Aftercare and Healing

In the first hours the treated area releases clear interstitial fluid. This is a normal reaction of the skin to micro-trauma.

Blot it away gently and regularly with a clean, dry, single-use tissue. Do not rub, and do not let the area stay wet.

This is the main period of surface recovery. The color usually looks brighter and more saturated than the healed result will be. You may notice slight dryness, a feeling of tightness, light flaking, or a very thin surface film or crust.

During these days:

• blot the fluid gently with a clean, dry, single-use tissue
• do not rub the skin
• do not let the treated area stay wet
• do not get the area wet for the first five days
• when washing your face, keep water off the treated area
• do not use soap, gels, foams, or other cleansers on the area
• do not use creams, oils, ointments, or makeup unless I have specifically recommended a product
• do not rub or scratch the skin
• do not pick off flaking, film, or crusts
• no sauna, steam room, swimming pool, or tanning bed
• avoid direct sun
• avoid intense training and anything else that makes you sweat heavily
• use a clean pillowcase
• try not to sleep face-down or put pressure on the area

A thin surface film or some residual flaking may remain on the treated area. This is part of the natural recovery of the skin, and surface healing usually finishes somewhere around day twelve.

Once the film has come away naturally, the color can look considerably lighter than it did right after the procedure. This is not the final result — the shade goes on settling over the following weeks.

The surface looks calmer now, but recovery is still going on underneath. During this period:

• avoid tanning and long periods in direct sun
• do not use tanning beds or UV lamps
• do not apply acid peels, scrubs, retinoids, or other irritating actives to the pigmented area
• do not have traumatic cosmetic treatments directly in the treated area

Through these weeks the color keeps becoming softer and more stable.

Right after the procedure the color looks brighter and more saturated than the healed result. As the skin recovers over the first five days the shade gradually changes, and once the flaking has finished it usually looks noticeably softer and lighter.

At that point it can seem as though some of the pigment has disappeared or the result has gone too pale. That is a normal stage of healing, and it is not the final result.

On average the appearance and shade go on stabilizing for about three to four weeks. Losing a little pigment during healing is normal.

Do not judge the result:

• right after the procedure
• while it is flaking
• straight after the film or crust comes away
• during the period when the color temporarily looks too light

Once the skin has fully healed, apply a high-SPF sunscreen to the pigmented area whenever you are out in the sun. UV exposure speeds up lightening and shifts the shade, so regular sun protection is the single most effective thing you can do to keep the result longer.

A touch-up is not a required step for every client. Once the skin has fully healed, we look at the color, density, shape, and how evenly the pigment has been retained. If the result looks balanced and the pigment held evenly, no further work may be needed.

A touch-up is done only where there is a reason for it — for example to:

• increase density or color saturation
• work on individual lighter areas
• correct slight unevenness
• refine the shape or the shade

A touch-up should never be booked simply because the color looks too light seven or ten days in. At that point the skin is still recovering and the final density cannot be judged. Waiting makes it possible to tell where pigment genuinely did not hold, and where the change was only part of healing.

If the healing worries you, if something unusual appears, or if you simply cannot tell whether what you are seeing is normal, write to me. That is what I am here for.