Help! Looking for Local Anesthesia Electrolysis - NY Area

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

I am looking for a certified, transgender-friendly electrologist in the New York area who offers local anesthesia, either a dental block or lidocaine injections. My pain tolerance is extremely low, and topical cream doesn’t cut it.

I have been googling for days now, but the closest electrologist I can find that offers this service is Lori Maurizi at the Papillon Center in PA - and, as far as I can tell, Maurizi is not certified. I also found “Free and Clear Electrolysis” in NJ, but it seems sketchy - the electrologists there say they are “CPE” but I cannot verify this, which leads me to believe they might be fraudulent.

I find it hard to believe there aren’t any options for this in NYC of all places. I would much appreciate any help with this, any names you’ve heard of. Thank you.

#2

I don’t know of any electrologists that offer local anesthesia in New York. They would have to “partner” with a doctor or dentist to do this.

I know that Kelly Morrissey-Stump, in Chicago, is a fabulous electrologist and she has someone on her staff that can offer injections. It would be worth the effort and money to see her if you don’t want to try the zapper in Pap, Pa.

Yes, there is a huge need for local anesthetic help for the community. I have longed wished for this in my practice.

#3

Thank you so much for your reply!! I have come across Kelly Morrissey-Stump’s website. I much appreciate any recommendation as I am somewhat paranoid about which electrologists are “legit.” We’ve all heard horror stories.

I guess my follow-up question, then, is how do you suggest I arrange for such a partnership between a doctor and an electrologist? Does it make more sense to search for a willing dentist first? Or should I just call a few electrologists and ask if they would be willing? If anyone has any experience with making such an arrangement, particularly with an electrologist who hasn’t done it before, or who is hesitant, please share!

#4

I can speak for myself. If a client comes to me numbed. I will work on them, but I don’t want the liability of being involved in the numbing. They would have to seek out willing professionals that are credentialed to inject and then I would do my part to remove the hair. If there is an institution that does SRS on people, that employs an electrologist on their staff, then safe numbing would be an option, I would think.

#5

Try getting in contact with NYU Langone trans surgery center. They might have more info for you.
There is an electrologist in Manhattan Yuki Arai who works with SRS surgical teams, so perhaps she can get arrangements with medical professionals who can do local injections for electrolysis. I don’t know for sure though.

#6

Thank you both for your replies!

fenix: I reached out to Yuki Arai’s office and it seems they don’t know anyone nearby. Langone doesn’t have anything on the website about electrolysis, and I don’t see an email listed. Do you think it’s worth just calling and asking? I’ve already reached out to Mt. Sinai’s Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, and they said they couldn’t help me.

Deedra: I contacted an electrologist I have seen before, and apparently she has the same policy as you: if the patient comes in numb, she’ll treat them and ask no questions. She doesn’t want to “partner” with anyone who gives the injections.

So it seems the hard bit may just be finding a dentist who is willing to administer the injections. I am worried it may be difficult to convince them, since they don’t want the liability either.

There is a dentist near my electrologist’s - just downstairs from her, actually. Does anyone have any tips on how to convince him? Has anyone ever done this before? I’m crafting an email now.

Again, thanks so much!!

#7

Ye call NYU and also email one of their surgeons, it might help. I can’t understand how NYU or other hospitals that compete with each-other for trans care don’t accommodate or understand the need for pain management for electrolysis! I would think that cosmetic dermatologists and plastic surgeons would be easier to convince to do the injections than dentists. But you will need to find someone close to your electrologists or by the time you spend time traveling, the numbing will wear off mostly.

#8

I have updates in case anyone is curious!

Yuki Arai’s office put me in touch with a woman named Diane Bruessow of Healthy Transitions LLC. She is not located in Manhattan, but she does “house calls” for trans people in the NYC area. She can do lidocaine injections, but the fee for a visit from her is very high, we’re talking hundreds of dollars. I figured I’d put that resource here though, in case anyone else is looking and can afford it. (Or if you live nearer to one of her locations.)

The main barrier to this sort of care might just be the cost, it seems. Electrolysis is in such demand for trans folks, but statistically trans people cannot afford expensive health care. That might be one reason why so few electrologists offer it. Insurance won’t cover it, as electrolysis is considered cosmetic - it’s so absurd!.

#9

Are you certain you even need anesthesia? I do hundreds of trans faces a week, and none of them use more than a topical , some of them going through 3 and 4 hour sessions that stretch over multiple areas. I would hazard a guess that trans beard removal is nearly half of my business. And yes, cost is a genuine issue. So can be overtreatment when local anesthetic is used ( I’ve seem several cases of this , form one clinic in particular unfortunately) . . I actually have only one case where a local on upper lip might be helpfu, but honestly even she gets along just fine with Zensa cream.

#10

I’ve never heard of Zensa cream! Do you recommend it over EMLA? I used the generic of EMLA and it was definitely not enough. Bruessow suggested to me that perhaps the problem was the formulation of the generic, which might affect how well the anesthesia is absorbed.
As a side note, I have reddish hair, which does affect my pain tolerance.

#11

Also, which is the clinic that overtreats? I’d like to steer clear!

#12

I have been looking into Pliaglis - it is self-occluding, which is very attractive to me; dealing with the saran wrap is very annoying. Has anyone ever used it for electrolysis? Anyone recommend it?

#13

Zensa works pretty well from my client accounts. I cant seem to keep it in stock for very long. The oils used in its compounding do absorb well as your other electrologist advised.

Sorry I’m not going to be popping any names in this forum, good or bad.i can understand you want to steer clear, but I havent heard back from said clinic nor followed up with the clients who went there, so I dont know how it all turned out. Were rather against trashing the work of others around here, regardless.

Oh and try “Glad Press n Seal” wrap for occlusion, works much better than plain plastic wrap