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In brief
- The same basic rules apply after almost every treatment: stay out of the sun for the first days, wear sun protection every day after that, don't pick at or rub your skin, and use lukewarm water and a calming cream. The times differ per treatment, from 24 hours after waxing or a lash lift to about a week for retinol and acids after microneedling or a peel.
- After microneedling you are red for one to two days, a bit like after a day in the sun. Exercise and sauna wait three days, make-up is possible from the third day.
- After a peel you leave any loose bits of skin alone. After the herbal peel you use no water, soap or cosmetics on your skin for four days.
- After a lash lift, brow lamination or colour treatment you keep your lashes or brows dry for the first 24 hours. After waxing you skip sun, sauna, swimming pool and heavy exercise for 24 hours.
- If the pain increases, you see pus, you get a fever or the redness gets worse instead of better after two to three days, go to your GP.
Written by Nilay, owner and beauty therapist at Moons BeautyUpdated on
What to do and avoid per treatment.
The times differ, because one treatment stimulates your skin and another only touches your lashes or hairs.
| Topic | First 24 hours | The first days | What to avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microneedling and Dermapen | Your skin is red and feels warm and tight. Stay out of the sun and skip make-up, exercise and the sauna | The redness fades after one to two days, after which your skin can be dry or slightly flaky for a few days | Exercise, sauna, steam and swimming pool for the first three days, retinol, acids and scrubs for about a week, make-up preferably for two weeks |
| Peels | Your skin can be a little red and feel tight, and with the herbal peel it stings for the first six to twelve hours. Leave make-up off and wear sun protection during the day | Sometimes you flake for a few days, sometimes you see nothing. With the herbal peel your skin lets go after three to four days | Picking at loosening skin, and scrubs, acids and retinol for about a week |
| Lash lift and Korean lash lift | Keep your lashes dry and don't touch them. Mascara and rubbing wait | Mascara is fine again. Brush your lashes into shape every day | Oil around your eyes, and sauna, steam and swimming pool for the first days if the lift needs to last |
| Brow lamination, henna and tint | Keep your brows dry, don't touch them and leave make-up off | Cleanse gently and without rubbing. After a lamination you brush your hairs upwards every morning | Rubbing and scrubs. With henna and hybrid also acids, retinol and oil on your skin |
| Waxing | Your skin is freshly open and warm. Skip sun, sunbeds, sauna, swimming pool and heavy exercise and keep make-up and perfume off the area | The redness usually fades within a few hours. Gentle exfoliating is only possible after a few days | Scratching or squeezing bumps and ingrown hairs, and hot showers |
| LED therapy | The light calms your skin, and the redness usually fades faster | You follow the aftercare of the treatment the LED goes with. If you book LED on its own, we talk you through what suits you at the end of your appointment | We talk you through that at the end of your appointment |
| Facials | Your skin can be slightly pink from the massage, and that fades within an hour. Better skip exercise and sauna for a day, especially after extractions | From the day after, everything is fine again | We talk you through that at the end of your appointment, because it depends on what we did for your skin |
| Connective tissue massage | Your skin doesn't need to recover and doesn't turn red. A spot, especially around your jaw, can still glow for a while | We talk you through that at the end of your appointment | We talk you through that at the end of your appointment |
At the end of your appointment we tell you what to do and avoid in the coming days. If you get different advice than here, for instance because of the products we worked with, follow that.
What applies to almost every treatment.
Sun protection
Stay out of the sun for the first days, and a cap or hat helps. After that, apply sun protection with SPF 30 or higher every day and avoid the midday sun. There is more under sun protection.
Keep your hands off your skin
Don't pick at flakes, don't squeeze bumps and don't rub your face. Anything that is loosening you leave alone until it comes off by itself. Touch your face as little as possible otherwise too.
Lukewarm water
Wash your face with lukewarm water and a mild cleanser and pat it dry. Hot water and hot showers wait for the first days. Sleep on a clean pillowcase.
A calming cream
Pick a calming, hydrating cream with only caring ingredients and a neutral scent. Retinol, acids such as AHA and BHA, vitamin C, scrubs and peeling pads wait, after microneedling and a peel for about a week.
When you call your GP.
If the pain increases after a treatment, you see pus, you get a fever or the redness gets worse instead of better after two to three days, call your GP. If your eye, eyelid or the skin around your brows turns red, swollen or itchy after a lash lift or colour treatment and it doesn't go away, do the same. Tell us afterwards. If you have questions about what is fine, you can always send us a message.
Frequently asked questions about aftercare per treatment
Can I wear make-up straight after the treatment?
That depends on the treatment. After microneedling you can wear make-up from the third day, preferably you leave it off for two weeks. After a peel you leave make-up off that day, and after the herbal peel for four days. On waxed areas, on your brows after a lamination, henna or hybrid and with mascara after a lift you wait 24 hours. After a facial or connective tissue massage we talk you through what is fine at the end of your appointment.
Can I go to the gym after a treatment?
After a facial you better skip exercise that day, especially if we did extractions. After a peel you wait that day too, and after waxing you skip heavy exercise for 24 hours. After microneedling it takes the first three days. After a lash lift or brow lamination you leave sweat out for the first 24 hours, because your lashes and brows need to stay dry.
Can I go to the sauna or swimming pool after a treatment?
That differs per treatment too. After a facial, a peel and waxing you wait a day, after microneedling the first three days. After a lash lift, brow lamination or henna you keep steam and water away from your lashes and brows for 24 hours. If you want a lift or lamination to last as long as possible, take it easy for the first few days.
When can I go in the sun again?
Stay out of the sun for the first days, and a cap or hat helps. After that, apply sun protection with SPF 30 or higher every day. After microneedling you skip a sunbed for the first two weeks, and after waxing for 24 hours. If you have been in the sun or on a sunbed shortly before an appointment, we wait about two weeks with microneedling.
What do I do if my skin stays red after a treatment?
After microneedling, one to two days of redness is normal, a bit like after a day in the sun. After a facial a pink skin settles within an hour and after waxing usually within a few hours. Use lukewarm water and a calming cream and stay out of the sun. If the redness gets worse instead of better after two to three days, or pain, pus or a fever come with it, call your GP.
Can I wash my face and shower after a treatment?
Yes, with lukewarm water and a mild cleanser, patting dry and not rubbing. Hot showers wait for the first days. After a lift, lamination or colour treatment you keep your lashes and brows dry for the first 24 hours. After the herbal peel you use no water, soap or cosmetics on your skin for four days.
Which products can I use after a treatment?
A calming, hydrating cream with only caring ingredients and a neutral scent, and sun protection during the day. Retinol, acids such as AHA and BHA, vitamin C, scrubs and peeling pads you leave alone for about a week after microneedling and after a peel. How to build your routine back up is in the order of your skincare.
Can I go straight back to work after a treatment?
After a facial there is no recovery time and you can carry on straight away. After a connective tissue massage you don't need to recover. After microneedling you are red for one to two days, so don't plan that appointment right before an important day. After a lash lift or brow lamination you can carry on as usual, as long as you keep your lashes or brows dry for 24 hours.
What do I do if my skin starts to flake after a peel?
Leave the bits alone and don't pick at them, because you would remove skin that hasn't come loose yet. With light peels the peeling takes about three to five days. Apply a calming cream and sun protection every day. There is more under aftercare after a peel.
How long does recovery take after a treatment at Moons?
That differs per treatment. After a facial or connective tissue massage there is no recovery time. After waxing you skip sun, sauna and heavy exercise for 24 hours, and after a lash lift or brow lamination you keep your lashes or brows dry for 24 hours. After microneedling and a peel it takes several days. The full aftercare is under microneedling, peels, lashes and brows and waxing.
What is the aftercare for a facial at Moons?
After a facial the aftercare is short: you better skip exercise and sauna that day, and from the next day everything is fine again. At the end of your appointment we tell you what else suits your skin and what we did.
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