47 • FACIAL LASER HAIR REMOVAL – SESSION 4

Today is the 13th of March 2017, and it’s facial laser hair removal session number four time :) It’s been six weeks since the last session and surprise surprise, I cut myself shaving again. Does everyone cut themselves shaving their face, or am I just rubbish at it? It’s annoying because those bits are either going to hurt when Debbie, my consultant, zaps them with the laser, or she’ll have to avoid them, resulting in more patchy areas. Grr, I hate shaving!

Tiny bit nervous today after the pain I experienced on my upper lip last time. I’m going to ask Debbie if she can do right along my lips though, as that area seems hardest to treat and I will also ask if she can return to doing the lines vertically instead of horizontal. I’ll try to alternate it each session to get more coverage. That’s how I do IPL at home on my legs and body, and it works pretty well :)

SINCE THE LAST SESSION

I would say the past few weeks saw the most progress I’ve had since I started. So many hairs fell out. This first photo was taken 10 days after the treatment, and the hairs continued to fall for about a week, I even had a few ginger hairs come out, which has never happened before, as well as a grey hair! That made me so happy. You can see the grey hair in the image at the top of the page, the root of it was slightly dark so I imagine the laser managed to get that just before it became 100% grey. I’m so lucky, that’s one less grey to zap with the electrolysis :) Thank you Universe!

This second photo was taken three weeks after the last session. I actually took the photo on the train to my 16th Gender Identity Clinic Visit. Three weeks and there was pretty much only grey hairs left on the side of my face and under my chin. Around the lips there were still patches of black hairs, and ginger hairs, but I was very impressed. My face was even starting to feel pretty smooth in some places :)

SESSION FOUR

Ouch.

For some reason, this session bleeding hurt. It was a proper, ‘Oh Charlie, that really hurt‘ session. I didn’t chant, didn’t drop any F-bombs, and didn’t cry like before, but it really really hurt. It felt like I was getting punched in the face by mini fists. Such an odd feeling. I’ve not had that before, it was so bad I even asked if she had turned the laser up a notch since the last session. No, she said.

Apparently, different things can affect the sensation, such as hormones and stress levels. I’ve changed over to Estrogen pills since the last session, so maybe my female hormones have increased resulting in more sensitive skin. I have a blood test on Wednesday so I should find out soon if that’s why, but whatever it was, it really hurt.

I was wincing a lot, and at one point she had to ask me to move closer, said I was on the edge of my seat so much, it looked like I was trying to escape out the window lol It’s telling that I felt like I was being punched in the face with mini fists, because as you can see from the photos taken after the session below, I had a lot of swelling and redness.

I know these photos aren’t very pretty, but I think they’re worth sharing. This session really affected my skin more than normal. I had a lot of spots and red skin right after the session, and you can also see the early signs of swelling in the first photo.

The second not very pretty photo was taken when I got home, about an hour after treatment. There wasn’t much pain at this point, just a strange tight sensation, as if my skin was stretching too much. I still had a lot of spots on my face too, as well as a lot of swelling under my chin. I looked like Desperate Dan for about 24 hours lol, my chin was massive. The spots and everything else all cleared within about 48 hours.

So, it was an uncomfortable session, yet pretty uneventful. I had my music on and kept thinking about that Robin I always see. He somehow helps me stay focused. Instead of thinking about the pain, I think about the Robin :) The most painful areas today were actually my sideburns. That’s where she starts and normally I don’t feel it, but today, BANG. Like a mini punch to the face. That’s how the session started, and I sort of thought, what the heck was that lol The top lip hurt too. That top lip is really so painful, I don’t think it will ever be nice having that area done.

Today smelt a lot too. The smell of burning hair is always there, but today Debbie had to open the window. It was mad, I could even smell it all the way home and for a few hours later. It’s a good sign, as it means you’re having a good response. She did say there were a lot of flashes today, which is good as it means hairs are being destroyed :)

I returned for my fifth session on the 10th of April 2017, where I experienced a painless, and pretty peaceful session!