I'm having my first electrolysis session this Wednesday at 2 PM and I'm quite anxious. I've come terms with letting my facial hair grow for almost three days prior to the appointment, which is already quite distressing, yet I'm worried about the time I'll have to wait afterwards. On Wednesday I'll call it a day after my appointment so I'll be able to remain hidden at home, but on Thursday I have classes to attend and going outside with a four-day beard is simply not an option. If I shave on Thursday morning, it will be roughly 16 hours after treatment. Do you think that's OK or am I putting my skin at risk? I don't want a beard but I don't want scars either 

How do you girls manage?

I'm totally cheating and getting my electrolysis done before I start presenting. I tend to wait about 4 days before shaving, and apply Biafine like a bandit, morning and night, trying to get everything healed so I'm not shaving scabs off. 

L

Quote from: Camouflage on August 22, 2016, 11:53:21 PM
I'm having my first electrolysis session this Wednesday at 2 PM and I'm quite anxious. I've come terms with letting my facial hair grow for almost three days prior to the appointment, which is already quite distressing, yet I'm worried about the time I'll have to wait afterwards. On Wednesday I'll call it a day after my appointment so I'll be able to remain hidden at home, but on Thursday I have classes to attend and going outside with a four-day beard is simply not an option. If I shave on Thursday morning, it will be roughly 16 hours after treatment. Do you think that's OK or am I putting my skin at risk? I don't want a beard but I don't want scars either 

How do you girls manage?

I may be in the minority her but I do it as soon as I get home before any real scabs or anything have formed. I only shave every 2 days anyway so it is another 48 hrs before I shave. I asked my Electrologist and she said as soon as I get home even if it is a bit uncomfortable. In fact both have encouraged me to shave almost immediately. There should not be too much in the way of scabbing anyway. What are you using for pain control? Have you even thought about it. If you are wound up now imagine how you will feel once you get there. Being stressed will make things worse. Much of the scarring issue is going to be about how good your Electrologist is.

Personally I shave my entire face except the area to be worked on which this week is my chin, already done  upper lip both sides. I really want my chin and jaw line cleared. I am tolerating about 20-30 minutes per session and with each session I see progress and it gets a little better.

Good luck with your session

Liz

I don't present full time but I usually shave when I get home or the next morning so I feel like myself.  The scabs usually take a day or so to form so if I shave right after I have no issues.  Pain has not been a issue for me.   I have been told I have a high pain tolerance.


Vicky

Talk it over with your electrologist. Mine had no restrictions on shave wait time after treatment as she knew that none of trans patients would honor them anyway. I will highly recommend icing regularly (15 to 20 on, 15 to 20 off as needed)after treatment to reduce the swelling. And be careful what makeup you use, if any, for the day or two after treatment to reduce the chance of infections. Good Luck! Anne

Anne brings up a good point. Sometimes the pores open up during the sessions. Depending on how my skin and I feel, I will do an electric shave about an hour after or so. However, there have been times where it is just a little too raw and may wait till the next day.

I usually shave with a single blade safety razor and really good shaving soap.

Warmly,

Joanna

Thank you all for taking the time to answer! Just hearing other people's experiences makes me feel less lonely in this. What I'll do is cool the area down with lots of aloe vera and ice. If the burning subsides quickly I'll shave Wednesday night, otherwise I'll do so Thursday morning. I hope everything goes smoothly, I can hardly wait to see my facial hair disappear!

I'm currently doing 2 hour sessions every week.  Hey, if I have to spend 3-4 days growing the crop, I want to get as much harvesting done as I can stand.  (And I really want the beard gone.  Dysphoria trigger!)  The treatment mode is thermolysis. I've had almost no scabbing.

My electrologist does something with a round electrode rubbed over the skin at the end of the treatment, and applying some sort of lotion that seems to help. On the way home, I'm icing down the skin repeatedly during the hour drive, using a balloon filled with water, tied off, and frozen.  (The electrologist provided these, and I have a freezer bag with more to last me the drive home.)

I generally shave within 15 minutes of getting home, less if the cats don't need attention.  I leave the area clean, and ice repeatedly till bedtime.  I do use Cetaphil lotion on the area the next day, and always use sunblock.

I haven't shaved my face in years but when I was doing electrolysis and before, I used an electric razor and would shave after my appointment which was in the morning. In my case, my beard growth was light so even with an electric razor I didn't have problems with the beard showing through makeup. There are many inexpensive battery powered razors available now that you could use if you are unable to get home to shave.

I've been getting 1-hour sessions three times a week for a couple of months and I share your distress with having to let the facial hair grow...........for me, it's three days minimum for it to get long enough to work with.  HRT seems to have slowed the growth rate down significantly (unfortunately though not the density).  Since I do 3 sessions a week, I wait until the last session is completed before I shave at all.  I typically wait about 24 hours before shaving a treated area and then do so VERY gently.  In the course of my treatment I've discovered a few things that have helped my skin to recover enough to make shaving possible without adding to the trauma in a given area.
- I've asked my electrologist to "thin out an area" rather than try to clear it which reduces the level of trauma
- at the end of each session she gives me a chilled witch hazel compress to wipe down the area and then I use STEREX APRES COSMETIC CREAM which is very soothing/calming and sterile. 

She also provides disposable ice packs to apply on the way home and if I apply more ice at home for the first half-hour or so, the swelling is reduced.  I've been following this routine and haven't had any problems shaving.  By the way, the Sterex cream is available in "tinted" for those who want to hide the redness without using makeup on the treated area.

There's a lot of info available on the "hairtell.com" website on both laser and electrolysis.

Best of luck with your treatment!

Trish