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How much numbing cream is safe to use at a time for laser hair removal?

Steven_D
I'm a male with fair skin and dark hair. I have quite a lot of coarse body hair, which I recently purchased an at-home IPL hair removal device for. I would like to pre-treat with EMLA 5% lidocaine, but read about overdose & deaths in my research. My question is: What's the safest amount of area to apply it to at a time? One whole leg? I'm rather thin and 5'7, so one leg wouldn't be too much surface area. I would do a different body part each day this way for overdose safety. Thank you!

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Christine M. Shaver, MD profile photo
Dr. Christine M. Shaver, MD
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Dr. Jason Emer, MD
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Dr. Hardik Soni, MD
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