drink lots of water! It makes a huge difference.
Take 800mg ibuprofen 45 minutes before starting.

Then concentrate on what you're accomplishing, and how much closer you're getting to your goal.

Stephanie

[zirconia]

Hi, Ashley

I'm trying to do electrolysis on myself in prep for GRS using galvanic method on a home made device. I'm using ballet stainless probes, F shank size 4. I can reliably kill a hair in 10 seconds with 0.5mA current when probe is inserted properly.

Wow! Ten seconds with pure galvanic is incredibly fast! It's the textbook speed for blend. Have you made any special additions to the basic circuitry—but no, if it is galvanic and the total current is given, that couldn't be... Anyway, I think that sounds impressive.

Problem is, I'm having an incredibly hard time getting insertions right. I'm using a usb microscope and viewing the stream through a program called "Open Broadcast Software" on a large TV. I have it set to flip the image on the horizontal axis and set the rotation angle such that movement on the screen makes sense with what I'm doing. I can put the tip of the probe anywhere I want no problem but getting the angle correct is incredibly difficult. Do you have any tips on how to get placement right? How did you manage to do this?

I use 8x surgical loupes. The USB microscope idea also sounds intriguing... maybe I should try it. Although, as Dena said, the lack of stereoscopic vision may complicate things.

Anyway, as she also mentioned, the needle should be aligned with the direction of the hair shaft right where it exits the follicle. Trimming sometimes helps to make the angle more evident. When the angle is correct the needle should glide in with practically no resistance. If you need to use any force the angle is wrong—and the needle will not be in the follicle.

The theory often taught in schools is that the needle diameter should be about equivalent to that of the hair to be removed. However, I find using the largest needle that will comfortably fit more easy.

One thing I sometimes also find useful is to bend the needle shaft so the tip is at a 30 or 45 degree angle to the handle, and tighten it only just enough to provide good contact while still allowing it to rotate. That helps the needle to in a sense auto-align once the tip enters the follicle (and also makes it more difficult to force it in at the wrong angle). Depending on how difficult the area is to access, I sometimes bend it even more.

I hope this is of some help...