Before & After Your Treatment
Every instruction here comes with the reason behind it, and with what happens if you skip it. Not to alarm you — so that you can decide knowing, instead of guessing.
No strenuous activity
Why: the gym, running, anything that makes you sweat. The follicles are still open from the heat of the treatment, and sweat gets into them.
Small spots in the treated area, and itching that lasts a few days instead of a day or two. Not dangerous — just annoying, and entirely avoidable.
Lukewarm rinse only
Why: hot water carries on exactly the heating the treatment did, and soap and rubbing strip away the layer that protects irritated skin. Pat dry, do not rub.
The redness gets worse instead of fading, there is stinging in the hours that follow, and sometimes light flaking. A hot shower after a treatment is the most common mistake there is.
No heat, sauna or jacuzzi
Why: the skin is still releasing the heat it absorbed during the treatment. A sauna, a jacuzzi or a scalding shower add heat from outside exactly while it is trying to come down.
This is the instruction that most often produces blisters and a surface burn — the most unpleasant thing on this list, and it takes days to weeks to pass. Three days of patience avoid it completely.
No direct sun
Why: the laser works on the pigment in the skin. Straight after a treatment the pigment is awake and reacts to the sun more strongly than usual. Have to go out? SPF 30 or higher.
Patches in the treated area — darker or lighter. They almost always pass, but it takes weeks to months, not days. Of everything on this list, this is the effect that stays around the longest.
No acids or retinol
Why: they peel off the top layer. On ordinary skin that is fine; on skin that has just absorbed heat it removes exactly the protection it needs right now.
Strong stinging, redness that lasts well beyond a day or two, and on sensitive skin flaking as well.
No deodorant (underarms)
Why: deodorant is alcohol and aluminium salts, straight onto open follicles in the thin skin of the body.
The underarm is the area that reacts most — stinging, spots, and sometimes dark patches that stay for weeks. Need something? Water and a towel.
No creams or perfume
Why: perfume, and the alcohol in these products, get into follicles that are still open.
✔ The one exception: unscented aloe vera gel — that one is actually worth putting on. It cools and soothes instead of irritating.
Stinging, spots or a local allergic reaction. With perfume it is the most common of all.
No waxing or tweezers — shaving only
Why: the laser fires at the root of the hair. Waxing, threading and tweezers pull the root out of the follicle — and then there is nothing to fire at. Shaving, by contrast, cuts the hair and leaves the root where it is, which is exactly what is needed.
This is not a matter of irritation — it cancels out the next treatment. You will come in, we will treat you, and the follicle will be empty. You will have paid for a treatment that did nothing, and the series gets longer.
What is normal — and when to pick up the phone
What is normal
Redness, mild irritation or an itchy feeling in the treated area. Usually gone within a day or two. It is part of the process, and not a sign that something has gone wrong.
When to call
Blisters · swelling that does not go down · pain that builds instead of fading. These are not part of the process. Pick up the phone and we will look at it together — and if a doctor is needed, we will tell you.
With any question, even one that sounds small to you: 050-723-7230 or on WhatsApp. Better to ask.
When to shave — it depends how you shave
It is not the same number for everyone. The method decides, because each method leaves the hair in a different place.
The stubble stays above the surface of the skin — there is nothing to wait for.
A razor cuts below the surface of the skin, and the hair needs time to come back out.
Do not have a trimmer? That is perfectly fine. A razor 24 hours in advance works very well — you just have to remember in advance. And if it suits you better — message us and we will shave here.
Why is a trimmer better than a razor?
1 · There is no timing to get wrong. A trimmer — you shave and you come. A razor — you have to remember a day in advance, and if you missed the window there is nothing to be done on the day itself.
2 · The stubble is already in the right place. The treatment needs short stubble standing above the skin — exactly what a trimmer leaves, straight away. A razor cuts below the surface of the skin, and then you have to wait for the hair to come back out.
3 · The skin is not scraped moments before it absorbs heat. A razor passes directly over the surface of the skin; a trimmer barely touches it. That is also why we shave here with a trimmer fitted with a head designed specifically to prevent scratches.
And what happens if you arrive unshaved?
If the hair is still under the skin: the laser cannot see it. In that situation we would rather not treat, so as not to burn one of the treatments in your series on nothing.
And if you arrive completely unshaved: the hair above the surface absorbs the energy before it reaches the root — the treatment is less effective, and it is felt a great deal more.
Tell us when you arrive. We shave with a trimmer fitted with a head designed specifically to prevent scratches. Shaving is included in the hours-bank service and is not charged separately — but it is done within the time of your visit, so arriving shaved leaves all of that time for the treatment itself.
Stop medicated products
Why: retinoids and anti-acne creams thin the skin’s protective layer and raise its sensitivity to light and heat.
⚠ Roaccutane (isotretinoin) is an entirely different matter — not two weeks but six months. Anyone taking it now, or who has taken it in the last six months, is not treated.
This is the one scenario on the whole list that can leave a permanent mark. Skin under that treatment reacts to heat with a burn, and sometimes with a scar. That is why there is a medical questionnaire before the treatment — tell us, and we will simply wait until it is possible.
No direct sun
Why: tanned or burnt skin is already full of pigment, and that is exactly what the laser is looking for. It will catch the skin instead of the hair.
We do not treat burnt skin at all — and that is not strictness but safety: the risk is a burn and patches. Tanned skin — the dermatoscope at the assessment decides whether it is possible and at what intensity. Come in after a day at the beach? Better to move the appointment than to waste it.
No acids or retinol
Why: they thin the protective layer exactly before the skin is meant to absorb heat.
The treatment stings more at the time, and the redness afterwards lasts longer.
No drying creams
Why: dry or irritated skin is more sensitive to heat.
The treatment is felt more strongly, and sometimes we will have to lower the intensity to keep it bearable — which means a less effective treatment for the same money.
Put nothing on the area
Why: any layer on the skin — cream, oil, perfume or sunscreen — sits between the laser and the skin.
Sunscreen is the most problematic of them all — it contains particles that reflect light, and they heat up on the surface of the skin. At best we clean the area and use up some of your time; at worst it is stinging you did not need.
No deodorant (underarms)
Why: deodorant residue is a layer on the skin, exactly like cream.
We will have to wash the area before we start — and that is time taken out of your treatment.
Comfortable, loose clothing
Why: things that are easy to take off, and that do not rub against the area on the way home.
Tight jeans or an irritating fabric on an area that has just been treated irritates it exactly when it is at its most sensitive — and that stretches the redness from a day or two into several days.
No waxing or tweezers — shaving only
Why: the laser needs the root of the hair inside the follicle. Shaving cuts from above and leaves the root — waxing, threading and tweezers pull it out.
The next treatment will fire at an empty follicle. You paid for it and it did nothing, and the series gets longer.
