Yesterday, I had my 1st laser session.

(fyi, I have been on hrt for 5 weeks. My endo doubled my dose after 4 weeks)

I was a little emotional the day before the first session.

And on the day of, I was distraught about going out into the world minus makeup. My beard shadow is decently noticeable). When I looked in the mirror and imagined going out into the world in boy mode, or nearer to it. I got dizzy and nauseous. I sat and regrouped.

10 min before I got to the office, I took 600 mg of ibuprofen and applied lidocaine. I next realized my anxiety and took a "tranquility" pill which is an effective supplement I get from my naturopath that calms my nerves.

Despite my anxiety, I was able to begin my treatment.

I wasn't expecting it to be as painful as it was. I think we were at about an 8 on her machine. Which is where she said she starts all "3" skin types. She was very sensitive to my comfort level as she moved forward.

I braved through it, trying to laugh and be very positive and did a great job. At one point I realized I started to getting teary-eyed under the goggles, which seemed fitting considering the pain.

But near the end, emotion started rising up and I started sobbing. I felt like a child, to some extent.

I realized my nervous system was pretty shaky. And had been working up to a crescendo.
We did 3 more zaps after recovering and then we finished.

Wow, it was very intense.

Later in the night I cried some more. Sadness.

I'm not sure what to attribute this to exactly.
Have any of you had similar experiences from this painful process?

Also, how do you deal with staying out of the sun for a 6-8 sessions? That could be 10 months! That's a long time. I can't reapply sunscreen every 2 hours if I have beard concealers on...
What is your strategy? Hats?

I don't have a car, so I'm concerned since I do so much walking.

Both my foundation and this powder that goes on top of my makeup have sun protection in them so I haven't needed to worry about that issue and as long as your not to dark you should be fine, but the more you can minimize your sun exposure the better. The powder that goes on just like any other powder makeup that I buy through the dermatology office is Sunforgettable. It's SPF 50 broad spectrum.
Mariah

The first few sessions are the hardest I think; you have a lot more hair, density wise, and you are not used to it. Not gonna lie, I am on like my 8th or 9th session and it still hurts in some areas. I usually take a nap afterwards and feel ok after that.

I usually apply my lidocaine about an hour before the appointment and I then cover it with saran wrap till I get there (yes I look like a fool but whatev's, thats what I was told to do.

As for the sun, it is kinda impossible to avoid unless you decide to become a vampire. I wouldn't worry too much about it, just don't go tanning or laying out in the sun all day and you should be fine I think. Just try to limit your exposure a bit and use sunscreen or makeup w/ sun protection as Mariah suggested.

Thanks for the suggestion on the powder. I don't wear foundation and, so far,  I haven't had much success with powders since they look cakey on my skin.

You do the saran wrap thing, huh? I heard it was dangerous since that girl did it on her legs and died on the way to the hospital...

That actually sounds a lot like my last appt (#4.) For me the physical pain isn't too different from getting tattooed. This last time though -- my nerves were already a bit frazzled and I was also a bit down on myself. My eyes started tearing up when she started on my upper lip and pretty soon I was just a sobbing mess. It's almost like the pain was just bad enough to push me over the edge. She was pretty understanding about everything, gave me a minute to pull it together and we finished, then gave me a few more minutes to compose myself before heading back to the lobby.

Everybody's different, but I think how you react has a lot to do with where your head is, so to speak.

As other posters have said, a lot of moisturizers, primers, foundations, and finishing powder (I use a translucent one so the color doesn't cake up)  have SPF added to them.

Thank you Evelyn! I am going to look into the translucent finishing powder.

Sorry to hear that you also ended up sobbing. Thanks for sharing, though!

...and if you use some oil blot sheets (mine are made by Clean&Clear,) before the powder you can really cut down on shine. I don't know if that's a problem for you - it is for me. The SPF is a bonus. 

Quotehow do you deal with staying out of the sun for a 6-8 sessions?

A good daycream or BB cream with SPF is like a necessity even in winter.  Sun = guaranteed early aging and wrinkles, sadly!

i just had my first laser appointment on my face the other day as well. I have had my chest and arms done before, but the face is much more painful. Funnily enough, the technician that did it said to me when I was experiencing the pain that every person is different, some people feel a lot of pain, some people feel no pain. and some feel mid level pain. And where it is most painful can be different as well...for most, it is the lip area...but for me, it was down the side of my face, from where your sideburns would be down to below the ears.

I had my first laser 2 weeks ago. They had to use the Nd:YAG on me (type IV skin). The pain wasn't so bad but near the end I was shaking. I used 4% lidocaine but I have something stronger for next time. After the treatment it felt like my face was on fire and it was all red.

That went away, then came the waiting to shed. First of all I couldn't get a good close shave for about a week. That made me miserable and I was clocked a few times. Then the hair started falling off and now my face is a lot smoother. However there is still some hair, dead ones being pushed out and new ones growing. I have to go back in a few weeks. The shadow is there but it's less and I'm seeing progress so I don't mind.

Good to hear positive progress. I know what you mean about not getting a close shave. Today I still have lots of red areas but I need to put concealer over it so I can be sane.

I agree about how we are all have different sensitivities to pain. Does mtf hrt make us more susceptible to skin pain since it gets smoother and softer, I wonder?

I might take a little Vicodin next time...I'm not sure.

My skin is much more sensitive to shaving, but not the laser from HRT. It does get better, but as far as the upper lip state still hurts like no other every time it's hit by laser.
Mariah

Quote from: stellarj1 on February 19, 2015, 11:50:22 AM
Good to hear positive progress. I know what you mean about not getting a close shave. Today I still have lots of red areas but I need to put concealer over it so I can be sane.

I agree about how we are all have different sensitivities to pain. Does mtf hrt make us more susceptible to skin pain since it gets smoother and softer, I wonder?

I might take a little Vicodin next time...I'm not sure.

It's not really pain at all. The skin becomes all bumpy as the hairs push out. Like some serious razor bumps. It subsided after a couple of days but it's nothing like I've seen.

However I am pretty much sold on laser and even though people said the YAG isn't effective, for me it works. I'll be going back every 4-6 weeks to get a clearing until I can clear no more, then it's back to electrolysis.

Had my first today and the pain differed greatly depending on the area. On the cheeks it was almost a nice warmth, on the jaw 'especially toward the chin' it was pretty brutal but can't wait to start seeing the effects.

Toni x