Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I'm probably going to be doing my first laser session on beard area the next few days, maybe wednesday if things go as planned. Was somewhat sudden, and so I had a few quick questions.

1) How long does it usually take? I was going to ask the place tomorrow, but just might as well ask here while I am.

2) How much pain should I expect afterward? This is the big one I'm worried about. I am inexperienced driving and dont know the area at all, and concerned about being in too bad of a state to drive safely after. (Also, how bad does it look? Will I be presentable enough to hang around in the area for a while and shop or something?) This is actually why it may be happening so suddenly, as my dad has to travel to the area anyway for business and was worried about me driving so I can grab a ride with him and do the appointment while he's in his meeting, which is wednesday. But this then causes the second issue in that if I finish early, will I want to be walking around and going to get lunch or something while waiting? (He's willing to work around that, which is why I need to find out. Like I can do the shopping and hanging out first, and then he'd wait while I was in the appointment to take me home immediately after.) He's up for going back a different day, but they are closed thursday and then other days might be rough schedule wise so wednesday is best shot. (appointment calendar looked open if the online one is accurate, gotta find out tomorrow.)

3) What are quick options for pain relief? I don't have time to get a prescription probably (though my dad might can write me one after, I don't think anyone will care about some topical pain relief from family member). Should I go in loaded up on ibuprofen or something?

4) How much should I have it shaved to? (Day growth, or freshly shaved that morning, Etc.)

A lot of this I'm asking the place tomorrow, but I'd like the opinions of everyone here since I trust them!

When I had laser, I was advised to take Tylenol and not Advil.  I found the pain to be worst in areas where the bone was close to the surface.

This is based on my experience. Yours may be different based on the strength of the laser and the technique used by the provider.

For face and neck a laser treatment usually takes about 20 minutes or so. Have you had any electrolysis yet? As with electrolysis, the upper lip is the worst. It will definitely get your attention. Snapping a rubber band against your face is a good approximation, and I mean a really good snap! I would not consider any part of the procedure comfortable. The pain is relatively short-lived. You will probably feel a sensation similar to a medium sunburn for 15 - 30 minutes after the treatment, it does fade away within a few hours. Strong sunlight or hot water will really burn for a while, so be careful. It can cause some redness, but nothing too obvious, it usually fades within an hour or so. Any redness is not significant enough for folks to readily notice. Ibuprofen won't hurt. The last time I went they gave me a prescription for numbing cream that was a mixture of Benzocaine, Lidocaine, and Tetracaine - a BLT! Freshly shaved is best. The exposed hair is literally burned away, so a lot of stubble will add to the discomfort. Some aloe vera gel after the procedure will help.

So i should shave as close to the skin as possible that morning? It's impossible for me to avoid stubble unfortunately.

And no, I haven't had any electrolysis, I am very limited financially so have to do every bit I can with laser first.

I am doing both laser and electrolysis - unfortunately I have a moderate amount of grey and laser is useless on that. Although laser is uncomfortable, it does save a lot of 'chair time' over electrolysis. There may be a few stubborn hairs that laser won't get rid of, but even if laser only takes out 90% of your facial hair it will save you a few hundred hours of electrolysis. I was going to try to compare the pain levels between the two processes, but since you have not had any electrolysis you would not have a frame of reference.

Shaving the morning of the appointment should be fine. About two weeks after the treatment the hairs will begin to shed out. Use a facial exfoliating pad to help prevent ingrown hairs, most stores that have cosmetics will carry them. Don't scrub, just rub gently. Any discomfort associated with the laser treatment will soon pass. Don't get too worried about it, I'm sure you will be fine.

Quote from: AnneK on February 05, 2018, 09:16:28 PM
When I had laser, I was advised to take Tylenol and not Advil.  I found the pain to be worst in areas where the bone was close to the surface.

That's the same with tattoos, re pain


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Quote from: Roll on February 05, 2018, 08:59:29 PM
I'm probably going to be doing my first laser session on beard area the next few days, maybe wednesday if things go as planned. Was somewhat sudden, and so I had a few quick questions.

1) How long does it usually take? I was going to ask the place tomorrow, but just might as well ask here while I am.

2) How much pain should I expect afterward? This is the big one I'm worried about. I am inexperienced driving and dont know the area at all, and concerned about being in too bad of a state to drive safely after. (Also, how bad does it look? Will I be presentable enough to hang around in the area for a while and shop or something?) This is actually why it may be happening so suddenly, as my dad has to travel to the area anyway for business and was worried about me driving so I can grab a ride with him and do the appointment while he's in his meeting, which is wednesday. But this then causes the second issue in that if I finish early, will I want to be walking around and going to get lunch or something while waiting? (He's willing to work around that, which is why I need to find out. Like I can do the shopping and hanging out first, and then he'd wait while I was in the appointment to take me home immediately after.) He's up for going back a different day, but they are closed thursday and then other days might be rough schedule wise so wednesday is best shot. (appointment calendar looked open if the online one is accurate, gotta find out tomorrow.)

3) What are quick options for pain relief? I don't have time to get a prescription probably (though my dad might can write me one after, I don't think anyone will care about some topical pain relief from family member). Should I go in loaded up on ibuprofen or something?

4) How much should I have it shaved to? (Day growth, or freshly shaved that morning, Etc.)

A lot of this I'm asking the place tomorrow, but I'd like the opinions of everyone here since I trust them!

Here's the best I've been able to come up with, based on info I've collected from various sources here:

- Shave closely the morning of the procedure, unless it irritates your skin. In that case I'd shave the night before. No point in adding more irritation to the procedure to save a night's growth.

- Hydrate hydrate hydrate. Drink lots and lots of water the night before and morning of the procedure.

- No caffeine! That means no coffee, tea, soft drinks with caffeine, chocolate (!) for at least eight hours before the procedure,

- 800mg ibuprofen 45 minutes before (I hope the dosage is ok in this context).

- Numbing cream about an hour before, covered with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. I'm using BLT also. Some are using EMLA cream.

The entire face and neck takes about 20 minutes. As for pain during the procedure, I've had everything from "I feel nothing except for the upper lip" to "scrape me off the ceiling." The pain afterward will feel like a sunburn for about 30-45 minutes. Usually there is just some redness, again like a light sunburn. In my last session, though, I think my inflictor had the power turned way up. This was the first time it actually left marks, almost like I'd been attacked by an octopus. I had a pale swollen spot the size of a nickel under my lower lip that took overnight to go away. All the marks were covered by my foundation though, so I was able to go to lunch afterward.

Hope that helps. Good luck!


- Stephanie

Quote from: Steph2.0 on February 05, 2018, 11:24:07 PM
- Hydrate hydrate hydrate. Drink lots and lots of water the night before and morning of the procedure.

- No caffeine! That means no coffee, tea, soft drinks with caffeine, chocolate (!) for at least eight hours before the procedure,

Great advice Stephanie!  I was curious, other than the obvious normal benefits, what were the reasoning behind drinking lots of water and no caffeine?  I'm a coffeeholic, it's so hard to pry my mug/thermos away from my paws.

~Ashlynn

Quote from: AshleyPixune on February 06, 2018, 11:21:17 AM
Great advice Stephanie!  I was curious, other than the obvious normal benefits, what were the reasoning behind drinking lots of water and no caffeine?  I'm a coffeeholic, it's so hard to pry my mug/thermos away from my paws.

~Ashlynn

Not sure about the hydration other than not wanting to be dehydrated for the session, but it does seem to be accepted fact that caffeine will decrease your pain threshold.


- Stephanie

1) If you're doing your beard only, it shouldn't take more than  half an hour. My sessions take 15-20 min usually, but according to the dermatologist I have a higher pain treshold than most, so we only make 2 or 3 pauses.

2) Pain varies a lot. It depends on skin sensitivity, hair (if you have strong hair in big quantities it will hurt more). I feel each pulse as if I was hit with a rubber band. Well, not each pulse, only the painfull ones. I don't feel any pain in some spots. The places that are close to the bone tend to be more painfull, and I'd say the most painful area is the one between your mouth and nose. I only get skin irritation afterwards, I can drive back home withouth problems.

3) A lot of people take ibuprofen or topic painkillers before going.

4) I was told I should stop shaving 1-3 days before the session.

Thank you all for the feedback!! I am officially scheduled for wednesday at 2:30! So excited to get started.

Quote from: Roll on February 06, 2018, 07:00:20 PM
Thank you all for the feedback!! I am officially scheduled for wednesday at 2:30! So excited to get started.

I'm excited for you!!  Make sure you come back here and share the details. Hopefully my daughter will be having her first session within the week as she has a consultation tomorrow. Good luck!!

Quote from: Roll on February 06, 2018, 07:00:20 PM
Thank you all for the feedback!! I am officially scheduled for wednesday at 2:30! So excited to get started.

Do you have that numbing cream? It helps. Good luck!

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Quote from: Allison S on February 06, 2018, 07:58:39 PM
Do you have that numbing cream? It helps. Good luck!

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I don't unfortunately, but I traditionally have a fairly high pain tolerance so I'm hoping it won't be an issue (though I'm probably jinxing it by saying that). I'm going to tough it out no matter what though, because I just don't have the money to not get my few value worth. ;D

Quote from: LJH24 on February 06, 2018, 07:05:35 PM
I'm excited for you!!  Make sure you come back here and share the details. Hopefully my daughter will be having her first session within the week as she has a consultation tomorrow. Good luck!!

I hope your daughter does well tomorrow!!

Quote from: LJH24 on February 06, 2018, 07:05:35 PM
I'm excited for you!!  Make sure you come back here and share the details. Hopefully my daughter will be having her first session within the week as she has a consultation tomorrow. Good luck!!

This must mean your daughter has made peace with the idea of transitioning! I'm so happy for both her and you!


- Stephanie

Best wishes for tomorrow! 

And remember the no-coffee rule - I tried it both ways and there is no doubt in my mind, avoiding caffeine that day is one of the best things you can do to prepare for laser or electrolysis.

Just got out, took 15 minutes and was virtually pain free except a few spots under chin nd middle of upper lip!

I avoided caffeine and took 1 Tylenol, drunk a ton of water. She used one of the cool tip lasers.

Quote from: Roll on February 07, 2018, 02:28:48 PM
Just got out, took 15 minutes and was virtually pain free except a few spots under chin nd middle of upper lip!

I avoided caffeine and took 1 Tylenol, drunk a ton of water. She used one of the cool tip lasers.

Ellie,

That sounds like it went pretty well.  Good!   :)

Chrissy

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on February 07, 2018, 03:11:04 PM

Quote from: Roll on February 07, 2018, 02:28:48 PM
Just got out, took 15 minutes and was virtually pain free except a few spots under chin nd middle of upper lip!

I avoided caffeine and took 1 Tylenol, drunk a ton of water. She used one of the cool tip lasers.

Ellie,

That sounds like it went pretty well.  Good!   :)

Chrissy

Glad all went well. In the next week or so the hairs should start to die off and fall out. But it is not as permanent as electrolysis. I can tell you that the clinician makes all the difference in the world. When Kristi did it, it was so painful. Now that Nanci is doing it, is is vastly more painless. Not that Kristi does not know what she is doing. She just does it different. It does make a difference keeping hydrated and laying off the coffee.

I figure that even if have to do touch ups once or twice a year down the road (I've heard people say it varies person to person how dead the hair is in that regard) with either more laser or switching to electrolysis(probably more efficient for cleanup I'd imagine), still worth it. :D Just wish I didn't have to drive an hour and a half to get there, but beyond the first 5 or so I'll be in a larger market with places minutes away so it's temporary.

Excellent start - and down the road you will be sooo glad you started now.  Congrats!

Quote from: Roll on February 07, 2018, 02:28:48 PM
Just got out, took 15 minutes and was virtually pain free except a few spots under chin nd middle of upper lip!

I avoided caffeine and took 1 Tylenol, drunk a ton of water. She used one of the cool tip lasers.

Yay! Glad it was a success! Any swelling or redness afterwards?

Quote from: LJH24 on February 07, 2018, 10:24:15 PM
Yay! Glad it was a success! Any swelling or redness afterwards?

My step mother could see it looking at me, but it wasn't bad. It was like a ton of bumps, that went away in about 20 minutes.

I've found the best pain management for laser is electrolysis. It really puts things in perspective.

Quote from: Roll on February 08, 2018, 12:41:42 AM
My step mother could see it looking at me, but it wasn't bad. It was like a ton of bumps, that went away in about 20 minutes.

It appears that you are more fortunate than many in regards to pain with hair removal and any related issues.  Good for you!

Chrissy