As summer’s here, a lot of our patients are jet-setting around the world and wanting to get their skin treatments booked before their time away. Alongside this, they are also asking questions like ‘When can I fly after my treatment?’, or ‘Can I exercise after fillers?’.
So, here’s everything you need to know, from travel advice, to when you can hit the sauna again.
We have four treatment groups:
1. Facials
2. Injectables
3. Laser
4. Non-Surgical
It’s worth noting that aftercare plans and the recommended skincare products can differ. Each aftercare plan is curated by your practitioner depending on your skin goals and skin type with lifestyle taken into consideration. That being said, the general guidance for each treatment group is below.
Facials
The post-treatment care after one of our 111SKIN facials should not inhibit you going about your daily activities. There are nine facials we offer which vary in devices and products used, where you can mainly expect a glowy or flushed-looking face immediately afterwards. Redness can occur depending on whether a more intensive facial or extraction is needed to give you the results you and your Aesthetician have discussed.
We always advise that you wear SPF and avoid sunbeds or self-tanning products two weeks after your treatment. If you’re having the 3D Hollywood Facial that is a radiofrequency facial, or our Clarity Facial or Micropen, Laser Facial, or Lightfinity Facial we also tell our patients to avoid saunas or exercise for 24 hours afterwards as heat and excessive perspiration can irritate the skin.
In terms of travel, having a facial should not get in the way of any travel plans you have.
Many patients also ask whether they can apply makeup afterwards and our advice is to allow the skin to breathe for a least 24 hours afterwards. We say this to avoid pushing anything unwanted into your freshly cleaned, open pores. Some non-comedogenic makeup we offer in our clinic is Oxygnetix which is scientifically-formulated to cover compromised skin while still helping it heal.
Injectables
Often the main advice our Aesthetic Nurse and Doctor give after injectables is to avoid anything that can heat the skin: such as baths, showers, saunas, exercise, and hot drinks for 24 hours afterwards. Another big tip our Practitioners additionally give is to avoid smoking and drinking alcohol.
Smoking and alcohol increases the risk of bruising, smoking especially is a vasoconstrictor – meaning it narrows the walls in the blood vessels which may lead to increased bleeding during treatment and faster development of bruises. Often when it comes to injectables, we want the results to be perfectly imperceptible and so well-suited to our face that no one can tell – so bruises sometimes gives the game away.
We also advise avoiding the application of cosmetics to the treated area for around 6-12 hours, then you can resume your normal skincare regime the next day as long as there’s no indication of irritation. For even better results, you can apply an ice pack regularly to the injection sites until any signs of swelling has subsided.
A breathable mineral make-up such as Oxygenetix can be applied to form a ‘second skin’ over the epidermis for more effective healing and, of course, SPF is always advised to wear everyday – but especially so in the next two weeks following your treatment.
Flying is to be avoided for at least 24 hours afterwards as cabin pressure – like smoking, alcohol, and heat – can also cause bruising, so planning your appointments strategically around your planned flights is crucial.
There are some specific rules for specific treatments, for example, for anti-wrinkle treatments, to achieve the best effects from your treatment it’s best not to make strong facial expressions…Yes, it may be a struggle, but vigorously smiling and frowning in the hours after may dilute the full impact of the anti-wrinkle injections.
Another specific rule is for HArmonyCa, which is to massage the treatment area for 5 minutes, twice a day for four weeks. This is because as HArmonyCa contains calcium hydroxyapatite, calcium works to keep the tissue rigid and strong, so when it hasn’t been massaged it may cause a bump rather than a seamless look.
On the day of your treatment, you can expect your chosen Practitioner to go through aftercare advice with you and answer any questions you may have.
So that’s a rundown of some of things to consider when planning your summer treatments. For any questions or individual advice, book a consultation at [email protected].
Laser Treatments Aftercare
Next up, it’s all things lasers! If you find yourself asking ‘what should I do after my laser treatment?’ here’s everything you need to know.
Laser treatments do require a little more aftercare due to the nature of laser resurfacing devices which mainly increase cell turnover, producing new skin cells, so the biggest one is avoiding direct sunlight or tanning beds for around 1-2 weeks after your treatment. As UV radiation can damage new cells, this can cause lasting damage like pigmentation and wrinkles.
Activities such as swimming, exercise, steam rooms and saunas can be continued after 24 hours as heat and sweat can irritate the areas treated.
Makeup can be worn 12 hours later and skincare wise, we advise you avoid any harsh exfoliating products for 3 days afterwards. This includes retinols, AHAs and BHAs. After three days, you can continue your normal skincare regime.
As tempting as it may be to admire and touch your skin after a treatment, we always advise our patients not to as this as it could introduce bacteria to the skin.
Our Aestheticians will always arrange a follow-up appointment or call you to discuss your healing and answer any questions you may have.
If you’re a jetsetter and are wanting to get your skin holiday-ready with Laser Treatments, it’s very important not to expose the area to the sun, so while this type of treatment won’t be affected by flying or cabin pressure, it can be damaged when you get off the plane. As a rule of thumb, we can’t treat skin that has been exposed to sunlight, is tanned, or skin that you plan to expose to sunlight. That’s why we recommend you book your laser treatments well in advance of any upcoming holidays.
Non-Surgical Treatments
Our top treatment and travel advice when having our non-surgical treatments, like Potenza RF microneedling or Thermage, is to always wear SPF (everyday if you can, but especially in the two weeks following your treatment).
For Chemical Skin Peels, we advise that any skincare products containing retinols, AHA or BHA should be avoided for at least 7 days post-treatment or until any potential peeling has resolved.
Again, similar to our other advice for our treatments, activities like swimming, exercise, steam rooms and saunas can be continued after 24 hours as heat and sweat can irritate the areas treated.
Luckily for you, any travel plans for have will not be affected by these non-surgical treatments – however when in direct sunlight be sure to wear SPF, and if you can’t avoid it, keep your face out of the sun with the help of a hat and sunglasses. Why not go all out and pop on a silk scarf too? Don’t forget about your neck!
