I've got my first electro session tommorrow.
1 hour on my male grey beard.
Think this is going to take a while ;-)

I was thinking of taking panadiene forte before going.

Do other people take a pain killer or just grin and bear it ?

Cheers

Damien

Try just taking a couple aspirin first, and see how your appointment goes.

Pain is dependent on many factors (practitioner skill, the equipment they use, your caffeine intake, how hydrated you are etc.) Some places on the face are more painful than others (the upper and lower lip is especially painful!)

If you find the pain is not tolerable in one or more areas of the face, consider using a topical anesthetic next time. You have a variety of options, such as emla cream, topicane, LMX-4 cream, and so on. Apply to the area to be treated and cover with plastic wrap for an hour before treatment.

With a skilled practitioner, using microflash or picoflash, the pain isn't really that bad. You might want to ask your electrologist what equipment they use and what modality they are going to be using. And it doesn't hurt to ask about their experience with removing male facial hair, not all electrologists are skilled at it (sadly I have seen some examples over the years.)

Speaking of topicals, someone asked me to show them how to apply the topical and cover it with plastic wrap. I did up a quick tutorial on how to cut the wrap, cover the topical, tie it so it doesn't come undone etc. Would anyone be interested in me posting it? I figure some might find it useful.

How did it go?

What's the goal of the treatments? Are you trying to remove the beard altogether or just make it less dense? Are you on any hormonal medication or just a regular healthy male? The reason I'm asking is because you should keep in mind that you won't be able to completely remove 100% of the hair because your body continuously develops new hair, especially on this area where the hormones really play a role.

Ouch. That hurt. 1 hour of pain.

Also some bad side-effects. Redness like pimple like stuff (can you use cortisone to get rid of it?)

But more importantly swelling. I look like a chipmunk.
3rd day after and the swelling hasn't gone down yet.

It could be caused by some small metal plates in my jaw from
a jaw operation long ago. Could these conduct the electricity
and cause the swelling (anyone else had this ?)

The aim was reduce the amount of hair (especially very course hair), particulary the grey hair that won't react to laser.

Do not need to have it completely clear, just less and less grey. Am ordinary hetro male.

Not sure I can do it though. Too much reaction. Maybe I should
try 1/2 hour instead of an hour.

Cheers all and thanks for your support.

Damien

VickieCNY I would love to hear tips on using topicals. I use emla on my throat and chin and the plastic seems to move down right under my chin while we wait and work on other areas.How do you tie it off?

I had to wrap my lips in plastic wrap today, I'll post a longer how-to in a bit.

The swelling is normal, though 3 days is a bit more than I have experienced personally. Is the skin just red, or do you also have white spots as well? Try putting ice on it to reduce the swelling. Apply cortisone (or tea tree oil if you have it) to reduce the redness and after-effects.

What modality does she use? (galvanic, thermolysis, blend, flash microflash, picoflash?)

One side effect you may experience is a metallic taste in your mouth, from metal fillings in your teeth (I notice is during cataphoresis, or when galvanic alone is used on my face.) I don't know about a metal plate in the jaw, though my electro textbooks do say that a metal plate is not a contraindication for electrolysis (you should tell your electrologist about the metal plate though. The pros can tell you with more certainly about this than I can.)

Damien:

Is blend being done on you with metal plates? Where are the metal plates? You can use some aloe cortisone cream or tea tree oil. Good advice, Vicki.

Did you ice 24 hours afterwards? Only expose your skin to the ice for 5-10 minutes though 4X-6x a day.

When a lot of work is being done, swelling can be a side effect. Talk to your electrologist so the two of you can talk about the swelling. If you don't like the chipmunk look, then do shorter sessions once a week until the hair is gone. Then, thereafter, you will only being going in for maintenance. This is a real balancing act in the beginning. If you want the hair off fast, then you may have to deal with swelling, but going slower is acceptable too.

Dee

Ok, here is how I do the plastic wrap over the topical anesthetic. This would be better with photos to illustrate, something I might do this weekend.

The measurements given fit my face perfectly. Since everyone's face and head is slightly different, you will probably need to experiment and make adjustments to fit your face.

This method only covers the upper lip, lower lip and chin (generally the most painful areas) and possibly the cheeks and jawline. I am sure it can be modified and adapted to cover other areas of the face as needed.

Don't try this for the first time right before an appointment (especially if you are running late to begin with!) Take a roll of plastic wrap and practice this beforehand (without the expensive topical cream on your face) so you know how to do it and fit yourself properly. It is even a good idea to have the plastic properly cut and ready to go well before your appointment time.

Feel free to add suggestions or your own way of using the plastic wrap as cover for the topical cream.

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Take a roll of typical plastic food wrap that is 11 1/2 inches wide. I found brand name plastic wrap works better in general, because the plastic does not cling to itself excessively.

Measure out 2.5 feet of plastic wrap and lie it flat on a table. Keep it is smooth as possible.

Cut off a horizontal strip 5 inches tall the whole length of the plastic wrap (so you end up with a 3'x 5" strip.) Throw out this strip, it is excess; the remaining plastic will cover from the upper lip to the bottom of the chin.

Cut a horizontal 8" slit into the center of the plastic, 1" from the top of the plastic. This is where your mouth will go. This slit is longer than your mouth is wide, but this is intentional; the slit allows some movement of the head and mouth without moving or stretching out the plastic.

Put on the topical cream where you need it; upper lip, lower lip, and/or chin. Make sure it is on heavy enough, so the coverage is thick and opaque.

Very slowly, and very carefully, place plastic on your face, first so the 1" strip above the slit is centered on your upper lip. Then, place the plastic below the slit on your lower lip and chin area. There will be a tiny uncovered area on the corners of the mouth; do not overlap the plastic above and below the slit.

Reach behind your back and tie the plastic into a knot. Here's the real trick to this: Make sure the plastic is tight enough to stay in place, but leave just enough slack you can move your head (and mouth if necessary) without stretching the plastic out. 1/4" to 1/8" of slack seems to work well. Getting this right takes practice!

Look in a mirror, and make sure the topical cream application is intact and evenly thick and opaque. Wait an hour or so before treatment.



Tip: the longer you can leave the plastic on and keep your head and mouth perfectly still, the more the topical cream will "cement" the plastic in place.

On a related note, in the winter, turn the heat on in your car as high as you can stand and direct the vents toward your face. The heat seems to make the cream work better, and helps "cement" it to your face.

Hi Damien:

I agree with Dee's advice rgarding icing the area after
treatments, but especially immediately after.

Since your hair is of the thicker, coarser variety,
treating a lot of those hairs in a smaller area is probably
going to cause some swelling at first. Again as Dee mentioned
either go to half or 3/4 hour sessions or have them not do
too much in a particular area, but space out the hairs
treated.

For aftercare you may want to try something with
aloe vera, vitamin E and Tea Tree Oil(diluted).
If you apply that nightly for the first few nights after
treatments it will help.

Alicia