How do i use Emla cream for it to be effective in an Electrolysis session

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hello

I usually avoid anything that is painful but not having hair on the face permanently is beyond a dream.

So i decided to go for electrolysis but I find it painful, despite applying Emla cream before every session.

In the last session I applied it the way i googled it but it still was not affective, or maybe it did work but it would have been worse if i haven’t applied any cream, i don’t know.

What i did in my last session was, i applied a generous amount of the cream then covered it with the plaster thing that comes with the small Emla Cream tubes an hour and a half before the session.

So my question is How do i properly apply Emla Cream for it to be effective for my session to be painless?

My question above is my main question but here is my journey with unwanted facial hair, optional

Just incase it isn’t obvious i am a woman.

I have been threading my upper lip and chin area everyday for 17 years until i decided go for electrolysis in June this year. The hair on my upper lip and chin is thick and it drives me crazy. So far i have gone to more sessions in two months than recommended. I am tempted to thread between sessions.

There is only one electrolysis centre in my city that i trust and it is always fully booked -_- so for the first time ever i shaved the upper lip and the hair grew even thicker!! maybe it is in my head because google says hair doesn’t come back thicker if shaved. so i actually booked an appointment with another centre because the one i go to is always fully booked. But then later i regretted going because they kept on pushing me to do laser instead, and they wanted me to buy many sessions in advance, the session was more painful and the swelling was worse and i had hair growing back the next day which was so annoying. I am definitely not shaving again ill just put up with a few hairs on my upper lip until my next session.

So i plan to get ride of my upper lip hair and my chin first and in the process, i also want to get rid of my “peach fuz” on the whole face, some of the hairs around the face are black and noticeable, especially in the sun, but very thin, hopefully that will need fewer sessions than the upper lip and chin.

I am open to any comments or tips :smile:

#2

First I will say that of topical numbing creams, EMLA would NOT be my first choice. This is for a couple of reasons:

  1. cost- EMLA is the MOST expensive option generally in the market. Here in Canada it’s about $80 a 30 gram tube
  2. it doesnt work as well as some options . In particular I prefer Zensa by Allure Pharmaceuticals.

EMLA is 2.5 % lidocaine and 2.5% prilocaine. Topical anesthetics are also dependent on the oils used to compound them Prilocaine does not numb the same as equivelent amounts of lidocaine ( in my opinion) and I still am able to feel treatments enough to annoy me when I get my neck worked on ( Yes, after all these years, I’m finally having others finish my neck where I cant work myself) . I find Zensa does a much better job than both EMLA and Xylocaine ( another 5% lidocaine product) . It absorbs better because of the ils used. Xylecaine is more of a petroleum jelly based product, and EMLA is like a very thin face cream. Whichever you use you need to use occlusion, cover an area NO LARGER than an A4 sized paper and refresh and reapply periodically and leave the product, thick, in lce for 2 hours or more to come to full effect. Experience tells me that this is the most effective. Also, it is a sensible precaution to try a small patch test the first time you use any topical to check for adverse reactions.
Zensa can be had from amazon, and is manufactured by Allure Pharmaceuticals in British Columbia. I can get it for $30 cdn through my supplier and averages $40 US ( 60 CDN) on amazon for single tubes. Often you can buy 5 or more tubes for about 2/3 the cost .

It sounds like you have a long go of it ahead of you. Plucking and threading/waxing cases are amoung the hardest cases we face. The cycles of growth develop in time with your schedule of plucking or threading. It leads to a lot of in-growns which require manual extraction ( not something all electrologists excel at, which I found out this week when I went to a local competitor who could try to remove an ingrown on my neck, but I do ingrown extractions lie this at least 6 or more times a week, it’s about a daily occurence).
I urge you to give up completely on the threading and waxing. IT removes the hair from view so we cant treat it, extends the length of time over which electrolysis must be performed ( because we see only a small percentage of the hair to treat we otherwise would). If you cant stop doing this, honestly, you are wasting your time and money on electrolysis, because you are creating a issue with treatment that we cannot overcome. I know it’s hard. I now the FEEL of the hair and knowing it’s there, will be hard to overcome. But you MUST do this if you are going to make progress. Electrolysis is a long enough process in the best cases, but by threading, you are dragging that process out infinitely.

Seana

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#3

I have application tips here:

#4

Thanks!! very helpful ill look for Zensa.

but i don’t understand, how do you mean leave the product in ice? Do i ice it after applying it or do i put the tube in ice for two hours before applying the cream?

#5

sorry my keyboard is becoming a problem and I’m going to have to replace it.
I meant to say to leave it in place but the p and a didnt go through. Sorry for the confusion sometmes I dont always have time to go back and catch all the typos.
Essentially you want to want the zensa applied, and refreshed, for a total of 2 hours. YOu canbe liberal with it and cover it with plastic wrap. My favourite to use for this glad press n seal .
Seana

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