27-11-2014, 05:43 PM
On the first day, Belle picked me up at a nearby hotel where I spent the night. We arrived at the Zukowski Center at 6:00 am. I was instructed to put on a gown and then seated in a reclining chair. Belle cleaned my face and neck with alcohol which gave a mild burning sensation. She then applied a prescription lidocaine numbing ointment to my beard area. It was stronger than prescription EMLA. I could feel my face and lips getting numb within a few minutes.
Next a medical tech came in to insert an IV drip in my arm. Dr. Z then administered a quick acting, short lived, narcotic sedative. It put me into a kind of twilight sleep. As soon as it took effect, the doc injected lidocaine together with a vaso-constrictor at several locations around my face and neck. I don't remember this happening, so the sedation must have been effective. Without the numbing and sedation these injections are extremely painful. I came out of the sedation amazingly fast with my face and neck completely anesthetized.
Two techs, one on each side of me, one left-handed and the other right-handed, began to extract the hair on my face. They used a 27 MHz Apilus Platinum epilator device using insulated probes. The probe is like a thin needle, but with a rounded tip. It's inserted deep into the follicle along the hair shaft. The tech then sends out a double pulse of microwaves from the tip of the probe to literally cook the moist cells in the vicinity of the hair root (papilla). She then extracts the hair out with a tweezers. It usually comes out with little effort, indicating an effective result. The tech will make adjustments to power setting, type of probe, etc. until the best results are obtained. Without the local anesthesia, this procedure would be unbearably painful. I believe that is why traditional spa electrolysis with just EMLA numbing is not as effective. High skin moisture is critical for good results. It's wise to hydrate your body well before a session.
They work very fast pulsing 10 or 12 follicles in a row, and then coming back with the tweezers to extract them. Extraction is not necessary, but done so they know which follicles have been treated, as well as to judge the effectiveness of the flash; the hair should come out with little resistance.
It was completely painless. They chatted back and forth, myself joining in when they were not working on my jaw. You can't read or watch TV during these long hours due to the bright overhead lights. It can be rather boring when the conversation dies. I nodded off many times and could have slept through some of it except that my snoring kept waking me up...LOL.
More to come....
Next a medical tech came in to insert an IV drip in my arm. Dr. Z then administered a quick acting, short lived, narcotic sedative. It put me into a kind of twilight sleep. As soon as it took effect, the doc injected lidocaine together with a vaso-constrictor at several locations around my face and neck. I don't remember this happening, so the sedation must have been effective. Without the numbing and sedation these injections are extremely painful. I came out of the sedation amazingly fast with my face and neck completely anesthetized.
Two techs, one on each side of me, one left-handed and the other right-handed, began to extract the hair on my face. They used a 27 MHz Apilus Platinum epilator device using insulated probes. The probe is like a thin needle, but with a rounded tip. It's inserted deep into the follicle along the hair shaft. The tech then sends out a double pulse of microwaves from the tip of the probe to literally cook the moist cells in the vicinity of the hair root (papilla). She then extracts the hair out with a tweezers. It usually comes out with little effort, indicating an effective result. The tech will make adjustments to power setting, type of probe, etc. until the best results are obtained. Without the local anesthesia, this procedure would be unbearably painful. I believe that is why traditional spa electrolysis with just EMLA numbing is not as effective. High skin moisture is critical for good results. It's wise to hydrate your body well before a session.
They work very fast pulsing 10 or 12 follicles in a row, and then coming back with the tweezers to extract them. Extraction is not necessary, but done so they know which follicles have been treated, as well as to judge the effectiveness of the flash; the hair should come out with little resistance.
It was completely painless. They chatted back and forth, myself joining in when they were not working on my jaw. You can't read or watch TV during these long hours due to the bright overhead lights. It can be rather boring when the conversation dies. I nodded off many times and could have slept through some of it except that my snoring kept waking me up...LOL.
More to come....