So today I had my first electro session since I halted my transition years ago. I had an hour planned but the tech had to leave early, so it got cut down to 45 minutes.... I managed to only last 30.   

In my previous treatments, they worked on my jaw line, but today she worked from the bottom up, starting at the base of my neck. Very soft and tender area! One side went well with only minor pain when each hair came out, the second side I could do nothing but wince and cry.

The pain was about the same as I'd remembered, but I can't remember when it hurt. Maybe it's the difference between the area, but today when she plucked each hair out.... OMG, it killed me. The zap was nothing, hardly felt it, but I knew when they came out. I seem to remember it hurting only when the needle went in before, but that was on my jaw bone.

Is this pretty much typical or am I just a wimp?

Oh, I was super emotional after my session too, no pain afterward, but all I did was sob and cry all the way home. That said....I've got another hour on the books next week.

~Sara

I find it most painful when the charge goes in. Extremely so just underneath the nose. I haven't noticed any pain pulling out (except a couple of times when she snagged me with the tweezers) but she hasn't got down to my neck yet, she's doing face first.

I am not sure? , but, would there be more pain because the tech missed the follicle? And pulled.  I think there is  foot pedal which has to be pressed at the right depth and angle to administer the current to zap it.  I see you're blond. Is your face hair that light too? If dark enough I would suggest laser, the electro can and will leave pit marks. I would ensure the operator is a Trained Pro! And I would pay top dollar to get it too.  I found I can not stand the pain anymore and find it very difficult. 

The upper lip is the most sensitive area for electrolysis.  But every area can be sensitive.

There are a couple of things that can be done to reduce the discomfort of going under the needle.

First of is topical analgesics that have some 'caine in them.  Over the counter topicals usually have menthol and zilocaine.  There are prescription strength topicals that are a combination of lidocaine, xylocaine, and novocaine.  They are usually acquired with a prescription from a compounding pharmacy.  Properly applied, this can provide nearly as much deadening as an injection.  If you are looking at having many sessions with an electrologist, then having something like this will help quite a bit in tolerating the discomfort, long term.

Another method I have found effective is to use an ice pack for a few minutes before the session on the area to be worked on.  The cold deadens the nerves for about 5-10 minutes.  And while your electrologist is working on that area, you can apply the ice pack to the next area they are going to work on.  Be careful though using this method since if you hold the ice pack on the skin for too long you could give yourself a case of frostbite.

The most extreme method requires a physician to administer a nerve block. 

-Sandy

I feel a slight pain sometimes as the needle enters the follicle then I hear the squeak of the foot pedal to turn the power on and pain builds until it stops and the hair is then pulled without pain.

If there is pain on pulling the hair then it does sound as though the needle isn't going deep enough to reach bottom in the follicle and kill it?

occasionally when I get home I can have hairs slide right out which therapist has obviously killed but not pulled.

Quote from: purple sky on December 11, 2010, 01:11:00 PM
I am not sure? , but, would there be more pain because the tech missed the follicle? And pulled.  I think there is  foot pedal which has to be pressed at the right depth and angle to administer the current to zap it.  I see you're blond. Is your face hair that light too? If dark enough I would suggest laser, the electro can and will leave pit marks. I would ensure the operator is a Trained Pro! And I would pay top dollar to get it too.  I found I can not stand the pain anymore and find it very difficult.

There were one or two that didn't get a good zap, and when she pulled on them they stayed put until she zapped them once more. I'd say she knows what she's doing, she has been doing electro for 5 years that I know of. I dunno, I'm just wary of not wasting money, and the fact the place no longer takes credit cards (which I payed off just for electro) makes me worry even more about wasting money now that it's coming directly out of pocket.

You do have me wondering about the lazer though. That's my natural hair color in my avatar, so I had previously been afraid that my facial hair was too light because some of it is brown'ish blonde, but the more I read and think about it, a good majority of it is pretty black, maybe laser would make a little more progress for a little less money.

In these pics I have a full week worth of growth. They're not the best, but I think you can get a good idea of my hair color. What do you gals think, would laser be a viable option for me?

~Sara

*The site resized things, here's a link to bigger pics: http://s879.photobucket.com/albums/ab352/sometimesara/Face/

Absolutely!  I think laser is better, I would not personally do electo anymore because of the risk of "pot marks" is too great. I really hope that the setting was not too high for to jab it in twice ?   It is too invasive. It is too much of a crap shoot.  protect your skin go to a reputable certified dermatologist.  oh ya.... laser hurts too

definitely dark enough for laser.
I had laser last week with latest one that has two guide prongs that she just glides over my skin and I have a cold air tube to try follow the prongs with.
It stings and burns so it is plenty powereful.
just a shame we have so many hairs in the areas shown in your pix.
I rather get the impression that the number of visible hairs on our chins needs multiplying by about 20 to get the correct total needing dealing with.

There should be zero to very little resistance when the tech pulls the individual hair shaft out after zapping it. The pain should only come from when the needle delivers either an intense zap of heat or pain. If she misses, needs to pull on the hair, or you see a good deal of blood from the follicle, she's doing it wrong.

The person I go to has over 30 years experience, and has worked with many other MTF clients. I personally would never let anyone with 5 years experience near my face with an electro needle, as if done improperly it can cause scarring. Not something I want on my face.

I'd also recommend going with laser first, followed by electro. Laser covers a larger area, faster and cheaper, then following up with electro around the chin & upper lip. Those are the most resistant areas.

Thanks for the info gang, I thought things felt different before. The woman I'd seen previously no longer works there and as far as I know, she was the only one who had dealt with any trans patients. It sucks since this is the only place for electro anywhere near me.

There are two places for laser though and I have an appointment for a consult this Friday.

~Sara

Well, I had my first laser session this afternoon! Painful, but not nearly as bad as electro had been. I had my session an hour and a half ago and so far pretty much all of the soreness and redness is gone.

They had a open house thing going on and I got my first 3 sessions at 50% off, so that's pretty great. The woman who worked on me is also an electrolysist and thought that with such a large area and as dark as my har is, that doing laser first was best. She had experience with doing both laser and electro on herself, so I'm pretty confident in her abilities.

Everyone was super nice, but I could tell they had suspicions of what my "deal" is; I don't mind being an oddity as long as everyone is friendly.

Here's looking forward to some results and my session next month!

~Sara

That sounds like it is working better for you.  Like the new avatar.  Is that red on your neck fresh from laser? I never had to go that low, not very hairy. 

Thanks for the comment on the avatar, I'm still not sure I like it. The red (which bugs me) isn't from laser, it's from standing in the sun. Sometimes my skin is really sensitive, I can shower and be red like that, get nervous and turn red.... pretty much anything, lol.

Unfortunately for me the laser does have to go that low on my neck and I've got a pretty hairy chest and tummy, hopefully HRT will help that.

I figured I'd post a little update.

It's been 10 days since my first laser session, so far I've noticed no natural shedding at all. I poked around with the tweezers, most the the hair on my chin slips right out when tugged on but so far everything on my neck seems to be pretty stuck. If you looked at me right now, you couldn't tell I've had any hair removal, growth seems to be the same as always. I dunno, we'll see how things go over the next few weeks, my next session is on the 14th.

I would take some pics, but my ex won't let me have my camera back and my new one won't be here until mid week.

~Sara

keep it regular, Hair grows in cycles.  Also be sure to be clean shaven with no stubble what so ever.  The laser will target the hair above the skin not the root where you want it.  also do not tweeze. Stick it out donot rely on electro, it causes more problems.

I'm so sick of electro. The pain just seems to get worse. My fur is too light for laser. Fortunately it's so light I can go without shaving and no one sees it. But, I want to be done with it. I did a bunch of bottom electrolysis preparing for surgery, and my torture tolerance has to build up again.

Quote from: purple sky on December 27, 2010, 09:08:16 PM
keep it regular, Hair grows in cycles.  Also be sure to be clean shaven with no stubble what so ever.  The laser will target the hair above the skin not the root where you want it.  also do not tweeze. Stick it out donot rely on electro, it causes more problems.

I think the clean shaven bit is what hurt me this round. I didn't shave for a few days before going in, so the tech could clearly see my hair color and make sure it was dark enough. She shaved me (dry) before the session, but it wasn't what I would call a close shave in some spots. I'll be sure to be good and smooth next time. Don't worry, I'm not planning on going back to electro anytime soon.

You're lucky Nikki, as you can see from my pics, mine is dark.... I can shave and you can still see it

Oh, the tweezing.... I just tugged on 3 or 4, if they slid out, they came out.... but if there was any resistance at all, I stopped pulling on them.

 

I found it slower going with laser aswell as problems with regrowth although that might have been because my body was still on T at the time.

Yes electrolysis is painful I consider it less painful than IPL in absolute terms but much less painful than Nd:YAG laser. although those only went on for 5 minutes.
Electrolysis hurts needle going in is uncomfortable the micro-pluses hurt the most there are usually 3 of varying amounts of pain but it feels like the needle becomes searingly hot for a microsecond she painlessly removes the hair with tweezers.

It's torture and not fun But I myself am abit of a lunatic and have a very high pain threshold and can endure alot I usually go in for 2 hour sessions upto 6 hours a week when I can get the time off. I'm the one always pushing her to go harder for longer periods of time usually. The way I see it the more I endure the sooner I will be free.

I did ask her at one point where I compare to her other clients in endurance and she told me "Nobody endures levels that high for so long."  ^.^ I'm #1

I would recommend EMLA and an aspirin for those highly sensitive regions In my case this is the neck the regions in-front of both my ears and the groove under my nose.