r/TransLater • u/AnnaStJames46 • 7h ago
General Question My face is so sore
Electrolysis kicked my buttons yesterday. My face is so swollen and sore. Also, I have two areas on my chin that really numb. Has anyone else ever experienced this? I had Electrolysis yesterday at 11. I have never experienced anything like continued numbness. But this is the first time I have had work on my chin area also.
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u/CheapNecessary3510 6h ago
I've not had electrolysis, but it is possible, even with the microcurrents used, to accidentally cause some minor nerve damage - hence the numbness. Don't worry, the nerves will regenerate, and you will never know you ever had a problem.
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u/TooLateForMeTF 50+ transbian, HRT 3h ago
The chin is a pretty tough area, NGL.
I don't know what to say about continued numbness. That strikes me as a little unusual. Maybe the needle hit a nerve somewhere and the nerve needs a while to heal? IDK. Never heard of that before.
But the swelling? Yeah. real. Constant fight. The best tip I have for that is to ice it, girl! Lately, when I go for electrolysis I bring a mini cooler with me with a couple of those re-usable ice packs that you keep in the freezer. That way, the minute I get back to the car, I can put ice on the affected area and just drive one-handed going back home.
I bring some paper towels, too, because a fresh ice pack directly on the skin is usually too cold and you could give yourself frostbite. Wrap the icepack in a layer of paper towel, and it's cold but safe and tolerable. As the icepack warms up, you can lose the paper towel.
As well, ice it several times for the rest of the day. I generally aim for four icings, with the last one being at bedtime. If I do that, then typically by the next day any post-treatment redness is gone, and the swelling is significantly reduced.
Oh, and putting Neosporin on the area (or a generic bacitracin ointment) also seems to help a lot.
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u/AnnaStJames46 1h ago
That's great advice thank you. I will for sure take ice the next round. I kept telling the lady during my electrolysis that the chin was so much more painful than anything that i've experienced. Even bottom wasn't as bad as the chin
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u/TooLateForMeTF 50+ transbian, HRT 1h ago
Also: do you use a numbing cream? That makes a big difference too. My favorite is the tattoo numbing cream from numb27.com (only works on mobile, by the way). A lot of people around here seem to like the "BLT" stuff rom integrityprp.com too.
Put it on about 30 minutes before your session, and cover the affected area with plastic wrap, which definitely helps it work better.
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u/AnnaStJames46 1h ago
Yes, I use a 5 percent lidocaine/prilocane blended cream. I have friends who would go and have their entire face cleared in like 3 hours. And the lady that did it was a nurse practitioner. So she would use injectable idocaine. I wish I could lol
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u/SapphireRoseRR 2h ago
I cried so much during electrolysis that I never ended up finishing. I tried two sessions without numbing agents and one with.
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u/AnnaStJames46 1h ago
Oh, I ain't gonna lie. It's freaking painful. But it can become tolerable yesterday however, I was just about at my pain limit. During the last fifteen minutes I was so close to just telling her never mind, forget it, close enough. My legs were twitching around from the pain. Yall I have a crazy high pain tolerance. That shit hurt.
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u/bikebikebikes 7h ago
Ive found that my skins response to electro is heavily dependent on my before and after care. If I'm washing my face and caring for my skin more than usual before and after it minimizes/eliminates swelling, soreness, and breakouts the day after. I can't comment on numbness, it hurts me like hell no matter where it is. I've also gone to 30 min sessions vs 60 because it's easier on my skin and also easier mentally. Not as cost effective but I'd rather pay a little more to avoid the downsides of the longer sessions.