I'm having my first electro session next week. Any ideas on how many days beard growth I should have? And other ideas for pain relief or prep? Thanks.

I needed, and still need 2 months into HRT, about 3 full days of growth.

I have been using a 5% lidocaine gel applied an hour before the session in a heavy layer, and covered with a strip of plastic wrap on the upper lip, and a larger sheet across the chin to lower lip and up along the jawline.  That keeps the gel in better contact and keeps the lidocaine from evaporating away.  There are also prescription EMLA creams or pastes that may be more effective.  (I haven't gotten a prescription yet. )

Since I'm doing 2 hour sessions weekly, I've also been using a prescription painkiller at very low dosage.  (MODS:  feel free to cut if I go over the bounds here.  I don't think I am, but...). It's a generic version of Vicoden in the lowest dosage. I take half a tablet, and cut that again to two quarter tablets.  I take one quarter sublingually a few minutes before starting, and the second quarter sublingually at the one hour point.  Sublingual hydrocodone bypasses that first liver pass, like sublingual, patch, or injected estradiol, and has a shorter but stronger pain relief effective period, around 60-80 minutes.  (Yes, there are papers on this.)

The drug helps distance me from the zaps, sort of like a rubber band snap on the skin, and makes the session tolerable.  It wears off quickly enough that I can drive home shortly after the session ends.

I pack along a little purse-sized insulated bag, which holds a frozen bottle of water and several balloons filled with water (not inflated, just filled, roughly plum-sized) and frozen.  These I roll over the areas that have been zapped in the session to reduce redness and swelling.

I'll be happy to answer any other questions on the topic.  The electrolyst has been calling me her 'marathon gal'.    I just feel that after being a hairy beast for three days, I want to maximize the crop we get.

Michelle, thanks for the detail, very useful. I struggled with the pain from my laser removal, so I'm concerned about electro, but no pain no gain!

I'm not sure exactly, but I think you need 2+ mm of hair.

Quote from: AnonyMs on August 31, 2016, 02:33:33 PM
I'm not sure exactly, but I think you need 2+ mm of hair.

Tnx. Not shaving is going to be horrid 2mm is going to feel like 2 meters :-(

Quote from: meganjames2 on August 31, 2016, 02:51:27 PM
Tnx. Not shaving is going to be horrid 2mm is going to feel like 2 meters :-(

Yeah, that is the part I like the least. Yuck.

My beard is a dysphoria trigger for me, which is why I started electrolysis so quickly after coming out to my wife and daughter.  That's why I do the two hour sessions, too.  I want it GONE as soon as possible, and if I have to lose three days of each week to it, I want as much as I can stand gone each week.   The beard also makes the last day before electrolysis pretty unpleasant for me, so I try to stay as busy as possible that day.

I schedule regular sessions every Monday, and Friday morning is the last day I shave (blade razor, very close).  I go to each session presenting as myself, in spite of the beard and no cosmetics, as some relief and something to look forward to.  The electrolyst doesn't mind at all.  (She's very understanding and knows very well what I'm going through.)  I try to think of it as a spa day, and each zap is just progress towards my goal.

Michelle has covered most of the bases. I also add Ibuprofen the evening before and the day of my session and go heavy on the hydration both the evening before and the day of. My electrologist tells me that moisture reduces the power she needs to use. Also, no caffeine before my session (no morning coffee hurts for me). As for hair length, check with your electrologist for their preference, too short slows them down (harder to grab the hairs), too long makes it a bit harder to grab single hairs. I have been on hrt for just past 2 months and it has impacted my beard growth rate. Pre hrt required 3 days growth. I had a session last Monday with 4 days of growth, this was good for all areas except my upper lip which was shorter than desired. Next session will be 5 days growing. Not too bad for me as I do marathon clearing sessions every 6 to 8 weeks. It was really tough when I was doing weekly 1 hour sessions. - Anne

Thanks all. I'm seeing a lady who has previous Trans experience, so hopefully she can give me some good directions.

I cannot speak for the pain as I don't find it hurts but I have a high pain tolerance.  As far as growth.  Being on HRT seems to have alien it down just a tad so I go in with about 3-4 days growth at least.   I hear most like at least 2 mm but my girl said it could be shorter but if much shorter  she can only treat the hairs not pull them out. 


Vicky

Quote from: meganjames2 on August 31, 2016, 12:02:11 PM
I'm having my first electro session next week. Any ideas on how many days beard growth I should have? And other ideas for pain relief or prep? Thanks.

Always ask your dermatologist the preferred growth they expect. I believe mine wanted to see at least a millimeter, maybe two. I think it was just 1mm, very little, enough to see the hair and be able to aim the needle into the follicle. Of course, longer is always better. My electrologist could get more done faster when I had clear growth she could easily deal with. Smaller growth takes longer per hair because she needed to zero in on the hair, which took more time because it was only protruding a small amount. I'm talking about small growth... if you're at 2mm or more I think that should be good but ask your care provider to be certain. Different electrologists can have different expectations/treatment plans.

Your doctor or dermatologist may also be a great help. Along the lines of what Michelle_P uses, my GP gave me a prescription for Lidocaine/Prilocaine (2.5%/2.5%) cream w/refills up to a year which I applied an hour prior to sessions. I did not know about this so was grateful my trans-friendly GP informed me of the option, along with others. It made a huge difference! 

Here are links to forum posts outlining some of my pain management experience and some of my post-session care experience. I don't think I mentioned it in those posts, but similar to Anne's mention of Ibuprofen, I also kept Advil (Ibuprofen) gel caps in my car, took them about 15 to 60 mins in advance of my session.

In short, I did numerous things for pre and post electrolysis care, all with the help of all my care providers.

Tiny test patch done, seemed fine with a couple of ibuprofen before, but I'll get some Emla for my first full hour. Thnx all for the advice. X