Trans Hair Removal Resources

[Different_Trains]

I must admit when I've tried it before, it didn't really numb sufficiently to make it worthwhile at all. Didn't use any clingfilm though. Would a plaster (or something that looked like one but with no air holes) work?

[Steffi]

pic of MY BEARD
A plaster??? What size of plaster would cover a large area of your face or genitals? (aside from the porosity issues)
The idea of the film is that it stops the Emla from drying out, which it certainly will with 1+ hours of body heat and exposure to air. There are "occlusive dressings" for this purpose but they are the wrong shapes and sizes to be ideal for facial electro.
I cut sections from thin freezer bags.
I run one piece right across my neck, reaching up onto the jawbone and tape it in place. When I get there, I use scissors to cut the piece in half under the chin - she can therefore do each side of my neck separately.
Separate pieces for upper lip, lower lip/chin and each cheek.

If I've had the cream applied like that for 3 or more hours (with periodic agitation, as described) then for the first 25 minutes, I don't feel her working at all.
That's six areas to work on, so a two-hour session is twenty minutes on each area. She hits a new hair every 6 or 7 seconds.
Around the lip edges is especially unpleasant as is anywhere on the top lip, which is also the most stubborn hair to kill.
Close up under the nose and around the nostrils is THE worst - get her to start with those as soon as the cream is wiped off, whilst they are at their numbest.

Painkillers:-
You must not dose up on Codeine tablets because they all contain paracetamol and more than two is EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS to your kidneys and liver. If you want a relaxing, strong painkiller, ask the chemist for a bottle of Codeine Linctus which is pure codeine and won't be on display. It's not very expensive.
8 to 10 x 5mil teaspoons of that 45 mins before the appointment helps a lot and makes you feel a bit stoned too
(Your body turns codeine into small amounts of morphine - therefore codeine is highly addictive, which is why it is no longer sold as pure codeine tablets. But the linctus is still the pure stuff. )

Doing it once a week or once a fortnight isn't a problem but I stress:-
Codeine is highly addictive.
Don't kill your kidneys and liver with high doses of Co-Proxamol or similar.

[Jane_D_C]

I had this done in London at Richard Curtis’ Transhealth clinic. I had 1¼ hours of scrotal electrolysis, mercifully done under local anaesthetic. The only thing that hurt, and that only slightly, was the anaesthetic needle. I could chat to the electrologist about her new boyfriend, that’s how painless it was, compared to IPL down there, which was AGONY.

Then ¾ hour on the moustache, again done under local anaesthetic of a dentist-like nature. I couldn’t chat because she had her hand on my lip to hold it still, but again there was no pain.

The lip is now red and swollen, which I was not warned about by the clinic, but my friends in Avon Trans Women had hinted that this might happen.

Cost: £150 for two hours.

I had to grow out three days’ beard hair and then travel there on public transport – not fun. I chose a fetching pink polo neck sweater and matching pashmina scarf as disguise, and travelled looking a bit like Wilfred out of the Bash Street Kids. I had to catch the 05:20 to avoid the high commuters’ train fare. Luckily the other passengers were not really awake. The only funny look I got was a young woman at Paddington staring at the red skin & swelling on the way home.

I’ll let you know how much hair I lose on my lip: I don’t look at the other for what I presume are obvious reasons.

Jane x.

[Different_Trains]

Jane, I had the same with the upper lip after visiting the electrologists at Dr. Curtis's place. The upper lip is the one place the pain is completely unbearable for me, whereas elsewhere I can generally stand. So, I go to that place when I can afford it to have the upper lip done because they use the dental anaesthetic. The first time I had it done I had huge swelling for 2-3 days just like you, and it pussed a bit too. the second time I've had it done there was no such swelling though .I'm not sure what causes it. I thought at first it was the electrolysis itself, because I've had dental work done before with the same injections in pretty much the same place, and no such swelling, however, the fact it didn't happen the second time makes me think maybe it's the amount of anaesthetic used, and the histamines produced as a result?

[Steffi]

The redness and swelling is an unfortunate side consequence and seems to happen sometimes for reasons that I have been unable to pin down over the last 3 years. I have a photo which I will post when I get round to uploading it. At its worst, I looked like someone who had severe teenage acne and had been left with those bumpy scars. This can take 3 or 4 days to clear up entirely.

On the good side, at least you know that the electrolysis is being done properly or at least with worthwhile levels of power - I've had friends who have switched to a different place and then say smugly that it doesn't hurt as much and or make such a mess of their face. Well of course it doesn't...... they are not using enough power to do the job properly. There is no chance of them causing scarring/skin damage and you'll be going there for two or three times as long so it's a win-win for the clinic...... and a lose lose for the client.
Electrolysis really is no pain, no gain.

You are not supposed to pick/squeeze at those pimples nor put anything on your face for 24 hours.
However......
If you do really need to cover up the mess, then apply aloe-vera thinly over the areas - spread it on thinly, don't rub it in. It will dry into a thin, clear skin, like latex and you can then apply foundation over the top of it. Be very gentle spreading the foundation over this "skin" or else you'll start it peeling off at the edges.
Done carefully, you can get a good result that covers the redness and goes at least some way towards smoothing out the worst craters, whilst not clogging the empty hair follicles which are now wide open and very deep.
Once on successfully, it is durable enough to last the day.

Also..... just because a hair has been zapped doesn't mean that it will now never come back. It may well grow again, but weaker and thinner and nearer the surface. It might take two or three times before it does not grow again at all. The only way to be certain of killing every single growth cell at one hit would be to use so much power that some damage to other surrounding tissue would be much more likely. Good electrolysis is about accuracy of probe placement and appropriate power levels. There are different sized probes and the size should be appropriate to the size/strength of the hairs being treated.
Careful use of power levels allows hair coarseness in the area near the top of the ear to be "tapered" to blend the edge of the scalp hair into the face in a natural female way, rather than an abrupt border bertween zero hair and sudden thick, strong hair.
*Edit* Another thing - a properly treated hair will come out of the follicle quite easily after being zapped - if your electrologist is having to yank them out like when you are plucking your eyebrows then the treatment is DEFINITELY not being done properly - switch electrologists!
(I've had a lot of in depth talks with my very experienced electrologist and have considered training for this as a job)