How to get the most from every treatment.

You booked the treatment — now what? The honest truth is that the few days before and after your session matter almost as much as what happens in the room. The skin you bring us, and the skin you take home, decide how good (and how lasting) your results actually are.

This is the complete pre & post care guide we wish every client read before their first appointment — for both laser hair removal and facials. Save it, screenshot it, send it to a friend. You don't need to memorise everything. The big ideas are simple:

Everything else is detail.

Before your treatment

If you're coming for laser hair removal

• 4 weeks before: stop waxing, threading, plucking, and epilating on the treatment area. The laser targets the hair root — it needs to be there. Shaving is not only fine, it's required.
• 2 weeks before: avoid fake tan, intentional sun exposure, and tanning beds. Don't change your skincare drastically.
• 48 hours before: pause retinoids, AHAs and BHAs on the treatment area. Don't try a brand-new active right before.
• The night before: shave the area cleanly, with the grain. Showing up unshaven means we may have to reschedule.
• Day of: arrive with clean, dry skin — no lotions, oils, deodorants (for underarms), perfume, or makeup on the area.

If you're coming for a facial

• 48 hours before: pause strong actives — retinol, high-strength vitamin C, AHAs and BHAs. Your skin works best with us when it's calm, not already exfoliated.
• 24 hours before: skip aggressive workouts that leave your skin flushed for hours, and avoid sunburn.
• Day of: arrive with clean skin if you can. Coming straight from work? No stress — we cleanse you properly at the start of every facial.

The day of: arriving calm and prepared

Try to give yourself 10–15 minutes of buffer before your session — rushing in stressed makes the whole experience worse. Use the lobby, breathe, hydrate. We've designed Luma to feel like an exhale, not a clinic.

A small thing that helps: don't book a date or important meeting 30 minutes after your appointment. Plan to be a little flushed, a little dewy, and very much in your own world.

Right after: the first 24 hours

After laser

• Mild redness and warmth on the treated area — similar to a light sunburn — is completely normal for a few hours.
• Apply a cooling gel or pure aloe; a cold compress helps too.
• No hot showers, sauna, steam rooms, or intense workouts for 24 hours.
• Wear loose clothing on the treated area. Skip tight gym leggings if you treated legs; skip thongs if you treated bikini.
• For intimate areas, skip sex for 24 hours so the skin can fully calm.

After a facial

• Your skin may look slightly pink or feel a little tight — that's normal after a deeper resurfacing or extraction facial.
• Skip makeup for the rest of the day. Let the skin breathe.
• Use only the products your esthetician sent you home with for the first 24–48 hours.
• Drink water and sleep on a clean pillowcase tonight (a small thing that matters).

The first week after

This is where good aftercare quietly becomes great results.

• SPF 30+ daily on any treated area — the single biggest predictor of how your results hold up. Our TiZo mineral SPF picks are what we hand every client on day one.
• Skip retinoids, exfoliating acids and scrubs for 5–7 days.
• Use a gentle cleanser and a bland moisturiser. Boring is the goal.
• Between laser sessions, never wax, thread, pluck, or epilate the area — only shave. Pulling the hair out defeats the laser.
• Don't pick at anything that's healing. Hands off.

Between sessions: making your results last

• Laser: sessions are usually 4–6 weeks apart. Stay consistent — skipping months in the middle is the most common reason people see slower results. We'll book your full series with you in advance.
• Facials: most clients see the best results with a monthly cadence, paired with a simple home routine your esthetician tailors to your skin.
• SPF every single morning. Yes, even in winter. Yes, even if you work indoors.
• Keep notes on what your skin liked and didn't — bring it back to us. We adjust each session based on what we see.

What we don't recommend, ever

• Picking, popping or scrubbing at anything that's healing.
• Trying to "speed things up" by stacking actives, longer exfoliation, or more aggressive products. Patience wins every time.
• Comparing your timeline to a friend's. Your skin, your hair, your pace.
• Skipping a session "just this once" — consistency is the entire game with laser.

When to message us

We're not a "send you out the door" studio. If anything looks more than mildly red, blistered, unusually painful, or you're just not sure — DM us on Instagram or call. We always want to hear from you between sessions, not just at them.

The honest conclusion

You don't need a 12-step routine to get great results. Most of what matters comes down to three things: protect the skin from the sun, skip strong actives around treatment days, and tell us if something feels off. Do those three things consistently and your laser series and facials will reward you.

And if you're still not sure where to start — that's exactly what your free consultation is for.

Educational content only. Not medical advice. Consult your dermatologist before applying advice to your specific skin.