When trying to look feminine, the biggest challenges that many of us face deal with hair – either not enough in some places and too much in others. This article will discuss doing something about the later. There are a number of approaches we can take to help get rid of unwanted hair, but each approach has its limits. Our goal here is to identify and describe what really works and what you can reasonable expect from hair removal.

Before I go any further, I must say that I am not a doctor or pharmacist, nor am I licensed in the use of electrolysis, nor have I taken any formal training in laser hair removal equipment. What I am presenting is what I understand about hair removal based upon my own experience and a lot of research. These are just my opinions and "your mileage may vary." If you are serious about undertaking this procedure, you should consult with a qualified professional. Now with that said, let's talk about skin and the electrology methods available. Any medicines or drugs mentioned are for background only and you should consult with the appropriate, qualified medical professional before trying anything discussed on this website. For more on this, please read this website's disclaimer.

Traditional Approaches to Removing Hair

Over the centuries, people have tried many things to remove unwanted hair from their bodies. Some approaches have been somewhat effective whilst others were no better than snake oil (such as my favorite snake oil product, Epil Stop & Spray).

The most obvious way to get rid of facial hair is through shaving. For me, a good shave always meant that I only had to trowel on 3 pounds of makeup rather than four since my beard was so thick, dark, and dense. Shaving didn't last very long for me. After six or seven hours, I start showing signs of a "5 O'Clock Shadow." If I shave too close, too frequently, my face feels like cut up hamburger. I did find that investing in a good razor did help a lot. Personally, I think that the best razors are the Gillette Mach3 Turbo and the new Gillette Fusion Phantom.

For shaving the body and legs, I highly recommend the Schick Intuition. It has a triple blade that pivots and a "skin conditioning solid" that lathers when wets so that you don't need shaving cream. It gives a close shave and is fast to use. Although I haven't tried their razor, the Phillip's Bodygroom website is one of the funniest that I have ever seen. If you check it out, make sure to listen to the testimonials!!

Shaving is a decent, short-term way to get rid of hair, but shaving only removes hair the is above the surface of the skin, so you'll need to continue to shave frequently. If I am at a conference or some other all day event, I might start to feel self conscious by the end of the day when I can feel the razor stuble. To get a longer lasting result, the hair below the surface of the skin needs to be removed.

How about using tweezers? With a great deal of patience, time, and good eyesight, this can be done. I have heard that tweezing can actually encourage hair growth, so this may not be a very good approach. Also, tweezing does little to prevent regrowth of hair once it has been plucked. Still, yanking the hair out using tweasers, waxings, or electronic elipators do give you a longer lasting result. I use a Gillette Silk-épil Epilator on my arms, legs, and chest when I want to be able to go a week without having to shave my body. Electric epilators, such as the Gillette Silk-épil, are pretty painful to use the first time, but with repeated use are not too uncomfortable on the arms and legs. Using one of horrible little devices on your chest is quite an experience, but I have discovered a few things that help... First, use a beard trimmer to cut the hair down to about a quarter of an inch in length. Next, pop some Tylenol and/or Motrin and then hop in a hot bath. After about a half an hour of soaking, dry yourself off and start ripping those hairs out!! It still hurts, but the pain is less.

But what about those "electronic tweezing methods" of hair removal? There is not published, reputable scientific data that I am aware of to support the effectiveness of this method of hair removal. Everything that I have read (from seemingly reputable sources) is that these electronic tweezers are not significantly better than just plain tweezing.

What about depilatory creams? These products work by chemically melting the hair. Unfortunately, they often melt skin too - that's why they usually have warning labels on them not to use for more than a certain number of minutes and not very often. I have tried such product before and they work fine on thin hair, such as on my arms, but they don't work well on thicker hairs. When I tried one of these products on my chest hair, I ended up with a chemical burn. Not again, thank you.

You can now try medicines like Vaniqa that will retard the growth of facial hair. Vaniqa, which is believed to block a natural chemical necessary for hair growth, does demonstrate a significant reduction in facial hair growth in human studies. About 60% of the women completing at least six months of treatment experienced a significant reduction of facial hair. The prescription cream, which takes about two months to work, also worked regardless of whether the hair growth was cause by hereditary factors or a medical condition. Unfortunately, it requires a prescription, costs a lot, takes several months to show significant effect, and once you stop using it, the effect wears off in time.

Laser Hair Removal

The findings concerning "laser hair removal" are mixed. Although I have talked with several people that they have had good results with laser, these people were not in the majority. When regards to the transgendered community, it is not a complete solution and its effectiveness varies greatly from person-to-person. I feel that laser hair removal should be considered "hair reduction" not hair elimination. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agrees - not that they need to agree with me.

According to the FDA webpage for Laser Facts, laser manufacturers may not claim that laser hair removal is either painless or permanent unless the FDA determines that there are sufficient data to demonstrate such results. Several manufacturers received FDA permission to claim, "permanent reduction," not "permanent removal" for their lasers. The various modern laser devices cannot destroy all hair - they don't work with grey, light, or blonde hair - so they can't claim to "remove hair" but only "reduce hair."

I find it extremely interesting to note that the FDA considers a process "permanent" if it lasts for a period of time "greater than the duration of the complete growth cycle of hair follicles, which varies from four to twelve months according to body location." I don't know about you, but when I think of the word "permanent," I don't think only one year.

I have done a lot of reading of research papers on laser effectiveness. Granted, I haven't read everything and new studies are published from time-to-time, but the research papers that I read show the best findings are of two years without regrowth of hair, while others show 75-80% reduction in hair regrowth. I have personally read papers where the best results were only a 25% reduction after six months. 25% reduction may be all well and good, but having 75% of my beard left still makes me look like a guy in a dress. To complicate matters further, most (if not all) of these studies used only genetic females and not genetic males, so it is even more unclear what the effectiveness is on the transgendered.

Don’t get me wrong, I feel that laser (and so called “intensed pulsed light systems”) do offer some advantages compared to other approaches and they are improving these devices all of the time. The major advantage is that large areas can be treated in a short period of time. Unfortunately, laser hair removal is less effective on deep-seated hair, hairs that curl, and doesn’t even work with light-colored hair such as gray or blonde hair. From the people who I have talked with, it seems that laser is much more effective on body hair than on facial hair.

Also, with laser equipment becoming available in most areas only in the past few years, there aren’t many very experienced professionals. This lack of experience can be costly with both your purse and your skin. In my personal experience, laser worked well as long as I kept up monthly treatments. Unfortunately, five to six weeks after a treatment, my face was a hairy as a gorilla’s. For the money I was spending per treatment, I opted for something I felt was a bit more cost effective in the long run.

Electrology

Electrology is a process to permanently remove hair by applying a small amount of electricity to destroy the growth tissue of the hair. When this is done correctly, there is a high probability that the hair will be unable to grow or regenerate.

Unlike some other methods, electrology takes quite a bit of time. Over a period of months (or even years), hairs are treated and removed. Only a certain percentage of these treated hairs will grow back. Over time as the beard lessens, the face changes somewhat and begins to look softer, younger, and more feminine.

Background

There three methods used in electrolysis to actually destroy the unwanted hair: thermolysis, galvanic, and blend. Regardless of the method used, a “needle” is used to introduce the electricity into the hair follicle. These needles aren’t really needles – they’re considered “probes” because they aren’t hollow. These probes are typically stainless steel wires that are about half the thickness of the average hair. A probe is slipped into the same hole as the hair (this “hair canal” is what we call the follicle) so at no time is your skin actually being pierced. Once the probe is in place, electricity is delivered to destroy the papilla – a tiny structure in your skin that actually grows the hair.

It is the papilla that is the primary target for destruction. This tiny organ feeds the newly formed hair cells with blood. These newly formed hair cells grow continuously, and die continuously, forming the hair shaft, which pushes outward from the follicle base. The idea is that if you completely destroy the papilla, then the base of the hair itself is destroyed and the hair cannot continue to grow. Unfortunately, the papilla of deep, coarse hairs cannot always be destroyed with one treatment, so multiple treatments are commonly required.

The real trick to electrology is to destroy not just the papilla but also the region around the papilla. This region around the papilla is called the hair matrix and it plays a significant role in producing the cells used in the hair fibre and it's sheath. Of course, when the papilla and hair matrix are destroyed, we needs to so it in a way that does as little harm as possible to the rest of the skin. This is just one reason why I am very shy about many of those “do it yourself at home” electrolosis kits. If you aren’t competent enough with the techniques and with the (right) equipment, you run the risk of serious scarring. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t trust an amateur (like me) to work on my face if poor technique could cause my face to become scared or pock marked. Neither do many states. For example, the State of Connecticut requires 600 hours of training and professional exams before they issue a license.

Complicating things is that hair grows in a cycle - consisting of a growth phase, a resting phase, and a final shedding phase. After the cycle is completed, the hair goes ‘dormant” for a short time and then the cycle restarts. The best time to treat the hair is when it is in the growth phase. During the course of treatment and due to the cyclic nature of hair growth, new hairs as well as hairs emerging from a dormant phase will also be treated and may be visible the same time as finer “regrowth” hairs. It is difficult to predict the growth cycle therefore regular appointments are necessary to eliminate the hair as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Depending upon the method of electrolysis used, the electrolygist will need to insert the probe at the correct angle, at an appropriate depth, and apply the correct amount of electricity for the an appropriate amount of time. Techniques will vary with each each method, and a poorly executed technique will be at best ineffective and at worst will cause a permanent scar or mark. On the flip side, a well executed technique will have a high likelihood of destroying the hair and it's ability to regrow without causing any visible change to the skin.

The important point coming from all of this is to find a qualified, experiences professional. If you do start looking for a licensed practitioner in electrology, you should check their credentials. They should have a certification from a school or a professional group, and a state license if the state requires one. The most common national certifications include:

• CPE (Certified Professional Electrologist) a certification governed by the AEA (American Electrology Association)
• CCE (Certified Clinical Electrologist), a certification governed by the Society of Clinical and Medical Electrologists through their affiliate the National Commission for Electrologist Certification
• There are other certifications like RE (Registered Electrologist), and other groups like the International Board of Electrologists

Just because someone has some certification doesn't mean that they'll do a good job. When you first meet with them, ask about how many hours of training they went through, how long they have been practicing. Also, ask them about their experiences with each method of electrology: galvanic electrolysis, thermolysis, and blend. Often you are best with someone recommended by another t-girl.

Thermolysis

One of the methods (generally referred to as the "modality") is called Thermolysis. It is also called the “short wave”, “high frequency”, “flash”, or “diathermy” method. Technically speaking, thermolysis is not “electrolysis.” This is because true electrolysis involves a chemical reaction and thermolysis works only through the use of heat. Still, most of us lay persons would call thermolysis a form of electrolysis. It is the most widely practiced method of permanent hair removal available today, probably because how quickly hair can be treated. With an experienced technician, the time required to treat a single hair is only a second or so. Unfortunately, its effectiveness is relatively low. Some statistics that I have read report only a 5 to 15 percent kill rate for follicles treated with thermolysis. Not everyone responds the same way and each technician has different skills, so you may get better results. I have had thermolysis and I feel that I have had better kill rate than 15 percent – probably more like 30%. This is only a guess on my part because it is nearly impossible for me to count every hair that is treated on my face and track specific hairs to measure what the real percentage is.


Thermolysis works on the same principles as your microwave oven. Each uses some high band range of RF (radio frequency) power to heat up water molecules. With thermolysis, this RF power (the AC electrical current) is transmitted at the end of the probe that is inserted down the hair follicle. The temperature of the water molecules in and around your hair producing cells is raised to a temperature of about 170 degrees. At this temperature, these cells coagulate. Once the heat “melts” the hair producing cells, the hair is pulled out of the follicle with a pair of tweezers and then the process is repeated.

The major factors that influence how effective thermolysis will be on you include the intensity of the electrical current; the length of time for treatment cycle; the position of the probe; the size and depth of the hair itself; and the amount of moisture in your skin. To effectively destroy the hair producing cells, it is necessary to reach a minimum temperature of 130 degrees. At this temperature, human tissue coagulates much the same as cooked egg whites. Higher temperatures are often required because fluids in your skin tend to cool the area, so there is a definite risk of damage to your skin and for scarring.

It is this risk of scaring why I feal that you should try to use the lowest possible power setting so you can minimize the risk of damage to your skin. If the power setting is too low, the hair will likely grow back so you may end up spending more time and money, but at least your face won't be blemished and pock marked.

Here’s the bottom line with thermolysis as I am concerned: it is good for thin hairs with shallow roots but generally should be avoided for many of the larger, course and deeply rooted hairs. Unfortunately, these are the kinds of hairs that typically comprise the male beard. Also, with thermolysis having a relatively low kill rate, be prepared to devote a lot of time and money.

Even with all of this said, thermolysis can be used successfully, but you need to discuss its use with your professional electrologist. The technician can customize the treatment to best deal with your skin and your hair. Depending upon the equipment used, they should be able to adjust settings for such things as how much and how fast the heat is produced as well as how long the treatment lasts. By having this control, the technician should be able to minimize the risks and still provide long-lasting results.

Again, one of my biggest concerns with thermology (“flash electrolysis”) is the risk of damaging the skin. After a treatment session, there is usually some of material left behind. This “debris” (also called “tombstones”) could come from destroyed hair cells, damaged sweat glands, blackened follicle walls, clotted blood, etc. Your body does it’s best to rid itself of such debris by compressing it and then pushing it out of the skin – much like a blackhead. It usually takes about a month for your skins to push out such debris.

Unfortunately, sometimes the amount of debris is too much or is too deep and you body can’t rid itself of the material. When this happens, as a protective measure, your body begins to coat the debris with a hard buildup. Such coated debris appears as scarring under the skin and it looks awful. Even an experienced electrologist may not be able to do much to help remove these. You may need a dermatologist to remove this debris and a dermatologist will cause a lot more than an electrologist.

We want our skin to look smooth and blemish free, not just hairless. I feel that minimizing the risk of damage should be a very high priority – even if that means sacrificing more time and money to do so. Considering its potential for damage, thermolysis should be avoided for much of the time. Fortunately, thermolysis is not the only method available to us - there is also “galvanic” and “blend” electrolysis.

Galvanic Electrolysis

Galvanic electrolysis, like thermolysis, applies an electrical charge but galvanic electrolysis uses the electricity to produce a chemical reaction, which in turn kills the hair cells. Chemists has long known that if you run direct current (DC) electricity through a solution of salt water, the salt and the water break down and form sodium hydroxide, also called "lye", along with hydrogen and chlorine gas.

With galvanic electrolysis, the current is applied through the probe that is insert down the hair follicle. The moisture and salts naturally found in your skin are essentially salt water. The sodium hydroxide that is produced breaks down the wall of the follicle by a chemical action and weakens surrounding tissue. As the lye works its magic, it is transformed into hydrogen peroxide, which in turn breaks down into water or saline solutions – harmless byproducts. Of course, if you treat too many hairs close together, then it is possible to produce too much lye in too small of a space and this could cause some unnecessary damage to your skin or cause an allergic reaction.

By all accounts, the galvanic method is pretty effective, although I have seen a wide range of statistics on just how effective it is. Some statistics that I have read refer to a 60% - 75% kill rate for a galvanic treated hair.

Part of the reason for the galvanic method’s better effectiveness is due to the lye being in a liquid during the process. The liquid can slide down to the bottom of the follicle and into the surrounding cells. This way, even if the probe isn’t positions exactly where it should be, the lye will seep in and around to the places it needs to be. This is a big help if it is difficult to position the probe, such as when the hair or follicle is curved or curly. And with the area saturated with lye and hydrogen peroxide, “treatment” actually continues for a while even after the hair has been removed, so there is less chance of regrowth.

The big disadvantage of galvanic electrolysis is that it is time consuming – very time consuming. To treat a single hair follicle could take as much as two minutes! With the shear number of hairs that need to be treated on the transgendered person’s face, this approach is not usually feasible. This is especially true when you are paying $50 or $60 per hour for treatment.

Blend Electrolysis

Here lies the dilemma: if we used thermolysis, we can treat a few hundred hairs an hour, but we risk scarring and we will most likely need to repeat the process many times; but if we use galvanic electrolysis, we can treat only a couple of dozen hairs per hour but probably will only have to repeat the process only a few times. Either way, we are looking at a very long time and lots of money. Here’s the solution to our dilemma: “Blend Electrolysis.”

Blend electrolysis (also called the “dual action method”) uses a combination of galvanic electrolysis and thermolysis. This combination method minimizes the problems with each of the individual techniques, while bolstering the advantages of each method. We end up with a method that has the high kill rate associated with the galvanic method along with the speed of treatment associated with in thermolysis.

Basically, most of the blend's capacity for destroying the hair growing cells is accomplished by way of the chemical reaction of the lye. Blend still uses DC current to produce lye, but unlike galvanic method, the blend method reduces the normal two-minute duration down to about 10 seconds. Electrical current is also used to produce heat, but the heat doesn’t need to be so high as to melt the surrounding cells. Instead, the current is used to heat the lye. Heated lye is considerably more caustic, and therefore more effective. The heat also causes the lye to diffuse through the skin faster and further – again making the lye more effective. The technician can customize the treatment to best deal with your skin and your hair. Depending upon the equipment used, they should be able to adjust settings for such things as how much heat is produced, how long the treatment lasts, and how quickly the temperature rises. Most importantly, blend maintains the same high kill rate as galvanic electrolysis.

Galvanic vs. Flash vs. Blend

Galvanic is probably the “safest” modality of electrolysis but it is way too time consuming to be practical for most of us. That leaves Thermolysis (Flash) and Blend. For any given hour of treatment, an experienced electrologist can treat more hair using Flash than Blend, but since Flash doesn’t have as high of a kill rate, more treatments will be needed. So which produces better results and is more cost-effective?

Let’s assume that 30 follicles can be treated per minute when using Flash and its Kill Rate is 20%. Also, assume that 6 follicles can be treated per minute using Blend and its Kill Rate is 60%. Why use these assumption? The answer is that they are as good as any. The treatment rates come from my own experience. The kills rates can vary a lot from technician-to-technician so I'll use pessimistic values to be on the conservative side of things. The following chart summarizes the overall time and cost of using each process under these assumptions:

	Follicles per cm2	Approx Area	Approx Area cm2	Typical Number of Follicles	Count of Treatments If Using Flash	Hours of Flash	Count of Treatments If Using Blend	Hours of Blend
Chin	500	4" x 4"	37.60	18,800	94,000	53	31,333	87
Left Cheek	880	3" x 3"	21.15	18,612	93,060	52	31,020	86
Right Cheek	880	3" x 3"	21.15	18,612	93,060	52	31,020	86
Upper Lip	500	1" x 4"	9.40	4,700	23,500	12	7,833	22
Total:						169		281
Cost at $65/hr:						$10,985		$18,265

What this analysis tells us is that Blend is about 60% more expensive than Flash. But is that the whole story? Of course not! Since Blend requires less repetition of treatments, there is less chance for scarring. Also, some people find Blend to be somewhat more painful than Flash, while others find just the opposite. If you find that Flash is more painful for you and then consider the additional cost of some pain relievers (such as prescription EMLA cream at $60 a tube), you may find the actual costs to be quite similar.

I don't react well to Flash. My skin becomes inflammed and stays red for as long as a week. Also, I find Flash much more painful than Blend. I can go through two hours of Blend without much pain and an hour after the session, you can't even tell that I had a treatment. But that is just me. I have friends that respond exactly the opposite. Personally, I'd rather pay the extra money to have blend done and avoid the agony I experience with Flash.

Also, administering effective Flash electrolysis requiring better technique than with Blend. Since Blend causes lye to be produced in liquid form, the lye will drip down to the base of the follicle so the placement of the probe is less important than with Flash. With Flash, the technician needs to position the probe exactly at the bottom of the follicle to kill the papilla. Rather than having to waste time precisely positioning the probe, many technicians will simply increase the amount of electricity so a greater area is melted away. This greatly increases the chance of scarring and of causing debris to be left under the skin, which in turn may cause lumps or discoloration. Without proper training or good technique, the technician using Flash method could cause a lot of damage to your skin. And considering that dermatologists cost a lot more than electrologists, your pocketbook may get scarred as well. This is yet one more reason to seek out an experienced professional.

Dealing with Pain

Few people actually like pain. Most of us want to avoid it as much as possible. Unfortunately, electrolysis is pretty painful. Sure, the electrologist refer to it as "discomfort" but in my opinion, it is "pain."

One of the most important things to do is not increase the pain. You can cause more pain by eating or drinking substances that are known to enhance your body's ability to sense pain. The most common culprit is caffeine. When I see my electrologist, I try to avoid all caffeine that day. Another known pain enhancer is sugar. So avoid sweets. Chocolate is known to have both caffeine and sugar, so don't even think about that Milky Way bar.

Another obvious approach is to take a pain killer such as aspirin, Tylenol, or Motrin. These products are called oral analgesics, and they can help a lot to minimize the pain. These medications fall into a category called cyclooxygenase inhibitors. These agents inhibit your body’s production of a substance called prostaglandin. This stuff is churned out by your body when it senses any sort of tissue damage. So these drugs can actually prevent pain. In addition, drugs such as aspirin and acetaminophen can help keep swelling down after your treatment.

Drug	Half-life (hrs)	Time before kicking in (hrs)	Typical Dose (mg)	Dosing Interval (hrs)	Maximum Daily Dosage (mg)
Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin)	2-3	0.5-1.0	500-1000	4	3600-6000
Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others)	1-4	0.5	500-1000	4	1200-4000
Ibuprofen (Motrin, others)	1.8-2.5	0.5	400	4-6	3200

Before each of my weekly 90 – 120 minute electrology session, I will take 1000 mgs of Tylenol along with 800 mgs of Motrin. I take both products because each works slightly differently and the combination seems to be the most effective for me. I take these early enough so that they will have kicked in by the time the first probe is used – which typically is about 45 minutes. About 20 minutes before the session, I will take another 500 mg tablet of Tylenol along with another 400 mgs of Motrin. Just before the electrolysis treatment starts, I take another does of each. With this approach, the first doses is in high gear when I start my treatment and as they start to fade, the second dose is peaking. This really helps when my treatments last for two hours. Once again, don't try to do what I have done without first consulting your doctor.

Another thing that I highly recommend is using some sort of topical numbing cream or ointment. The two most common products for this are ELA-Max and ELMA. Unfortunately, in the United States, ELMA requires a prescription whereas ELA-Max does not. You can get ELA-Max at any pharmacy, but chances are that they will have to order it for you. When I ordered ELA-Max from my local CVS pharmacy, it arrived the next day. I don't remember the exact price that I paid, but I think that it was around $40 for a 30 gram tube with a 5% strength. That is enough to last me anywhere from three to five treatments. Eventually, I did get a prescription from my GP for EMLA (30 gram tube of 5% cream for around $60 before insurance), but I found that I could get it cheaper without a prescription from Australia. Perhaps the cost issue is just that I have lousy prescription coverage under my medical insurance. You may or may not find the cost cheaper using overseas sources.

EMLA contains a combination of Linocaine and Prilocaine while ELA-Max contains Lidocaine. All of these are related to Novocain, so I don't know why EMLA requires a prescription while ELA Max doesn't. I did some research on these products and found several references to not putting too much of the products on at once. The fear is that your body can absorb too much of the numbing agent, get into your bloodstream and cause problems. I never found any description of what "too much at once" was, but I think they mean coverage like your entire body. Although I'm not a doctor, I believe that the amount required to cover my neck and face is a small enough to be considered safe.

For me (and a few of my friends who I've talked with about this), EMLA works better than ELA Max. EMLA seems to do a better job at numbing my skin and it seems to last longer. Unfortunately, EMLA is that it takes longer to work (at least 30 - 45 minutes) and requires that you keep it covered so it doesn't dry out. I use pieces of Glad Plastic Wrap (or Saran Wrap) to keep the cream covered. ELA-Max is an ointment, not a cream, so it doesn't dry as quickly, therefore you don't have to cover it (although it works better if you do).

If I don't have plastic wrap, I apply a coat of ELA-Max over the EMLA so that it won't dry as quickly. If the cream does dry out, just rub it down some warm water. Don't use too much water since you don't want to wash it off. I usually just wet my hands down, rub the cream into a lather, and then add a bit more cream to the thin spots.

Using the EMLA/ELA-Max and Tylenol, I can still usually feel some minor pain, but it is easily tolerable. As my electrolgist works, she keeps the plastic wrap on as long as possible, rolling it off my face one section at a time. Since I don't have a very high threshold of pain (e.g. I am a pain wimp), when she is working on my upper lip, a very painful area even with EMLA and Tylenol, I will place a cotton balls soaked with Anbesole liquid between my gum and my upper lip. This helps to numb the area a bit more. If you try this too, don't keep the Anbesole-soaked cotton balls in for more than a few minutes as you can actually cause a chemical burn in your mouth.

Here are just a few other random things to consider:

• Try to relax during your treatment. Try not to clench your fists or your eyes, as these actions will only cause more fatigue more quickly and that often translates to more pain. Bring a walkman and listen to music, practice yoga, bring a teddy bear to hold… anything that will help you relax.
• Go into any tanning salon and buy a pair of goggles. Wear them during you treatment. If you don’t, then you’ll end up getting more fatigued more quickly under the bright light that the electrologist uses to work.
• Try to do electrolysis before you start hormone replacement therapy (HRT). It is widely believed that HRT can greatly enhance the pain experienced during electrolysis.
• Make sure that you let you hair grow out long enough so that the technician can see the direction that they hair is growing. This will help the positioning of the probe and that will likely reduce some “discomfort.”
• Make sure that every day you take vitamins and drink plenty of water. The water will help reduce the chances of “burning” from the electricity and the vitamins will help your skin’s overall condition (as well as your body’s ability to heal itself). Similarly, exfoliate your skin often and use high-quality soap, such as Nutrigina.