Hi.. There is a simple way to reduce pain. Precool the skin for around 5 seconds to 10 seconds before applying the laser.

I use two low-cost pre-cooling techniques at home. I did some "over-kill" cooling in the analysis below, but you get the idea:

1. LeBeila Reusable Ice Bag ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CMTZGC4/ ) with Mini ice cubes ( https://www.amazon.com/Trays-Small-Silicone-BPA-Free-Faster/dp/B07HGZCW4C/ ). Using a Fluke 62 Max+ infrared thermometer I measured that these ice bag get down to 3 degrees centigrade (37.4 degrees Fahrenheit). For me, this works fantastic for most areas of my body that have relative low hair density (arms, under arms, legs, tummy, ..). If I apply the ice bag for 1 minute to pre-cool that region (my skin temperature drops from 34'c down to around 15'c), then do a small 2cm x 2cm region with laser, apply ice bag to post-cool that 2cm x 2cm area and to simultaneously pre-cool the next 2cm x 2cm area for 15 second, do next small region with laser, apply ice bag to post-cool that area and to pre-cool the next area for 15 second... Using this technique, on my skin, I can use Tria laser on the third setting, which is the highest setting (20 J/cm^2 over a 500 millisecond pulse duration). Very low pain, no visible damage on my skin surface. in contrast, If i don't use pre-cooling with the ice bag, and if I hit the same area twice, then my beige/light olive skin gets visible skin damage that stays for days on Tria's laser strength settings number 2 and 3 :-( . So there appears to be a large safety margin introduced by pre-cooling with an ice bag, even for the areas that the Tria Laser is approved for use on without any cooling.
2. Thermafreeze 3 Ply Reusable Ice Pack. https://www.amazon.com/Thermafreeze-Reusable-Sheets-Packs-Extra/dp/B00AG8C4LO/ Using an infrared thermometer I measured that these cubes get down to -10 degrees centigrade (14 degrees Fahrenheit). However, when you put the cube on the face, the cube can only be used for about 30 seconds before the ice melts and the temperature inside the cube rises too much and the ice cube becomes ineffective (and then you have to freeze it again before you can re-use it). In short, I got a 5x6 cell sheet of thermafreeze, cut it up into (5x6=) 30 individual ice cells, and apply each ice cell in turn when I want to cool high density hair regions.
   

You will find that if you do even a small amount of cooling, with either of the above techniques, the skin damage and pain reduces. I'd recommend doing "just enough" cooling, so you don't feel discomfort, but so the rest of the area heats up around the hair.

Hair takes about 2 weeks to fall out once you hit the laser on it.
I find the Tria works on my arms very well.
Please remember, that all laser hair techniques only work during the hair growth period.. So every 2 to 4 weeks you should apply the laser again. Short hair has longer periods of sleep, and thus you need to do more times, maybe up to 9 times.. General rule of thumb, is around 10 to 15% reduction in hair grown for arms/legs each laser session. Beard hair grows longer, and so more hair can be removed in a single session.

B.

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I have started using a Tria on my Thick Beard.

I strongly recommend pre-cooling the skin for around 10 seconds before applying the laser, and then re-applying after each laser pulse. This reduces skin damage due to high temperatures, and also reduces pain. Even with cooling, It hurts on the face, it hurts a lot. It hurt less than being done on the professional system (The pro system used 12 Jules / cm^2 over a very short 10 ms burst (1.2 J/cm^2 per ms). This translates to a lot of energy in a small period of time., and more pain..) The Tria precision (similar to Tria 4x) on max setting has a 20 Jule / cm^2 over a much slower 400 millisecond (half a second) period (0.05 J/cm^2 per ms) . This heats up the full hair follicle and tends to cause less skin damage and less pain than shorter high energy pulses.

I use two low-cost pre-cooling techniques at home. I did some "over-kill" cooling in the analysis below, but you get the idea:

1. LeBeila Reusable Ice Bag ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CMTZGC4/ ) with Mini ice cubes ( https://www.amazon.com/Trays-Small-Silicone-BPA-Free-Faster/dp/B07HGZCW4C/ ). Using a Fluke 62 Max+ infrared thermometer I measured that these ice bag get down to 3 degrees centigrade (37.4 degrees Fahrenheit). For me, this works fantastic for most areas of my body that have relative low hair density (arms, under arms, legs, tummy, ..). If I apply the ice bag for 1 minute to pre-cool that region (my skin temperature drops from 34'c down to around 15'c), then do a small 2cm x 2cm region with laser, apply ice bag to post-cool that 2cm x 2cm area and to simultaneously pre-cool the next 2cm x 2cm area for 15 second, do next small region with laser, apply ice bag to post-cool that area and to pre-cool the next area for 15 second... Using this technique, on my skin, I can use Tria laser on the third setting, which is the highest setting (20 J/cm^2 over a 500 millisecond pulse duration). Very low pain, no visible damage on my skin surface. in contrast, If i don't use pre-cooling with the ice bag, and if I hit the same area twice, then my beige/light olive skin gets visible skin damage that stays for days on Tria's laser strength settings number 2 and 3 :-( . So there appears to be a large safety margin introduced by pre-cooling with an ice bag, even for the areas that the Tria Laser is approved for use on without any cooling.
2. Thermafreeze 3 Ply Reusable Ice Pack. https://www.amazon.com/Thermafreeze-Reusable-Sheets-Packs-Extra/dp/B00AG8C4LO/ Using an infrared thermometer I measured that these cubes get down to -10 degrees centigrade (14 degrees Fahrenheit). However, when you put the cube on the face, the cube can only be used for about 30 seconds before the ice melts and the temperature inside the cube rises too much and the ice cube becomes ineffective (and then you have to freeze it again before you can re-use it). In short, I got a 5x6 cell sheet of thermafreeze, cut it up into (5x6=) 30 individual ice cells, and apply each ice cell in turn when I want to cool high density hair regions.

Hair on the face takes about 2 weeks to fall out once you hit the laser on it.
I can't report how well trim works for beard removal yet.. my first home session on my beard was yesterday. But I can report that as a Type III skin and black hair, with ice pre-cooling, I did not damage my skin.

B.