I started electrolysis in January on the sides of my face…a couple of weeks later, I started on the back of my neck…I have been so happy, I decided to “clean up” a few other areas…I did a few hairs on my stomach, as well as started my upper lip (I have been waxing for probably 15 years)…
I take a couple of Tylenol about an hour and a half before I go…
I thought the sides of my face were “ok”…the back of my neck hurt a bit more, but when I used Emla cream, it wasn’t bad at all…this week I tried my stomach and upper lip…put the cream on the upper lip while she worked on the sides of my face and stomach…the stomach KILLED!! I don’t have that much hair there, yet I couldn’t even finish! I said I would get the remaining few the next time…also, I didn’t do so well with the upper lip either! Again, my lip isn’t terrible, but I wasn’t able to tolerate long enough for her to clear…she tried different settings/different methods…things I do just fine with on the sides of my face and back of my neck…I am not giving up, but I am just wondering what other people’s experiences have been and if anyone has any suggestions…
The upper lip is very sensitive. The middle portion beneath your nose is generally the most extremely sensitive area of all. If you’ve been waxing the upper lip for so many years, it is likely these roots are coarse and deep, and also possibly curved. All of these factors make the task more difficult for the electrologist and more painful for you. The GOOD news is, it usually gets better after the first few treatments. What hairs do return are generally easier to treat with less energy, meaning less pain.
I’m speaking as a man with very tender skin who’s currently having the beard removed from my lips and chin. It required three separate sessions to achieve first clearance on my upper lip. Each time after at has been much easier to endure.
Thanks so much for the hope!! She said the reason my belly probably hurt was because it was along the “center line”…given how the rest of my upper lip felt, I had her stop before we got to the “center line”…I thought that would put me over the edge!
How many sessions did you need once you achieved your first full clearance? I kind of see my upper lip as an ongoing project…it isn’t “horrible”, so if I have to go back to waxing, so be it…if I can move forward and endure, great!
That first clearance required three separate sessions. The first session required an hour to clear the hairs on the outer third and corners of my lips. The second session required two hours to clear everything else in the middle of the upper lip EXCEPT for the small area in the very center, beneath my septum. The next week, it took about 30 minutes to finish that area.
What little regrowth occurred took several weeks before it appeared, and was mostly fine and white, with two small areas of fine and black hair. This required a little more than two hours to clear with lower energy settings and considerably less swelling and redness. The third clearance required just over an hour, again with much less redness and swelling. Each time, the hairs are being removed using less energy and less resistance.
Have faith, and especially patience. It can be difficult and slow at first, but it definitely gets better.
The GOOD news is, it usually gets better after the first few treatments. What hairs do return are generally easier to treat with less energy, meaning less pain. 
