Electrolysis vs Tattoo pain

[Bree-asaurus]

I've read online that tattoos hurt more than electrolysis, but I wanted to see what you all think, since quite a few people here have had electrolysis in probably the most painful locations. I recently started electrolysis after laser and had it done on my upper lip and chin. How does the pain of a tattoo compare to that? I'm thinking about getting something on my upper arm. I'll probably get a small tattoo first so I can experience the pain before I go bigger, but I'm just trying to get an idea here :)

[Teri Jean]

Hi Bree, I have had both a tat and lazer/electrolysis. The Tatto was on my upper arm/shoulder and is fair sized. The pain threshold was managed with little effort but when I had lazer to the face it was much more painful in that the center line of the face is the most sensative especially the upper lip. I got through it with true grit and ice packs to numb it before and after treatment.

So if you are having a tat put on the upper arm I would say "piece of cake). Of course the size and the amount of time it takes has a big factor in how much you can tollerate. Mine is 6" X 4" and took two hours. Tender but not bad. Good luck. Teri

[Melody Moore]

Pain with tattoos varies quite considerably and so too does the pain from laser treatment.
Some areas of the body & the face are more sensitive than others. When I was having laser
recently my therapist said I have a very good threshold to pain. I think having had tattoos
has helped me to tolerate pain a lot more.

I have tattoos on my upper arms, lower legs inside & outside the calf muscles as well as a
tattoo on my chest. The tattoo that hurt the most was the one on my chest where it goes
up higher on the breast. The ones on my upper arm were a lot easier to tolerate and the
one tattoo on the outside of one of my lower calves I never felt a thing. I also plan in the
future on having all my tattoos removed though laser treatment as soon as I can afford it.

[morgan51]

Electrolisys on the upper lip for me was way beyond any tattoo pain I had anywhere on my body. Perhaps I will try some emla cream next time for my lip area.

[Diane Smith]

I have numerous tattoos and have had 3-1/2 years of weekly facial electrolysis. The sensation is quite different. Electrolysis is a sharper pain but it is in short bursts as each hair is zapped. Tattoos hurt at a lower level for a longer period. I find I can take 2 - 3 hours in the tattoo chair before I start to feel cold, shaky and weak -- the first signs of mild shock. I don't think there's any limit to how long an electrolysis session I could handle (except for plain old boredom) because somehow the rest time between treating each hair prevents me from getting so fatigued.

But all in all, I would rate the two experiences as about equally unpleasant.

- Diane

[morgan51]

Diane is way tougher than me!