What you do in the week after a treatment decides most of what you get from it. People pay for the appointment and then undo it at home — usually by being too enthusiastic rather than too careless, which is the harder habit to talk someone out of.
The first forty-eight hours, whatever you had done
- No actives. No retinoid, no acids, no vitamin C, no scrubs. The skin has just had its exfoliation for the week.
- Three products only: a gentle cleanser, a plain moisturiser, sunscreen.
- No heat. Sauna, steam, hot yoga and long hot showers all prolong redness.
- No makeup on day one if there was any extraction or exfoliation.
- Nothing new. This is not the week to try the sample you were given.
Sunscreen is not optional here
Skin that has just been exfoliated is more vulnerable to light than usual, and this is exactly when pigment arrives. Someone who has a peel for pigmentation and then skips sunscreen for a fortnight typically ends up worse than before they started — the treatment removed pigment and the sun replaced it with interest.
Daily, reapplied, for at least two weeks afterwards. If that is not realistic for your schedule, it is better to postpone the treatment than to waste it.
Coming back to your routine
- Days one and two — the three basics, nothing else.
- Days three to five — add back a hydrating serum and niacinamide if you use one.
- Day five to seven — retinoid back, at half your usual frequency for the first week.
- After a week — acids back, once, and see how it goes before resuming the schedule.
After something deeper, the pause is longer. Ask before you leave rather than guessing from the internet — the person who performed it knows what they did and at what strength.
What is normal and what is not
Normal: redness for a day or two, tightness, light flaking from day three, a few spots surfacing where there was congestion.
Not normal: blistering, weeping, pain rather than sensitivity, or spreading redness. Call the place that treated you the same day — not next week, and not after asking a forum.
The mistake that costs most
Peeling skin, pulled off. It looks ready to come away and it is not — underneath is new skin that is not finished, and removing the layer above it leaves a mark that lasts far longer than the flaking would have. Moisturise and leave it alone.
The second is booking a course and changing nothing at home. Treatments accelerate what a routine is already doing. Without one underneath, you are paying to repeat the same month over and over.