LASER HAIR REMOVAL AFTERCARE
Laser hair removal involves putting thermal energy into the skin.
As a result skin has
- temporarily lowered immunity against bacterial infection
-some inflammation, redness, swelling
-may feel sunburned, tender or itchy
To help it recover quickly, comfortably and without infection it's important to take the aftercare seriously.
Please follow these rules after every laser session, even if you have had laser before and not followed them and had no problems - nobody has a problem, until they do. What happened last time, may not be what happens this time. Your body changes every day.
FOR AT LEAST 48 HOURS OR UNTIL YOUR SKIN RETURNS TO NORMAL WHICH MAY BE LONGER THAN 48 HOURS
No UV exposure
This includes sunbeds/solariums, sun exposure and lamps.
No bacteria
A new washcloth every time
A clean towel every time
No sponges or 'cleaning tools' like brushes or machines
Don't go in pools, spas, saunas, jacuzzis, hamams
No friction
Don't wear compression tights, tight pants, stockings, any tight clothes on the area you had lasered.
Don't engage in sexual intercourse if you had intimate areas lasered.
Don't rub, scrub or pick
No exfoliation for at least a week
Give skin a barrier using post-laser gel or lotion
Usually skin has a barrier layer of cells, oil and sweat that has been disrupted by laser. Normally it keeps bacteria out, and existing bacteria populations down. It needs supplementation till skin recovers its own barrier.
Every 2 hours (yes, every 2 hours) wash your hands then put on Medisoothe Gel or Dilo Rescue Gel. You don't need to get up during the night to do it but you do need to do it during the day.
No soap, no regular shower gel. Use our specialised wash that doesn't strip your skin and damage it's pH.
We would say this right? After all we sell shower gel. But in all truth, normal shower gel and soap are not helping your skin health. We only sell shower gel because we got sick of seeing damaged body skin. It's not a big earner, we are a skin clinic that sells $160 serums. It's not a big deal two us. But we do not want you on regular shower gel/soap, not even if it's super 'natural'. Not even a soap/gel marketed as 'pH balanced' because the pH of the soap has little to do with how the skin's own pH ends up.
We recommend Pure Fiji Shower Gel because it uses coconut sarcosinate rather than SLS detergents, to foam. Skins being washed with this are clearly different when we see them again. Better hydrated, and stronger barrier.
Don't shave until skin is back to normal.
This may take a week for some people. For others a day. You do not have to 'avoid shaving' during a course of laser. Shaving makes no difference to hair growth whatsoever, hairs are dead chains of protein. Cutting them with a blade does not do anything at all to the root/base/blood supply of the hair follicle. In fact, shaving can assist with lifting out old dead lasered hairs and giving a faster result from your course of treatments.
No waxing AT ALL during a course of laser
Waxing even one time during your laser course can stimulate the blood supply to the hair and encourage extra growth. If you wax mid-laser series, you can expect to have extra laser treatments overall. There are clients who do switch between lasering and waxing, and while they aren't going to die from it, it's definitely not ideal and they take longer to get their results. Shav
Before your next laser appointment...
Shave again before your next laser treatment. We do not shave clients before lasering them (it takes twice as long as doing laser itself and we do not allocate time for it.)
We can't laser over unshaved areas, so if you miss areas in shaving, those areas will not be lasered. The fee remains the same.
If you're having trouble reaching some areas, let us know when you book and we will allocate time and a razor fee to the booking. Please note we cannot do a full shave for you, we can only touch up bits you may have missed, and only if you let us know in advance to ensure time is allocated.
Don't apply fake tan prior to laser. Fake tan residue on the skin can cause burns. If you arrive with fake tan on, we will still charge the full appointment fee but we will not be able to laser you.
Don't arrive with recently sun-exposed or intensely heated skin.
Even if your skin does not 'feel' hot before you come, thermal energy is in the skin. Avoid things like hot yoga right before laser, sunbathing, having other types of energy treatments such as photo rejuvenation or skin rejuvenating laser on the area you're going to have. hair removal laser on.