Hey guys, long time lurker, first time poster, this forum is what educated entirely, so thank you for that.
First up I have PCOS and pretty severe hirsutism and decided enough was enough and about 2 months ago I started Electrolysis at a local centre and my electrologist is lovely- while she didn’t explain anything to me I had researched well enough to feel comfortable and confident in the process, what to expect, etc. and she stated she had 20 years experience which also eased my mind.
However, my first two sessions were the most painful things I had experienced- I have a tattoo on my back and if I were to compare I’d say the tattoo was a 2/10 and the electrolysis is a 11/10 for pain. My third treatment onwards I started using 5% numbing cream and it maybe dulled the pain to a 7/10- I’m still having to mentally talk myself through each insertion and removal in a mantra that ‘pain is temporary’ haha.
My electrologyst checks in on me throughout the sessions, I don’t know quite how to explain it, I say it’s painful, she has adjusted settings nothing seems to really dull the pain. I like the way she treats- she will do roughly 10~ insertions at a time and then pull all 10 hairs with tweezers, and repeat, though I do know she is pulling hairs that haven’t been zapped. I can feel the insertion of the probe and the removal is just if not more painful at times.
Each session is 45mins and I just finished up my 14th session which was my last for treating the whole area of the face, jaw to jaw, down the neck, and today was the upper lip and oh god the pain was searing - 20/10 I almost had to tap out but managed to stay still because I am suborn as all hell.
I know redness, swelling, etc. is to be expected. Swelling for me will be immediate and intense and VERY red, and reduce over a week, it lingers on my skin and persists which is annoying but that just seems to be my skin type. However my last treatment my upper lip has had such a violent reaction, I’ll post some pictures of before and after this treatment today.
I hadn’t touched my face at all, I came home and laid down to try nap some of the pain away, when I woke up I gently used some chilled witch hazel to gently soften and remove the hardened blood serum (I’m pretty sure that’s what the yellow crystal like stuff is) its been about 5 hours since treatment and after that gentle clean and nothing else only one little area has had more serum return which I’m leaving until just before bed and will clean again.
Little more info prior to electrolysis
- had been shaving from age 12, daily as of 2020
- I had been waxing at home 5-6 times a year from 2018-2021 but it became so so so sore to do over time I stopped and just shaved only.
- the past year I had been shaving and using a handheld IPL at home, it worked a little on my face, but mostly on my body hair.
Overall just sort of looking for advice… Is my skin just SUPER sensitive with the pain? That’s kind of where my thought process is because my skin has been so angry the whole process but today certainly is the worst.