So, you’ve had your laser hair removal treatment, maybe you’re ready to head home and warm up with a steaming hot shower or go for a walk outside in the sun? Just a minute! Just because you’ve completed your laser treatment, it doesn’t mean that you can forget about it until your next session. Whilst our qualified technicians and medical grade laser machines do the heavy lifting, it’s very important for you to treat your skin with care, post (and pre) laser treatment, for the best results.
We’re here to clarify that a steaming hot shower right after your laser treatment and exposing your freshly lasered skin to the sun is not recommended. These and other factors, such as using a foamy supermarket body wash or allowing dry, dead skin cells to build-up, can irritate the skin, increase inflammation, and impact your results.
The good news is, we have the solution that will maximise your results and minimise adverse reactions. Our Post Laser Care Pack is the complete laser aid, featuring a range of products with ingredients that soothe and protect the skin.
Quick laser hair removal refresher:
Laser treatment for hair reduction works by targeting and destroying the pigment in the hair follicle during the active growth phase. At SILK, all treatments are performed on a Medical Grade Laser by a Laser and Dermal Technician who is Laser Safety Certified. Laser treatments are quick, comfortable and effective. Laser hair removal achieves the best results for people with fairer skin and darker hair, however our laser technology and laser preparation products allow us to treat a variety of skin and hair types.
You can learn more about laser hair removal here.
What’s in the SILK Post Laser Care Pack?
We offer two laser aid packs, each containing four products. The three required products are Purifying Cleanser, Glycolic and Lactic Acid Scrub and Soothing Gel. The fourth product, Brightening Serum or Sunscreen SPF50+, can be interchanged depending on your skin type and needs.
What’s so important about these laser aid products?
Purifying Skin Cleanser
Face and body cleansers are made up of ingredients called surfactants (surface active agents). Surfactants stir up activity on the surface to collect and remove dirt. Some surfactants are harsher on the skin than others. Surfactants used as detergents and soaps contain bubbly, foaming, cleansing-focused ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate and/or sodium laureth sulfate. These ingredients can irritate the skin. Whilst the skin may feel squeaky clean after using these soap-like cleansers, these ingredients are harsh, drying, and strip the skin of its moisturising oils.
SILK Purifying Skin Cleanser is formulated with Cocamidopropyl betaine, the least likely cleansing active (surfactant) to irritate the skin. It also contains a surfactant that is an emulsifier, which doesn’t foam at all. Therefore, it is helpful in preventing post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and doesn’t irritate inflamed skin.
Whether we see it or not on the skin’s surface, inflammation occurs within the skin post laser. The danger is that this inflammation can be responsible for post-inflammatory hyper pigmentation, especially in a skin Fitzpatrick III or higher. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation appears as flat spots of discolouration. This is due to increased melanin production. Melanin is the pigment that defines the color of a person’s skin.
With ingredients like Canadian Willowherb to draw heat out of the skin, and licorice and aloe vera for cooling, SILK’s Purifying Skin Cleanser maintains and improves the barrier function of the skin. It keeps the skin in a healthy state, preparing it for safe future laser treatment.
Glycolic and Lactic Acid Scrub
When you are having laser hair removal treatment, you definitely don’t want dry dead skin cell build-up. The laser can be reflected off the dead cells and cause a spark. The laser energy is wasted since the full laser energy potential doesn’t go into the hair follicle. Therefore, impacting your results.
Post laser, an exfoliant is essential to prevent ingrown hairs. Ingrown hairs are uncomfortable, unsightly and can contribute to post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. SILK Glycolic and Lactic Acid Scrub contains both AHA’s (chemical exfoliation) and ocean-friendly Silica granules (mechanical exfoliation). AHA’s breakdown cell cohesion and help surface cells lift off, especially when granules are used in conjunction, to scrub them away.
Shop Glycolic and Lactic Acid Scrub
Soothing Gel
It’s critical to cool and calm inflammation post laser treatment to prevent unwanted irritations and often permanent damage from post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. SILK Soothing Gel contains laser aid ingredients specifically formulated to do exactly that.
It is not suitable to use Aloe Vera gels post laser unless it comes directly from the plant. Most brands of Aloe Vera gel contain colours and preservatives that are not developed for use post laser. These types of ingredients can further irritate the skin and can even excite melanin production, leading to pigment problems. Aloe Vera gel alone does not contain the cooling, heat-reducing and calming ingredients like those found in SILK Soothing Gel.
SILK Soothing Gel contains Sage oil, a natural antibacterial agent. It protects the skin from pathogens (organisms that causes disease) post laser treatment when the skin may take a few days to heal and is at risk of becoming infected easily.
In addition, SILK Soothing Gel is versatile! It can be kept in the fridge as a soothing treatment for problems like insect bites, used as spot treatment to reduce inflammation and infection of pimples, and as a soothing mask.
Brightening Serum
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is caused by the heat necessary to destroy the hair follicle. One of the ways to prevent this is to “turn off” melanogenesis (the production of melanin pigments). Discouraging the action of Tyrosinase, an enzyme required for melanin production, is an effective way to prevent melanin production and therefore post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
We recommend all skin is treated with SILK Brightening Serum, a Tyrosinase inhibiting serum, in preparation for laser treatment and in between treatments. However, it is mandatory for skin Fitzpatrick IV and above. Laser hair removal works by targeting melanin in the hair follicle. However, as melanin can also be present in the epidermis, it presents as another competing source for laser energy absorption and can lead to undesirable epidermal damage.
Sunscreen SPF50+
Exposure to sunlight can cause the skin to become more sensitive to the light energy used in laser treatments. The risk of burning, scarring, and serious skin damage is very real if the skin is exposed to UV light, pre laser treatment. Sun exposure creates a higher risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Use of sunscreen that blocks UVA and UVB rays before laser is mandatory.
Avoid sun exposure for two weeks altogether post laser. Skin needs time to heal before it is exposed to damaging UV light, and then it should be protected daily with a broad-spectrum SPF.
SILK Matte Sunscreen SPF50+ is a broad-spectrum sunscreen meaning it protects the skin from both UVA and UVB light. It has the highest possible protection rating in Australia.
Our SILK Laser Clinics Post Laser Care Pack is a homecare program that supports your laser hair removal treatments:
Pack 1:
Purifying Cleanser
Glycolic and Lactic Acid Scrub
Soothing Gel
Sunscreen SPF50+
Pack 2:
Purifying Cleanser
Glycolic and Lactic Acid Scrub
Soothing Gel
Brightening Serum
These products make sure we get the best possible result from your treatments and that we keep the state of your skin healthy and protected. They have been formulated by our cosmetic chemists to prevent some of the unwanted risks associated with laser treatment like inflammation or infection. By using them, you are doing everything you can to keep your skin in perfect health for safe and effective treatment.
SILK Post Laser Care Packs are $159 (save $77). You can purchase in-store at your nearest SILK Laser Clinics.
