I went to have laser tonight...

it hurts like all hell!!!!!! I swear I saw stars... and when they began the upper lip area.... oh.... my... god......

The room was really cold, they laid me down and gave me glasses to protect my eyes. Once they began the cheek and neck areas I thought I would do just fine.

But at the chin and upper lip... holy ->-bleeped-<-. As they finished, the two other women were looking all emotional towards me, like... "I can't believe he took it". It felt like a thousand hot needles piercing my skin, for 50 minutes. I have a very dense beard, so I guess it must have been it. The denser areas really hurt like all hell.

I am taking pain anesthesics next time I go....

I got an anethetic (spelling?) cream applied an hour before I went. I covered it with plastic wrap to keep it moist.
THAT helped a lot.
Besides, it hurt less than the <shudder> the needle....

When my girl does the more sensitive areas, like the upper lip, she immediately presses down on the spot with her finger after the zap. This really helps, it made it much more bearable.

I went in for my first laser treatment today too.

I'm with you on the pain! I was sweating by the time I got out of there.

It hurts way more than getting a tattoo. I'm hoping it gets less painful with more treatments.

It's totally worth it to me. Thirty minutes of pain once a month but it will save so much time in electrolysis.

Hang in there!

  don't tell me it hurts, I wasn't expecting it to hurt much. Now I'm kind of scared!

Quote from: SamanthaFLA on November 05, 2010, 10:20:49 PM
don't tell me it hurts, I wasn't expecting it to hurt much. Now I'm kind of scared!

For me most of it wasn't too bad, feels like a hot rubber band snapping on your face.  Not pleasant but bearable. The upper lip though especially right under the nose, yeah that will bring a tear to your eye.

Yep, mine really wasn't too bad either.  I have so little dark hair that laser almost isn't worth it, which is kind of sad because I find electrolysis to be quite a bit more painful towards the end of the session.  The laser is great because it's over in 15-20 minutes

Some places use a laser with a cool air pump blasting your face to cool and numb the skin. It helps quite a bit, but still won't take away the pain of the upper lip...
*shudders thinking about it*

It hurts even more once you start HRT, the plus side is it is so much more effective. I use aloe gel on mine and a couple of iburprofen to reduce the swelling immediately after.

But yes, the upper lip does bring tears to my eyes. 

these new lasers with the air jet are a nuisance and I don't think as good as the others that have direct contact and need the gel.

incidentally despite at least four laserings I now have hairs almost at the end of my penis that are at least one inch long.
If I was going to have a regular inversion srs those hairs would be deep inside - especially as the first surgeon I saw said he didn't scrape the follicless and wasn't worried about me having hairs inside.
Maybe if the pillock had to walk round all day with a scouring pad stuck up his beackside he'd think again.

Ibupofen an hour before you go helps, as does the cold air blast.   After seven sessions, I'm pretty happy with the results but I probably need a session to tidy things up a bit.   Next month I think.

The pain is proof to me that it is working.  Each painful zap is a bit of my masculinity disappearing.

I have had 5 sessions so far, and will probably need one more to finish the moustache and a few under my bottom lip.

Yes, hurts like hell!

I have found the pain is minimised if I exfoliate a couple of days before, and make sure I have a really close shave.  The less hair there is, the less heat will be generated when the hair absorbs the light.  My therapist uses both gel and a seperate cold air hose which makes it bearable.

Putting a cold wet flannel on my face as soon as possible afterwards for a good 10 minutes helps take the heat out, as does aloe vera gel.
 

They put ice packs on me. Feels good.

OHh yes by the way laser is totally painless.  Kiss my backside, I cry.

Cindy

ive had my face, underarms and full brazilian done with laser.. i would say the full brazilian was the worst out of them. right now im gettting themolysis electroylsis and i am getting my few random hairs on my face and eyebrows done. i would say the electroylsis is 10x worse...especially on the eyebrows... so painful!

@Bridget: oh great..Can't wait for the opportunity to do electrolysis then! LOL

@Pippa: I had that thought process too, "It is the start of my transition" I keep telling myself. I still was very tense the whole session, and let a few groans of pain escape.

Anyway... everyone.. I have no intention of stopping now that I am managing to get things going. Even if I passed out from pain I'd still be doing it. Or if I had to do two hours sessions... anyway, I hope the anesthesics will help.

Laser (not IPL) was a total breeze, but the upper lip and the neck right below the jaw-line were the most painful. Before and after being zapped with the laser I was allowed to hold an ice pack to my face until it became numb. After laser came blend (thermolytic and galvanic) electrolysis. Laser does not compare to electrolysis in terms of pain. Thanks to EMLA cream applied an hour before treatment, the process of lying down for 2 hour while my face is being prodded with a burning hot needle becomes bearable. The same areas that were painful with laser are still painful with electrolysis.

Hehe its totally all about the anesthetic.

I go to a medical centre to have my laser treatments done and a doctor applies a far stronger anesthetic than Emla which helps considerably with the pain. No discomfort except on the upper lip which still does hurt but totally bearable. Does burn a little extra in the purse though...$380 usd for face/neck +$33 on top for the anesthetic with a lightsheer diode.

Had it ran on 28 for the first session and going to get her to pump it up to 30 for the next as I didnt have any red marks on my face after the treatment. Must say im totally not looking forward to the upper lip on higher setting thou but it beats having hair haha.

Then again when I was body piercing in a studio I lost all needle phobia and after I pierced with my lip with a 10g (2.5mm) needle im not too scared of electrolysis hehe.

I had laser a couple years back and when she hit the upper lip I was literally crying. I mean, it feels good to have your masculinity zapped away but for me the upper lip was out of control pain. The laser tech was feeling so sorry for me she'd ask if she should turn it down, "NO! Keep going, I don't want any more treatments than absolutely necessary!" I said. I didn't want to just have to hit it all the more in more treatments.

Anyway, I eventually ran out of funds and stopped and am now gearing up to go back again. Oh man I shiver just thinking about it.

I think it affects different people differently tho - so some people can probably deal with the pain better.

How much per session should I expect to pay for laser? I only need my upper lip, soul patch and some chin and under jawline areas done. All super patch except the mexi stache (latina pride, I guess). I have super patchy (i.e. several random hairs) on my cheeks, and very patchy sideburns.

Whaddayall think?

Quote from: alia on November 08, 2010, 12:44:02 AM
How much per session should I expect to pay for laser? I only need my upper lip, soul patch and some chin and under jawline areas done. All super patch except the mexi stache (latina pride, I guess). I have super patchy (i.e. several random hairs) on my cheeks, and very patchy sideburns.

Whaddayall think?

Cost varies a lot between countries and places. A lot of places won't give a costing until they see you and do a test patch.  I think it is because good places do care about the outcome. But reckon for about $250-300 per full beard zap. It took three sessions for a full face at $100/session, each session was about 45-60 mins. As others have said the upper lip was the doozy, but I didn't cry too much but the goggles were full of tears, eye watering rather than crying. I didn't have any anesthesia, just ice packs. And the outcome has been terrific. I'm very impressed.  I now have patches of stubble rather than patches of skin. Start my second round tomorrow.

Cindy