What to Avoid After Laser Hair Removal? 8 Tips!

Laser hair removal is one of the most effective hair removal methods for semi-permanent results. However, it needs both courage and budget to get laser hair removal on the face. Regarding budget, lasers are an expensive procedure. When it comes to courage, laser hair removal is painful and can cause intense side effects if you do not take proper care of your skin after the treatment. 

Now, you would be aware of how important it is to care for your skin after laser hair removal, right? Also, in most cases, women remember the doctor’s instructions about what to do after laser hair removal and forget what not to do. Therefore, in this article, we learn what to avoid after laser hair removal on the face. 

Table of Contents:

• Part 1: Avoid Direct Sunlight
• Part 2: Do not Use Harsh Skincare Products
• Part 3: Avoid Heat and Sweating
• Part 4: Avoid Makeup
• Part 5: Avoid Touching the Treated Area
• Part 6: Avoid Swimming Pools and Skin Exposure to Chlorine
• Part 7: Avoid Waxing, Plucking, and Tweezing
• Part 8: Importance of Cooling and Soothing the Skin

Part 1: Avoid Direct Sunlight 

Avoiding direct sunlight is one of the most essential steps of post-care laser hair removal, especially when you are traveling back to your home. 

Why Should You Avoid Sunlight? 

Laser hair removal heats up the deeper layers of the skin as the light that is absorbed into the pigment of the hair is converted into heat to annihilate the hair follicles. 

This process sensitizes the skin and makes it more prone to the effects of UV rays from the sun. Therefore, take measures to avoid direct sunlight exposure in the treatment area. 

Failure to avoid sunlight exposure leads to side effects like, 

• Hypo or hyper pigmentation 
• Increased skin redness, inflammation, and irritation 
• Sunburns

How to Avoid it? 

Here is how you can avoid UV exposure, 

• Wear loose UV protective coats, hats, and face masks depending on the area treated
• Try to stay indoors for at least 24 hours after treatment 
• If you have to go out or have windows that give way to sunrays, wear broad spectrum UVA and UVB protectant spf50+ sunscreen 

Part 2: Do not Use Harsh Skincare Products

After laser hair removal, the skin is irritated and needs something to calm it. Using harsh skincare products on the skin that require calming ingredients leads to increased risk of, 

• Skin dehydration 
• Irritation and allergies 
• Skin peeling 
• Skin discoloration 
• Bumps
• Rashes
• Redness

List of Ingredients to Avoid 

Here are the skincare and personal care ingredients that you should avoid, 

• Retinol: Enhanced skin sensitivity to sunlight 

• AHA and BHA: May cause peeling and redness 

• Physical scrubs: Cause abrasions

• Perfumes and products with fragrance: Irritates the skin

• Products with alcohols: Is a dehydrating agent

What Should You Use Instead? 

Avoid harsh skincare products for 1 to 2 days. Instead, go for lightweight and quick-absorbing products like, 

• Anti-inflammatory prescription creams
• Moisturizer with aloe vera, chamomile, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, green tea extracts, and glycerin 
• Gentle face and body wash without salicylic or glycolic acid

Part 3: Avoid Heat and Sweating 

In addition to direct sunlight that might heat your skin, you must avoid activities that can increase the basal temperature of your body and cause sweating. 

Why is it Essential to Avoid Heat and Sweat? 

After laser hair removal, the skin is already heated, any activity that heats up the skin even more is prohibited until your skin calms down. This is because, heat increases the inflammation, itching, and redness on the skin; sweat can sting the skin; and ultimately prolonged exposure to high temperatures can lead to blisters and skin burns. 

List of Activities You Should Avoid

Below are the activities that you should avoid, 

• Hot showers
• Saunas and steam baths
• Intense exercise 
• Washing face with warm water 

Part 4: Avoid Makeup

Laser hair removal on the face makes skin unsuitable for the application of the makeup. Wearing makeup immediately after laser hair results in, 

• Increased redness, itching, and swelling 
• Triggering of an allergic reaction 
• Clogging of the skin pores
• Transmission of bacteria from makeup causes skin infections on the vulnerable skin 
• Interference with skin recovery from the effects of laser 

How Long Should You Avoid Makeup For?

Immediately after laser hair removal, it is essential to avoid every type of makeup for 1 to 2 days depending upon your skin type and the reaction of your skin to laser. 

How to Resume Using Makeup? 

After 24 hours, you can resume wearing makeup. For this, 

• Choose the most gentle makeup products you have
• Wear natural makeup with the minimal number of products used 
• Prepare your skin well with hydrating products before makeup 
• After 48 hours, you can use your usual makeup as needed 

Part 5: Avoid Touching the Treated Area 

Immediately after facial laser hair removal, the new experience along with slight skin inflammation makes you want to touch the treated area with the idea that it will make you feel better. But, remember to keep your hands away from the face, no matter what. 

Your skin is prone to infections and scarring after a laser. So, touching the face with your bare hands can cause, 

• Transmission of bacteria and other microbes into the skin and thus skin infections
• Scratching the skin leads to scratch marks which develop into scars

How to Touch the Treated Area Safely? 

There are some situations in which you cannot avoid touching the skin, right? For example, while changing your clothes or applying your skincare products. 

In such cases, wash your hands well with an antiseptic hand wash and then touch your skin. Also, keep the contact as short as possible. 

Part 6: Avoid Swimming Pools and Skin Exposure to Chlorine 

One of the goals of women toward getting hairless skin with lasers is to wear swimsuits without hair poking out. However, even if you can be carefree about wearing the swimsuit, you should not swim in chlorinated water for around 48 hours. 

This is because the swimming pool water contains, 

• Bacteria
• Algae
• Other microbes 
• Chlorine and other chemicals

These impurities in the swimming pool can affect the hair follicles adversely as water seeps into them through the skin and also irritates the skin. 

When is it Safe to Swim? 

Generally, you can swim after 24 to 48 hours. However, if you have sensitive skin, wait for almost 72 hours before going into the water. 

Part 7: Avoid Waxing, Plucking, and Tweezing

Laser hair removal is a multi-step process which means that you have to get about 6 to 12 sessions, each one month apart. In between these sessions, patches of hair grow and you want to get rid of it, right? 

At times, women pluck the hair from the roots through threading, tweezing, or waxing. However, it is not the recommended method of hair removal during laser. 

Why Should I Avoid It? 

Your skin needs to have strands of hair on it for the laser to target the pigment of the hair. When you remove the hair strands, the subsequent laser hair removal session becomes ineffective as there is no hair for the laser to work on. 

What Should I Do in Between the Treatments? 

Instead of removing hair from the roots, you can use hair removal methods that only trim the hair strands. Such methods include, 

• Shaving 
• Trimming 
• Use electric razors

Part 8: Importance of Cooling and Soothing the Skin

The skin is red, inflamed, and irritated after laser hair removal. It takes a few hours to 1 day for it to become normal. You feel uncomfortable and pain during these hours. This is the main reason why it is recommended to avoid any activity that heats the skin.

Thus, you should cool down your skin to reduce discomfort, skin redness, and inflammation. 

How Can I Cool Down the Skin After Laser Hair Removal? 

Now, the question is how to cool and soothe the skin after laser hair removal. Here is your answer,

• Doctors often give a skin-soothing or anesthetic gel to apply after your treatment. Apply that cream to calm the skin.
• Take an ice compress and gently rub it on the areas with redness to reduce redness and skin irritation. 
• Apply a DIY cooling gel like aloe vera gel. 

Conclusion 

One of the major immediate drawbacks of laser hair removal is skin sensitivity. This skin sensitivity is increased by exposure to sunlight, chlorine, and impurities in swimming pool water, hot weather, and makeup. 

Furthermore, touching the skin can cause infections, and plucking the unwanted hair from the face makes laser hair removal ineffective. Thus, it is recommended to avoid all of the things mentioned above.