How you prepare and how you care for your skin afterward both affect a treatment. The specific rules depend on the product and the provider. This guide sticks to what you should tell your provider and what the published sources state. For everything else, follow the instructions you receive.
Ahead of any treatment
Most treatments call for the same basic steps:
- Give your provider a full list of your medicines and supplements
- Never stop a prescription medicine without first asking the doctor who prescribed it
- Find out from your provider what to avoid before the appointment
- Move the appointment if your skin is irritated or sunburned
- Check whether you should come with bare skin or wearing sunscreen
- Have something to eat first and arrange your ride home
Ahead of injectables
Before Botox or fillers, make sure your provider knows about:
- Aspirin, NSAIDs or warfarin, which the Voluma XC directions say can increase bleeding or bruising
- Dental work you recently had or have scheduled, since the FDA lists inflammation near the injection site following a dental procedure among possible filler risks
- A history of cold sores, so you can get your provider's advice
- Pregnancy, breastfeeding, bleeding problems and any earlier reaction to an injectable
Leave plenty of time before an event. The FDA says swelling and bruising from fillers mostly start soon after the injection, and many go away within days to weeks.
Bring pictures
Images of the look you want make the discussion about your goals more specific.
Once injectables are done
Aftercare rules like staying upright or skipping exercise do not appear on the Botox Cosmetic label. Go by the written instructions your provider gives you.
For fillers, the Voluma XC directions recommend avoiding strenuous exercise and extensive sun or heat during the first 24 hours. Directions for other products may not match, so use the ones for the filler you actually had.
Seek care right away
According to the FDA, get immediate medical attention for unusual pain, changes in vision, or skin near the injection site that turns white, gray or blue. Signs of a stroke are also an emergency.
Recovering from laser and light treatments
How long recovery takes depends on the device and how deep the treatment goes. According to Sciton, patients can return to regular activity within 24 hours after a Halo treatment. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons gives downtime of up to about 2 weeks for CO2 resurfacing.
Protecting your skin from the sun is important. The American Academy of Dermatology advises a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher. Your provider can tell you how long strict sun avoidance should last after your particular treatment.
- Apply sunscreen the way your provider tells you to
- Wait for your provider's go-ahead before going back to retinol or acids
- Leave healing skin alone, without picking or peeling it
- Contact the practice if your healing does not match what you were told to expect