Dr. Powers Custom DMSO pain cream for electrolysis/laser?

Hello All,

Need some assistance.

My electrologist has transgender clients and one of them useses something called Ketamine/DMSO when plucking the hair from their cheeks, neck & beard. She claims is STRONGER than 8% lidocaine and can go a FULL hour

here is some info on it.

https://www.reddit.com//r/DrWillPowers/wiki/compounded-medicines#wiki_topical_anesthetic

Apprently the guy who makes this numbing cream is in Texas. his name is Dr. Will Powers

Does anybody here have any experience with this numbing creams. How can a person get it ???

Iā€™m a 40+ male and iā€™m currently getting YAG laser on my moustche/goatee/check and electrolysis on my neck/cheeks

ā€œPlucking?ā€

I know nothing about Dr. Powers and have no opinion. I do, however, know the products used in this remedy are not only controversial, but potentially harmful. I did a tiny bit of ā€œlookingā€ and hereā€™s a rather unflattering description of Dr. Powers. (Again ā€¦ I know nothing about this osteopathic physician, or the product to which you are refering.)

Excerpt: ā€œTransfeminine Scienceā€ ā€¦

Powers and his supporters donā€™t like what they are referring to as ā€œWPATHā€ because the transgender medical community largely disapproves of him and his methods. In professional and research circles, he isnā€™t taken seriously. There are a variety of reasons that the medical community hasnā€™t been impressed by Powers. One is that his claims are unpublished and anecdotal. Another is that his methods largely havenā€™t been evaluated in actual clinical studies in transgender people, for instance in terms of critical concerns like effectiveness and safety. A third reason is Powersā€™s lack of credentials and professional engagement.

Heā€™s a family medicine clinician from a small suburban town in Michigan who doesnā€™t attend any of the transgender medicine conferences or otherwise engage with the rest of the professional transgender health community. Furthermore, he doesnā€™t have training in endocrinology and he isnā€™t a researcher or academic. Although Powers is a physician, it wouldnā€™t surprise me if he has no research experience at all.

Powers doesnā€™t get the approval or recognition he wants from the transgender medical community, so heā€™s turned against it. And the medical community largely ignores him and doesnā€™t bother to respond for all of the reasons above. At least at this time, Powers isnā€™t an important person in the transgender medical communityā€”a fact that he himself has made clear in places (e.g., Reddit; Reddit).

Moreover, as a result of his opposition towards ā€œWPATHā€, itā€™s my opinion that Powers has helped contribute a great deal of discord and mistrust between transgender people and their medical providers.

@Hairadicator cā€™mon dude, obviously I made a typo using the word ā€˜pluckingā€™. U know what I mean!

@Bono I didnā€™t realize the seriousness of all this!! Thank you very much for your take on all this.

So it sounds like even though you donā€™t know him or his compound cream. U know that people donā€™t like him for the reasons you highlighted. I can accept that. Basically all I know is that I need a stronger numbing cream for hair removal and it seems like people are using it successfully and others not so much. it seems like everybody is different.

My electrologist has a transgender client who uses this ā€˜Dr. Powers Custom DMSO pain cream for electrolysis/laserā€™ with the ingredients - (Ketamine 10%+DMSO 10%+Gaba 6%+Amitriptyline 2%+Baclofen 1%+Cyclo 1%+Diclo 1%+Lido7% +Tetra2%+Benzo5%)

She tells me that this trans client gets it via prescription from a Compound Pharmacy in Texas.

https://www.empowerpharmacy.com/

Her client can sit down for 1 hour of electrolysis on the neck/chin/jaw line etc., and barely have any pain and can get thru the sessions easier.

So naturally I wanted to get more info cause iā€™ve been getting electrolysis for 1 year with 82+ hours total. Iā€™m satisfied cause my beard hair is 84 % lighter and the work is almost done but and iā€™m at a point where 8% lidocaine is not as strong as I would like anymore. I can now only withstand 30 mins of electrolysis before I tap out. Prior to that, I could withstand 1 hour with 8% lidocaine applied 90 mins in advance (the lidocaine is obtained via doctor prescription) Iā€™ve been doing three 30 min sessions per week. on my neck and cheeks.

My Moustache, Chin & Goatee area is too sensitive for electrolysis so iā€™m getting YAG laser done on it.
Even with 8 % lidocaine applied in advance. Its still more painful than iā€™d like with the YAG laser on high settings.

I was also getting YAG laser done on my head/scalp at one point because iā€™m balding and I hate shaving my head and I want hair removal done there.

And I was okay in the early sessions on my scalp hair. but YAG laser on my scalp n (even with 8 % lidocaine applied in 2 layers - 2 hours in advance) doesnā€™t stop the ā€˜painā€™. it hurts a lot when on ā€˜higherā€™ settings. i had to take a break from it. the YAG was hurting me too much. even with the 8 % lidocaine. it was torture.

and itā€™s sad because I want to get YAG laser done on my armits, chest and back, legs - and maybe even on my private parts too.

and I need something STRONG and it just seems like people who are in the transgender world know what the strong stuff is vs the WEAK stuff.

any other opinions on this topic? all opinions are welcome.

I totally sympathize. I perform electrolysis, but I find electrolysis impossibly painful. I tell patients ā€œitā€™s like getting stung over-and-over by a bee on ā€˜methā€™.ā€ NO BUENO!

I do not think that in the 21st Century any patient should have to put up with ANY pain AT ALL! Actually, not even a ā€œwhisperā€ of a sensation. There are a number of progressive electrologists who, with physician assistance, are utilizing various main-stream techniques. However, even the mere mention of these proven methods brings down a ā€œscreaming matchā€ from the electrology community.

Note: at one time, in the distant past, the president of our association said that some pain was a positive, because ā€œwe all need to suffer a little bit.ā€ To me, that was a sick perverted comment. Sorry folks!

Additionally, the compounding pharmacies are being put out of business by the ā€œbig boysā€ and, frankly, the State governments. We had a phenomenal compounding pharmacy that had been number-one for almost 100 years ā€¦ They were destroyed by irrational escalating insurance rates and by the State pharmacy board which was, at the time, headed by a former CVS executive. Iā€™m sure there was no connection at all? After a year of fighting, they just quit and sold the property. Indeed, freedom and choice is under attack as we become a society of forced conformists. BTW ā€¦ I like your post A LOT! I like straight honest opinion ā€¦ THANKS!

Well my electrologist is gonna speak to her trans client and Iā€™ll get the 411 on this stuff. Bottom line I gotta reduce the pain. and iā€™m willing to do what is needed.

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Many people on here and on other social media talk about getting anesthetic injections from local doctors and or dentists just prior to the appointments.

Is this an avenue you have researched or looked into?

I am still in school so I havenā€™t dug in too deep yet researching it and how it affects the epilation of the hair and/or the effect on the settings being used (electrolysis).

Iā€™m not even sure of the legalities of it or the possible issues it could cause if a client has a bad reaction from it.

Can you list the brands youā€™ve tried?

@DermDetermined Hello, I havenā€™t looked into getting Anesthetic injections.

To be honest, this whole new world of numbing creams, doctor prescriptions and all that is ā€˜newā€™ to me.

Iā€™m LUCKY that my electrologist has access to a doctor who can get her 8% lidocaine. If I didnā€™t have that iā€™d be screwed. YAG laser treatments and electrolysis HURTS.

but Iā€™m at a point where I need something stronger .

My electrologist spoke to her transgender client and was told that I basically need to find a doctor who would get me the prescription FOR this ā€˜strongerā€™ pain cream. But the reality is I have no clue what kind of doctor would be open to do that. Apparently one of the ingredients ā€˜ketamineā€™ can have side-effects

but her trans client uses it regularly and is totally fine.

Iā€™ve been to two places that do YAG laser and iā€™m lucky that I came in with the knowledge that I need to ā€˜numbā€™ up beforehand atleast 2 hrs before with 8% lidocaine cause the Over-The-Counter stuff doesnā€™t do squat!!! real talk!!!

but these places that offer YAG laser donā€™t inform you that you need numbing in advance cause it can hurt. but I believe is cause they donā€™t want to be held liable legally for a bad reaction to something like lidocaine.

so I can only imagine that this other ā€˜pain creamā€™ is gonna be hard to get a prescription for. so i now must research my other options if I canā€™t get it. Maybe its for the better? not sure really.