Just had my First ever Beard Electrolysis Consultation Today (need feedback)

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

hello everyone.

Okay so i just had my first consultation for beard electrolysis! (neck, chin, lip, cheek, sideburns). basically the female practicioner gave me a semple of how it feels to have hair removed and how the different settings feel.

It was an interesting FREE consultation. Basically because my hair is coarse african-american hair

she claims the schedule would need to be 2hrs every other week for a mininum of 2 years and a max of 5 years.

At $100/per hr ($200 dollars for a 2 hr session) and that it would be painful and expensive.

she gave an example of how Trangender Men on hormones and how its easier on them

and she even claimed that regular males doing beard electrolysis usually quit cause they can’t stand the pain long term.

when she plucked a few hairs out…it wasn’t that painful it felt like a sharp ‘pinch’

she claimed some numbing cream anesthetic would help numb the pain. especially in the neck area cause that skin is more sensitive.

but she was very adamant about how FULL beard electrolysis on the (check, neck, chin, upper/lower lip, sideburns)

is a painful, expensive and long-winded multi-year process for a regular male with coarse african american hair like mine.

she joked “by the time you’re finsihed on the beard you’ll have spent enough money to buy a new car”

she was a fiesty older lady but she meant well and was just being brutally honest.

any feedback from the experienced folks here would be greatly appreciated :wink:

#2

Sounds like a very good honest consultation to be honest. I generally recommend most of my transpeople to start with 2 hours a week, and that the process will be a minimum of 18 months but could take longer. About $100/hour is very average as to rate. I’m not completely in agreement over discomfort issues with your electrologist but her oint that you will not follow through if you dont have a good reson for it, is very spot on. Motivation for the hair removal is VERY important as to whether someone will see the process through.

A new car? I wish doing electrolysis was that profitable, but 10-12 thousand dollars to complete the process is a very typical amount if considered over the entire length of the hair removal.

#3

Thanks for the reply. i do have the motivation just not the $$$ at the momement.

but as soon as the funds free up abit. i’m game to do this. i’m not a transgender male. i just have always hated my beard hair and now at age 36 i’m starting to get some grey hairs and i want it all off. whatever it takes.

and apparently its gonna be painful, long-winded and expensive process but…hey…it is what it is…

#4

That feisty, older electrologist is telling it right. This is not going to be fast or easy for you. You didn’t present any pictures, but from what you described, you should appreciate her honesty.

Let me second her thoughts, it will be expensive.

Numbing creams take the edge off, sometimes…?, but are no panecea.

#5

I’m getting that desire to possibly begin my electrolysis journey on my beard.

when i last talked with the electrolysis lady she mentioned that i need to bring my own numbing cream? does that sound right?

if this is truly the case can anyone recommend any ideal numbing creams i can get on my own??

#6

It does sound right if your electrologist doesn’t have a stock of numbing cream to sell. Just order it off Amazon, follow the directions and arrive for your appointment. Many of my clients prefer NumbSkin 10.56%. You can get it at numbskin.com (or perhaps Amazon?). There was a time that Amazon did not have it, but you can try. The 10.56% strength appears to work better than the lesser concentration or the EMLA prescription option. Get the blue one https://shop.numbskin.com/ns-blue-10-56/

Buying the numbing agent yourself would be less expensive, unless your electrologist sells it for cost, which she/he probably does not.

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#7

My favourite for numbing cream is a product called Zensa, by allure pharmaceuticals. And yes, you would need to buy it yourself in most cases. Before I talk more about that however I wanted to cover other pain control methods.

First, I treat a LOT of mens beards, and the majority of my clients dont need any numbing cream at all. This is first because they keep their appointments shorter, but also because they control stress and ensure they are well rested before their appointment, and be sure to drink enough water to be hydrated but not o much that you have to pee all the time during your appointment. Stress on the body and lack of sleep are by far the largest culprits in making you more sensative to discomfort. Reducing caffeine intake as well can be beneficial. eeping the appointments shorter when starting and longer as treatment progresses, allows you to find your tolerance and also allows you to extend that tolerance over time
Of those who do use a numbing agent , it’s usually reserved for very sensative areas like the upper lip or center neck
Most numbing creams are a 5% lidocaine compound, with the exception of EMLA which is a 2.5 % lidocaine and 2.5 % prilocain. I usually recommend Zensa because the oils used in making it aid in absorption of the product. It works best if in place for 2 hours prior to treatment and covered with plastic wrap ( occlusion) to prevent it rubbing off onto clothing or surrounding and to also aid in absorbtion. It should be applied liberally and reapplying additional cream every 30 minutes or so is also helpful. You should NOT use numbing cream on areas containing mucas membranes, not cover an area larger than the size of an A4 piece of paper ( roughly 7 inches X11 inches) . Know that in at least one case of extreme misuse of the product, a consumer covered themselves from naval to ankles in emla and wrap and died on the way to their laser appointment. Testing a small area to check for adverse reaction before use for the first time is recommended, and keep the area covered reasonable.

Emla is available in most drug stores , over the counter here in canada and in some places in the US , , and cost about $80 a 30 gram tube . Zensa can be had from amazon for roughly $60 cdn per ingle tube, and if you buy several tubes around $25-30 each . I dont recommend xylacaine because its basically a petroleum Jelly compound, and doesnt absorb well. Some people have luck with products like Dr Numb, but I’ve never used it .
If it were me, faced with a job that will take as long as a full beard removal, I would just buy a lot of 5 or so tubes of Zensa from Amazon to get the better pricing. You’ll go through at least that over time.
For plastic wrap to keeep it contained, I recommend Glad PressNSeal which has a mild adhesive, as it’s much easier to deal with than regular saran wrap and a lot cheaper than medical products like tegaderm .

Seana

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#8

thanks for the information everyone.