Lasers and SUN! Why they don’t mix

Now that Spring is here and everyone is gearing up for the warmer weather and beach time, we want to remind all of our clients once more about the correlation between sun exposure and laser treatments, and why you can’t have recent sun exposure before your laser treatment and directly after.

The reason for this is that when your skin is exposed to the sun, whether you are tanning, gardening, or have spent a day at the park, there is a layer of melanin that accumulates below the surface. This is your skin’s response to the sun, which changes the color to a tan or burns to protect the outer layer of the skin from potential sun damage.

For this reason, it is highly important to wear an SPF every time when you are in the sun, and if you plan on having a laser hair removal treatment, it is also necessary to have no sun exposure or continuous sun exposure. The reason for this is that your level of sun exposure will create melanin underneath the surface of the skin. Problems can occur when a client has had one or two times of unprotected sun exposure within 30 days, meaning that there are undetected layers of melanin below the surface of the skin. The is a risk because the laser hair removal technician will not be able to determine the actual color of the skin based on the melanin content since it is below the surface. This means that the laser settings could potentially be too high, potentially adversely affecting the client.

If you are being treated on the GentleYAG (for darker and tanned skin tones) you need a minimum of 2 weeks out of the sun, BEFORE & AFTER laser treatment. If you are being treated on the GentleLASE (for fair skin tones) you need a minimum of 4-6 weeks out of the sun BEFORE your treatment, and 2 weeks after laser treatment.

Some of our clients opt out of lasering over the summer in order to be safe, while others abstain from the sun in order to continue their treatments. Whichever option you choose is up to you, and your treatments will not be affected.