Experiences with upper lip electrolysis pain??

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

I’ve been having electrolysis on the chin, neck and sides of face for a few months now and am soon to move on to the upper lip. I’m very worried about my ability to withstand the pain in this area as I’ve heard it is the most sensitive area for electrolysis and I already find the chin quite painful. Can anyone with experience of having had electrolysis on both these areas advise how upper lip compares to chin? I’m also worried about the redness/swelling as I have to go out in public after my appointments. If I have an hour’s electrolysis in this area will I end up looking like a duck? :slight_smile:

I am thinking about getting some EMLA cream to numb the area. Does anyone know if it would still work if I applied it for an hour before treatment and then removed it for ten minutes before so that I can cycle to my appointment without a cream moustache?! Also, is this the only option for numbing the area?

#2

Most electrologists don’t do more than 20-30 mins on the upper lip to avoid long-lasting swelling.

All numbing creams have to be applied beforehand. You can do it at the clinic, but 10 mins later it should still be working.

#3

Hi, I’m male and have had my mustache fully cleared. Personally I find the chin and lower lip to be worse. The center of the upper lip is the most painful, the sides weren’t that bad. With a fast setup and method, the lip is quick. My full chin area takes more than 4 hrs, the chin is done in an hr or less…probably less. As for swelling, I did swell up a bit. It’s noticeable but wasn’t “ducky” You can see the pics here http://www.hairtell.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/82022/1.html

#4

First, here’s my message thread with two pictures, one before treatment and one just after a two-hour session.

I agree, the center immediately beneath the nostrils was the worst for me, but I believe that’s because nerves from both sides of the face converge/overlap in that area. My electrologist spent a total of 30 to 45 minutes to treat both corners of my mouth, and did not return to treat the upper lip until a few weeks later. At that time, we had a two-hour session to complete both sides, and still did not treat the last 50 to 75 hairs in the center. I experienced swelling in my upper lip for about a day and a half to two days after the two-hour session, and about a day after the follow-up to treat the remaining 50-to-75 hairs in the center.

If you want to minimize swelling, you could get small numbers of hairs removed from your upper lip each session, spread out over your entire lip. Not many electrologists care to work this way, so you’d definitely have to work it out with yours. Sometimes you just have to schedule the most difficult work on Friday afternoons, or schedule a three-day weekend to provide adequate time for any swelling to reduce.

#5

When I first started having my upper lip cleared (male moustache, 300+ hairs sq inch) I was quite ducky! (I and James often joked about this, I drove him quackers!) After a number of full clearances, this extreme upper lip got to the point where there was no swelling anymore.

So the good news is, even if your lip does swell, as the hair count goes down with each clearance the swelling will get better. It should be too bad (and I assume you are a GG?) since the hair will be far less dense and robust as mine. I’d just plan for a day or two to let it go down just in case.

#6

Thanks for the replies everyone I’m feeling a bit less scared now… the swelling doesn’t look too bad on the pictures. I’m thinking asking the electrologist to treat just a few hairs each session across a broad area is a good idea as due to my schedule I have to do it at a set time each week which means going out in public after. Thanks for sharing.