Susan's Place Transgender Resources

So I had my first face laser session today and hooooollyyyy **** **** ****! I had prepared for it to hurt, but I didn't have a clue. I have very sensitive skin, so that was a factor since even the nurse seemed a bit surprised about how tender my skin looked afterwards.

Any tips you folks have found to make it less excruciating? I'm booked to go back in about a month and a half.

And for those who haven't experienced it yet - don't get too scared or put off by my story. Just remember: beauty knows no pain.

I think my pain tolerance increased tenfold due to laser hair removal.

How to make it less painful? Keep going ;) The less hair there is, the less pain. The first session is like D-Day on your face. The next couple will be pretty bad as well, but by the fourth or fifth it will become much easier. Just have to stick with it!

Tried numbing cream. Kinda helps.....not much, i just wiggle the hell outta my toes and focus on that, I tend to tense my whole body with each zap. Stopps me from jerking away.

Hurts less and less with every session.

Just remember it'll be totally worth it, and it is :)

Lol.. I remember thinking of some funny stuff sitting in that chair getting my face zapped...

First one I just thought of the laser as a scanner, trying to just completely disconnect myself from the pain. It actually worked. You get into a rhythm with it and you can really take a lot.

Second one I put myself in the shoes of the laser. I was thinking HA! Yeah! Take THAT! And THAT! Stupid hair! Gotcha!

It got to the point where my doctor told me he couldn't believe how determined I was, that most of his patients would be crying and/or slapping him with how hard he was zapping me. I would just say "keep going & give me all that my skin can handle!" He would reluctantly go further, still careful not to burn me though

I am going for my first laser session this Friday for my face.  I haven't started HRT .

Any suggestions about preparing.

Thanks

Jessica

Quote from: JessicaAnne on January 20, 2015, 07:21:50 AM
I am going for my first laser session this Friday for my face.  I haven't started HRT .

Any suggestions about preparing.

Thanks

Jessica

Deep breaths.  Apply numbing cream 15-30 minutes prior to the session, to allow it to absorb.
Afterward, make sure you have good high SPF sunscreen, your skin will be very photosensitive for a while. Products like Tendskin may help you avoid ingrown hairs.

I've done lasers on my face some, but have mostly gone with electrolysis.  The upper lip is always the worst, and used to make me reflexively cringe.  Now when I go to electrolysis sessions I meditate when she works on my upper lip.  I'll still have tears dripping down occasionally, but I can stay still and don't feel it as much. 

Btdubs, electrolysis is way more painful than laser, but more effective on each individual hair.  Laser is great for coverage and time, although becomes less effective the more your facial hair thins out.

Laser treatments seem to need a little over a month of time to elapse between them. Each follicle has about a month and a half long growth cycle, but the laser treatments need several weeks for the most effected hairs to fall out, then a few weeks for new growth that can be lasered.

Umm, the last thing I can think of is that you have to be patient.  Hair removal is really effective, however it'll probably take you around 2years to get rid of most of your facial hair.

Good luck, and remember, beauty is pain. [emoji24]
Thank goodness getting my [emoji139][emoji140] doesn't hurt.  I'd love doing them slightly less if it did.


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I might have a pretty high pain threshold then, Laser never hurt for me. The only thing that sucks is the cold air the machine blows on your face. The laser zaps felt like nothing to me.

Putting a cold compress on your face afterwards can help quite a bit or so I was told.

This is an easy one. Make sure you ask for numbing cream and how to get it. I've done eight sessions before with one to go for my chest, abdomen, and front of neck. Numbing cream is a God send, don't do laser without it.

Like Jennygirl said, the only way to lessen the pain is to get the first one over with. lol  I also raised my pain tolerance level at the first session.  Then in subsequent sessions I was bracing for that initial pain, but it never happened like that because the dark hairs are less and less.  After the first few sessions my face was pretty red and even a little swollen, but that gets less and less over time and more sessions.  The cool compress immediately afterward helps a lot.  My dermatologist also said that it hurts less if you avoid caffeine that day, too (something I simply forget each time. ha).

Good luck & Have fun!  Just keep thinking about how nice it will be to not have that 5 o'clock shadow!

I used hypnotic pain control.

Imagine a control panel in your brain that controls how your body feels sensation. Imagine a pain knob. Try turning it up and feeling how you can make sensations hurt more. Once you know how to do that, it's no problem to turn it down so you feel less pain. The more you practice the easier it will get and the more control you will have.

Have your doctor write you a prescription for a numbing cream containing a lidocaine/benzocaine/tetracane blend and have it mixed at a compounding pharmacy. Put it on about an hour before the session and put Saran Wrap on your face to keep it from drying out. You can still feel the zaps but they are not nearly as bad.

A simple and inexpensive thing to do is to apply an ice pack briefly after each "zap".  I did my last 4 sessions without numbing cream this way.

I just envision myself back in childhood, where my friends and I would thwack each other with rubber bands.  Then I rejoice in the fact that I don't have to do "boy" stuff anymore.  The pain seems a lot less after that.

I'll be starting my own sessions next month. BRING ON THE PAIN!! >D

It's worth it, that's what keeps me going. <3

I wish you luck on yours.

My Tech gave me stress balls for each hand to squeeze.

Crying silently seems to help, hehe.

Really, just reminding myself that I was zapping them away once and for all would give me added resolve, the trick is remembering to think that while getting zapped.

Oh, and a bit of OTC painkiller like ibuprofen an hour or so prior seems to help but check with your doc about that stuff so I am not in violation of Susan's rules.

Lordie  do  I  remember  laser  hair  removal.  like  15  years  ago,  pain,  skin  burns,  ouch !  still  hurts  just  thinking  about  it. 
i  used  over  the  counter  numbing  cream.  i  reckon  it was  the  thought  that  counted. 
  a  friend  had  a  friend  that  was  a dentist.  she  would  stop there  before  her  laser  appointment  and  get  a  few  shots  of  novacain.    dont  we wish  we all  had  a  dentist  friend...
  it  got  easier,  but  never  pleasnt. 
  just  glad  i  had  very  little  hair  to  start  with  on  the  chin  and  upper  lip,  and  none on  the  bod.
  in  the  words  of  the  old  chineese  master,  "  Be  strong  grasshopper". 

Ibuprofen does help, and it does get more pleasant each session as you have less hair.  Also, I'm told avoiding caffeine is a good idea and it seems to help me at least. 

Just a question for anyone who can answer. How long is it noticeable that you have had a session after it is done? is your face red for days, hours, sore, bumpy, etc?

Thank you for your responses.

I used to take a pain med for any dermal surgery like oxycodone or morphine.  Just a low dose.  Then like the others have a general anastetic like lidocaine put on it first.  If that place doesn't sell it, you can legally buy online from piercing or tatoo suppliers.   I buy in powder form from Taiwan for cheap and compound it into cold cream.  It's totally legal to buy under the fda regulations, just not resell unless you have a liscense. Just like anything, read the label because you can overdose.  It's used to slow the heart down in large doses..

ameliato, Noticeable to you or to others? as there is a difference.  You will probably be a bit red for a couple of hours after, so someone who knows you will be able to tell you have been whacked around a bit and look a bit sore or sun burnt.  But unless you develop spots or are burnt then it will more than likely subside and not be noticeable to others by the next day or even within hours.

On the other hand you will feel differences for longer,  My skin feels kind of clammy or waxy for a while after a session,  some of that is actually that it feels smooth and i figured this was a) the close shave for the session coupled with b)the tops of the hairs burnt off and c) the skin being very  slightly swollen meaning its only skin felt to the touch rather than a lifetime of feeling stubble.   When it does grow/shed out a bit such that you need to shave i find that its very difficult to get a good shave for about a week, the hairs don't cut well and it feels sore to drag the razor over my skin.  Its kind of like trying to shave a couple of days growth with an old blunt razor, unconformable and ineffective.  I have also had slight Folliculitis meaning each follicle is slightly swollen which is noticeable to me in the right light or to touch but not really apparent to anyone else. So other than a bad shave none of this is likely to be noticeable to anyone who isn't close enough to know what your up to anyway.

And of course the other thing is ultimately you wont have a 5 o'clock shadow and during the process there will be some areas that are clearer than others.

But always with a caveat that everyone's skin is different so your experience may be very different to mine

How I coped with the pain. I have a bad tendon around the ankle,  I use to grab that and squeeze, pain to take pain away  worked for me. Now I can hold a conversation with them, well could if I wasn't so afraid of moving when they went across the top lip.

@Ameliato: I would be red for a little while so in winter you would notice I have done something, if you saw me soon after. I found drinking around 1L of watersoon after helped in getting my skin back to normal colour. I also have problems burning and staying burnt so my skin does tend to recover pretty quickly. So while drinking the water works for me, as always YMMV

Until you shed, the hairs that will shed may seem to appear a but darker. So, you may have extra shadow for a week or two before you see WAY less shadow.

The redness fades surprisingly quickly, a few hours is right, but it does feel like an instant sunburn for a while after which may make you think the red will last longer than it ultimately does. I wouldn't fret it.

As others have eluded, it does not all come out after one session, patches tend to remain. And I mean patches. Like it may look like the tech missed entire sections if you let it grow out. It is weird. And those patches may hold out for a few sessions, too.

Here are a couple examples. The first is what I natrually grew. Pretty burly. My beard used to grow fast!
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgsUvb5X.jpg&hash=f8e4e9c6f6a84483ce5f6a4ac6f225656e487c22)

This next one is after my first session and shedding, and then letting it grow out for a week because I was curious to see what was left. This was a day or two before shaving it all and going in for my second session. As you can see, gray hair is untouched, but a LOT of the dark was zapped away, and yet, little patches were untouched. I wish I got more angles because it left some interesting patterns. I was told, the area below and behind the jaw can be more resilient than others, it certainly was for me.
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F7U7h1Hw.jpg&hash=fc37d3e70be752d79babf66710dc99e9e0f98c77)

I remember going in not expecting much pain because I've read some other people's experiences and they said it doesn't hurt. But Holy ****, I was VERY wrong. So wrong that I was tearing up so bad that the tech offered me tissues :x

I have had quite a few lazer sessions and can honestly say it was always pain free.
Oh dear my pants are on fire.

Well at least it was pain free between the zaps.

Day 2. Now it started to itch like nobody's business! I was told not to scratch because of an infection risk. How fun! Well, at least the afterburn has ceased.

I have to say, I have very bad dysphoria about my facial hair, but this is still right on the edge of my ability to cope. I will continue the treatments, but had it been even slightly more, I probably couldn't.

And yeah, I have extremely black and visible stubble today. No chance of not getting gendered anything but male.

Quote from: ameliato on January 20, 2015, 09:38:36 PM
Just a question for anyone who can answer. How long is it noticeable that you have had a session after it is done? is your face red for days, hours, sore, bumpy, etc?

Thank you for your responses.

I'm usually red for the rest of the day after laser and then my face is still a little puffy for about 2 days. After the first day no one really even notices. I just had my 8th session yesterday and no one at work has ever said that I look any different. maybe thats just because I work with all men who are totally clueless about these things. :P  Women would probably be more likely to notice though.

Quote from: zog on January 21, 2015, 07:17:45 AM
Day 2. Now it started to itch like nobody's business! I was told not to scratch because of an infection risk. How fun! Well, at least the afterburn has ceased.

I have to say, I have very bad dysphoria about my facial hair, but this is still right on the edge of my ability to cope. I will continue the treatments, but had it been even slightly more, I probably couldn't.

And yeah, I have extremely black and visible stubble today. No chance of not getting gendered anything but male.

DO NOT, I say again, DO NOT scratch it. Another thing is you might also have a small breakout around the area that was zapped since your skin is not accustomed to being zapped yet. This is fairly common, but not everyone breaks out after a zap session.

One thing I recommend for your next session to reduce the itch and possibility of a breakout is to gently exfoliate (preferably one with moisturizer) as soon as you get back from getting zapped. This definitely helped me in reducing both of what I mentioned.

Quote from: TDawesome on January 22, 2015, 04:59:53 AM
DO NOT, I say again, DO NOT scratch it. Another thing is you might also have a small breakout around the area that was zapped since your skin is not accustomed to being zapped yet. This is fairly common, but not everyone breaks out after a zap session.

One thing I recommend for your next session to reduce the itch and possibility of a breakout is to gently exfoliate (preferably one with moisturizer) as soon as you get back from getting zapped. This definitely helped me in reducing both of what I mentioned.

My place sold me a special moisturizer (don't know if it was for laser treatment, or just a prettied up bottle). The day after some times I would still feel raw. I would rub that into my face to help ease the burning a few times a day while at work.

I do electrolysis (thermolysis) but will be going for laser in a few weeks when my electrologist is on vacation.

How is the pain from laser compared to electrolysis? They may have to use the YAG laser since I have darker skin.

After my first 5 sessions my face was red and puffy for about 4 days (sensitive skin) by the 5th day, it was mostly gone. I have to say those early sessions were super duper painful. I cried at the end of most of them since back then my neck and face were being done and my beard shadow was really heavy. Under the chin, right on the jawline and sideburns hurt just as much as the upper lip for me. The upper lip was actually not as bad in comparison because I would manage to get a super close shave where as the other areas it was a lot tougher to do a close shave cause of the weird angles my hair would grow in. 

I haven't read through the thread but light exfoliation after your laser session helps clear whatever dead hairs are left behind. When you start shedding you're better off exfoliating those hairs vs plucking them out I think, even if they come out very easily I wouldn't want to risk damaging the follicle imo. Plus exfoliating helps with reducing shadow too.

After a year's worth of laser sessions I'm like 90-95% clear.

Isn't damaging the follicle the point?

Plucking can cause ingrown hairs and pulling them from the root makes it harder for laser to do its job because plucking ruins the follicle, it has to be intact so it can be properly lasered.

I used to tug the hairs lightly 5-6 days after a laser session. You really don't want to pluck them because that means the hair wasn't necessarily treated due to being in the wrong cycle of growth.

Generally speaking, don't pluck at all. If you're as impatient as I am, you could probably get away with doing light tugs on the hairs. If the hair is dead, it will slide right out. If there is any resistance at all, just leave it in for the next round.

Quote from: Lady_Oracle on January 22, 2015, 09:37:50 PM
Plucking can cause ingrown hairs and pulling them from the root makes it harder for laser to do its job because plucking ruins the follicle, it has to be intact so it can be properly lasered.

No, I mean laser and electro are supposed to destroy the follicle so the hair doesn't regrow. And you really don't want it to regrow.

Plucking is bad I agree because the hair grows back stronger.

Quote from: ImagineKate on January 22, 2015, 10:27:23 PM
No, I mean laser and electro are supposed to destroy the follicle so the hair doesn't regrow. And you really don't want it to regrow.

Plucking is bad I agree because the hair grows back stronger.

My eyebrows are totally disagreeing with you right now.  They aren't bushier then when I started plucking them.  It's the same principle as waxing, it doesn't really kill the hair, just pulls it out.  If you want to kill the follicle, it needs to be left inside the skin for enough time for the chemical reaction to eat away the root of the follicle.  Targeted folliculitis essentially.

I've heard that plucking your brows causes increased facial hair growth, but can't attest to any validity to that statement.  I take Biosil, to make my hair grow faster and because it's good for my skin and nails.  IMO razors are so much faster and easier to use, and don't disrupt laser/electrolysis.

Eyebrows grow slower than most other hair on your body.

Plucking is also bad because of the trauma to the skin, especially where you might be receiving laser/electro.

It can cause hypo or hyperpigmentation. Not fun at all!

My hair grows like a frickin weed, luckily confined to my head. Unfortunately not restricted to the sides of my ears :o Anyone else have those little tufts? I hate em!

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 23, 2015, 05:49:53 PM
Plucking is also bad because of the trauma to the skin, especially where you might be receiving laser/electro.

It can cause hypo or hyperpigmentation. Not fun at all!

My hair grows like a frickin weed, luckily confined to my head. Unfortunately not restricted to the sides of my ears :o Anyone else have those little tufts? I hate em!

I used to pretend those tufts were part of my fairy and elf look LOL

Hyperpigmentation is, however, no joke unless you want a new birth mark or brown spot.  I had six laser sessions and signed the consent form that clearly warned about it as a known complication and recommended daily UV sun protection.  I was not that disciplined and regrettably have some new brown spots added to my collection.  Hope you all are smarter about prevention. 

Day 5 and I'm still yet to shed any of the hair. I don't know if it's safe to try shaving, but I'm pretty sick of this black stubble.

Yep I do everything I can to keep my skin healthy in between laser appointments. I stay out of the sun, exfoliate, constantly moisturize and shave the hairs. My pores and overall complexion has improved a lot thanks to laser so thats been a nice plus, so it makes me look a tad bit younger   :)

hey zog have you tried exfoilating? That helps remove those fried hairs left behind if not you should start shedding about a week and a half to two weeks in, I know it takes awhile  :-\ but you should be able to shave those hairs off by the 7th day. 

I shall try exfoliating. I bought some stuff that should be pretty gentle to the skin so I won't break anything.

Day 6. Seems like the first round didn't do the trick. After I exfoliated, I tried carefully to pull on the hairs and they're not coming out. Damn. Well, tomorrow I'm going to shave so at least I'll get rid of this damn stubble.

I never had an issue shaving after laser. Give it 1-2 days only.
Yes there were the melted hairs that looked nasty which the razor left.
Get a new one and lightly do it. You will feel much better.

Plenty the laser missed that need trimming. Its not going to effect it now 1 week later.

I found hairs started to come out after a week or so two weeks they fall out themselves, some remained stubborn and have resited laser.

Yeah, I was told to avoid shaving for a couple days. Never had an issue.