Pre And Post-Care Treatment Instructions for Optimal Results
NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THE FOLLOWING PATIENTS:
✔ Pregnant or breastfeeding women.
✔ Those with active disease states, a hemorrhagic disorder or are on anticoagulant treatments.
✔ Patients with a history of cold sores should notify the clinician before treatment so preventative medicine can be prescribed to avoid outbreak after procedure.
✔ Currently taking accutane or have taken it in the last 6 months.
✔ Currently taking antibiotics that have photosensitivity as a side effect.
✔ Patients with epilepsy.
✔ Patients with melasma. IPL can worsen the condition.
✔ Patients with a spray tan or newly tanned skin, or patients who are of a darker skin type.
PRE-TREATMENT PREP
2-3 weeks prior to treatment
✔ Refrain from sun exposure.
✔ Refrain from any light or laser treatment, electrolysis, facial waxing or depilatories until healing is completed.
72 hours prior to treatment
✔ Discontinue the use of cleansing devices (e.g. Clarisonic) and any skincare containing tretinoin, retinoids, alphahydroxy acids (AHA), beta-hydroxy acids (BHA), benzoyl peroxide or any exfoliating agents.
24 hours prior to treatment
✔ For patients prone to cold sores, an anti-viral medication
must be taken 24 hours prior to treatment.
POST-SKINCARE REGIMEN
1. Cleanse: Use a gentle, soap-free cleanser. We recommend Greenwich Skinlabs Calming Rosa Foaming Cleanser, which helps to reduce the appearance of redness due to evodiox ginger root.
2. Correct: Once skin is fully healed; about 1-2 weeks following procedure.
• If targeting pigmentation, we recommend applying Greenwich Skinlabs Renew Skin Brightening or Skinmedica Even and Correct, which targets pigmentation in 5 different pathways.
• If targeting skin texture, elasticity, and/or collagen production, we recommend SkinMedica TNS Advanced+ serum which contains growth factor and peptides.
• If Fitzpatrick Skin Type 4-6, continue using hydroquinone for 2 weeks following treatment
• Bonus: Adding on a retinol to increase cell turnover and boost overall results! Use only at night.
3. Moisturize: Apply a moisturizer in the morning and evening. We recommend Greenwich Skinlabs Hydraglow +, which helps to replenish and enhance the skin barrier post procedure.
4. Protect: Apply a broad-spectrum physical SPF of 30 or above in the morning and reapply throughout the day. We recommend Greenwich Skinlabs Reflect Riche which blocks both UVA and UVB rays.
POST-TREATMENT CARE
What to expect immediately after the treatment:
✔ You may have a mild sunburn-like sensation, which can last from 2-24 hours but can persist up to 72 hours. Mild redness or swelling may accompany this but it usually resolves after 2-3 days.
✔ Treated pigmentation lesions may initially look raised and/ or darker with a red perimeter.
✔ Apply ice or cold packs to the treatment area for 10-15 minutes every hour for 4 hours if needed. An oral pain reliever such as Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen may be taken.
✔ Brown pigment gets darker and will fall off over 2 weeks.
✔ Red lesions can take up to 4 weeks to improve or go away.
What to avoid:
✔ Do not pick, pull or remove any loose or blistering skin.
✔ Avoid aggressive scrubbing or the use of exfoliants, scrub brushes and loofa sponges until skin has returned to its pretreated condition.
✔ Avoid all swimming pools, hot tubs, spas and activities that cause excessive sweating until skin has completely healed.
✔ Avoid any direct sun exposure until skin has completely healed.
✔ If there is to be mild sun exposure after 72 hours, a broad spectrum sunscreen of SPF 30 or above should be used.
✔ Discontinue the following products until your skin has completely healed:
• Tretinoin, retinoids, alpha-hydroxy acids (AHA), beta-hydroxy acids (BHA), bleaching creams and exfoliating devices.
Fun Fact: UVA rays are responsible for aging. Chemical sunscreens do not block against UVA rays. So while you may not be getting burned due to chemical sunscreen blocking UVB, you are still aging yourself. This is why it is important to use a physical/mineral sunscreen daily!
WE RECOMMEND: 3-5 IPL treatments for best results, and maintenance yearly
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call our office at [acf field=”phone” post_id=”options”].