Electrolysis is extremely painful for me. I’ve tried ice, ibuprofen, but nothing works. Is there an over the counter numbing cream I can get? Or any other suggestions?
Ask your operator to message me for free sample assortments. The IBP may or may not help but it costs nothing to find out.
If you’re in the US, I’ve used Numbmaster (5% lidocaine), Aspercreme (4% lidocaine). These have helped.
EMLA cream is another option.
LMX 5% is what I have been using for several years now and it does wonders to take control pain. I’m not sure if a better formula exists OTC and it’s equal to EMLA prescription. I get mine from Amazon.
My last electrologist used recticare on me, and it did nothing at all. I told her I was super sensitive to pain and so she let the stuff sink in for over 30 minutes and it still did nothing at all for me. I wasn’t able to get past the first hair. Not her fault at all, I’m just that much of a wimp about pain.
What to do now?
I don’t think any topical cream can effectively numb in 30 minutes. Even the Rx EMLA requires 1 hour, 30 minutes to numb. I leave LMX 5% for 2 hours to get full effect.
I’ve always been able to get EMLA without a prescription, just over the counter. You have to ask the pharmacist directly though, and they hand it to you. Maybe the laws have changed since then, because that was years ago. Zensa cream is another option.
Emla is OTC in Canada.
Numbskin is a higher dose of lidocane and less hassle to get in the USA. It is only more expensive than EMLA if one has a co-pay to purchase prescription EMLA while one would be paying full price for Numbskin. If one were to purchase both at full price, the Numbskin would cost less.
Hi James,
Thanks for sharing. How would you compare Numbskin to LMX brand if you have experience with LMX?
I noticed an ad on TV. Seems Blue-Emu is producing a lidocane compound. Has anybody tried it ?
I’ll say this since no one else did.
Some people are indeed very sensitive, but most people can handle electrolysis.
The first thing that I would rule out is a bad electrologist, because it is not only the discomfort you are dealing with, but also the effectiveness of your treatment could be compromised.
Get test patches from different electrologists in your area, and you may just be surprised to discover that they all are not created equal. I get clients coming to me all the time with stories about the pain they used to endure with another electrologist, and/or that they’ve been in treatment for 2 years or longer without visible results.
Also, before giving your verdict on a topical, make sure that you are applying it correctly: a thick layer, occluded with a plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out, 60-90 minutes before treatment. Most 5% Lidocaine creams and gels are effective if used correctly, even the cheap ones you can buy on Amazon
I bought 2 different packages of EMLA today in Canada. I’m looking at my receipt right now, and it says EMLA PATCH $9.99 and EMLA DRESSING $16.49. Goods and Services Tax was $1.32, for a total of $27.80. The big box says it contains 1 5-gram tube and 2 dressings (it looks like just one Tegaderm dressing to me, but who knows, I haven’t opened the clear plastic package yet). It says it’s 2.5% lidocaine and 2.5% prilocaine cream. The EMLA PATCH box says it contains 2 1-gram patches. All dollar amounts are in Canadian funds.
most of my clients buy this in a 30 gram tube which does 2-3 treatments depending on the size of the area to be treated.5 grams, is really not a lot at all.The 30gram tube costs about $75 at shoppers drug mart plus GST.
Note that you can get 5% lidocaine in the Xylecaine brand for about $15 a 30 gram tube at walmart. Many of my clients use this. Theres also a new brand sold out of BC called…I think Aleve? it runs about $25-30$ a 30 gram tube but I have only seen one place ( a beuticians supply store) that carries it in stock.
Use of glad pressnseal wrap as an occlusion/dressing works vry well and seals around the covered area.
I don’t get the need for numbing cream, I’ve never had a problem with electrolysis, professionally or Diy-ing, I felt nothing except a slightly hot feeling… I agree with what Yb said… if you’re getting proper treatment you shouldn’t have any need for numbing creams, regardless of your skin type!
Hogwash! Proper treatments means using sufficient energy levels to cause enough burn to the follicle so it doesn’t regenerate. Hair follicles are tough suckers as is and require a good punch to get killed. You can’t achieve painless proper treatments unless you’re using bare minimum to achieve a release and then watch that hair regrow multiple times and retreat multiple times. There are no magical machines and probes that can achieve this. While people have different pain thresholds, most do feel pain from proper electrolysis and have their limit to how much treatment they can tolerate.
For instance, even with topical numbing cream and insulated needles and a 27mhz epilator, I cannot handle more than 45 minutes to an hour treatment on lower back. Other body areas are just as sensitive to me especially genital/bikini area when worked on with Flash/AC.
Numbskin is much more potent than LMX in my personal experience. That said, everyone is different, and some people find LMX 5 to work better than prescription EMLA
Additionally, there is a symphony of elements that make up sensation in electrolysis. It is similar to typing, where a change in the chair changes how many words per minute one types. There is a difference between a manual, electric typewriter and a word processor. There are also differences in what is possible with different machines and lighting and optical aids. Additionally, the client can do much to improve the potential for easier treatment by making sure that their hydration, mineralization and good rest has been maximized. Caffeine and alcohol are just a few things that cause treatments to be more painful no matter what the hair removal specialist does.
I have a law question. Is it legal for a Canadian citizen to take 1 or 2 tubes of Zensa (5% lidocaine topical anesthetic cream) over the U.S. border by land? Is it only legal if it is used on the Canadian citizen, but not on any USA citizens? I’ve heard that topical anesthetics like EMLA are over-the-counter medications in Canada, but in the USA, you need a physician’s prescription. I don’t know what phone number or email address I could contact to ask my question. Is there a website that lists all prohibited items to take into the USA that are legal in Canada?
I’ve also heard that cataphoresis is illegal in the USA. I’ve heard it’s because it’s considered a medical procedure, since you’re forcing products into the dermis. Is that correct? So, an American citizen who buys a machine in Canada that has a cataphoresis roller can’t bring it over the border into the USA. If they want a machine, they’d need to buy it through a USA distributor, because the machines they’d be selling wouldn’t have the cataphoresis female hole.
What if a Canadian citizen brought a cataphoresis roller (with cord), but didn’t bring a machine over the USA border? Like if they wanted to plug it into their electrologist’s machine in the USA? Is that illegal, even if the roller would only be used on the Canadian citizen’s body?
I don’t want to break any laws.
The FDA limits lidocaine content in the US. I cant tell you more than that, because I just dont know. But, essentially no cataphoresis is illegal because it can be used to administer drugs and it’s not any more legal to cross a land border with either. You could even be charged with importation of a drug.
I bought my Sterex SX-B (blend) machine used, so I didn’t get an instruction manual, but I only see two holes: one is labeled “NEEDLE HOLDER” and the other is labeled “INDIFFERENT”. So does this mean I can’t perform cataphoresis with it? Would it be legal for me to take it over the USA border? What if I got a machine that did have a female hole labeled “cata/ana” or something like that, but left my roller at home. Would the border guards confiscate that machine? (I don’t have such a machine with me at this time, so my question is purely hypothetical).