Yes, but with caution. Your Body Details team will assist in creating an individual treatment plan tailored specifically to your retinol usage.
According to Naana Boakye, MD, taking steps like avoiding retinol before laser treatments can help alleviate redness or irritation during and after procedures. She suggests also forgoing waxing and tweezing before your appointment as well as applying zinc-based sunscreen before heading in for your appointment.
Avoid Sun Exposure
While on tretinoin, your skin can become sensitive to sunlight. To stay safe while outside, wear protective clothing and use a high SPF sunscreen. Also try not to engage in other methods for hair removal like tweezing, waxing or depilatories as these could reduce effectiveness of laser treatments.
If it becomes necessary to shave, an electric razor with a small head and low blade setting is recommended to reduce irritation. Furthermore, if you currently use acne cream such as salicylic acid or topical antibiotics before your laser treatment session begins, they should be discontinued to reduce any potential irritation or damage to the skin.
Make sure to notify your laser technician of all medications, from herbal supplements to non-prescription meds, that may interfere with tretinoin use or reduce its efficacy, including herbal supplements and non-prescription meds. Some interactions could reduce its efficacy, so it’s wise to disclose all current medication to them.
Tretinoin is a widely used ingredient in skincare products due to its ability to fade dark spots such as freckles and age spots, while improving overall skin appearance by making it smoother and more even. Unfortunately, its most frequent side effect is dryness and redness of skin which can be exacerbated by using harsh scrubs or other abrasive exfoliants.
Laser hair removal can help prevent future breakouts by eliminating two factors that contribute to acne: excess oil production and clogged pores. Unfortunately, it isn’t an effective treatment solution on its own as most cases are caused by hormonal factors or an infection underlying infection.
If you are planning to undergo laser hair removal on your facial area, it is recommended that you wait at least six months after discontinuing tretinoin use before scheduling an appointment for laser hair removal. This will allow your skin enough time to adapt and reduce risks such as blistering or scarring during treatment.
Stop Taking Accutane or Other Acne Medications
Retinoids are an extremely effective prescription topical treatment for mild to severe acne. Retinoids help exfoliate skin, reduce hyperpigmentation and sun damage, promote new cell growth, and aid in exfoliation. If you are on a retinoid and considering laser hair removal treatments, it is wise to first speak to your dermatologist in order to assess whether any interactions exist between their laser treatments and your specific retinoid medication, as well as which skincare routines or products might be safe during your laser hair removal treatment plan.
Though laser hair removal offers long-term advantages, it is important to remember that occasional breakouts may occur both during your treatment session and several days post-laser hair removal session due to skin being more vulnerable and susceptible to irritation from certain products or treatments following laser hair removal sessions.
Your doctor may advise against treatments that cause chemical peels. These types of chemical solutions work by exfoliating the top layer of skin and may increase sensitivity while diminishing its efficacy; should you plan to undergo such a peel treatment, your dermatologist might recommend pausing your retinoid for several days or weeks beforehand.
Other chemicals and products to avoid include alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), beta hydroxy acids (BHAs), glycolic acid, salicylic acid, vitamin C and hydroquinone; these can be especially irritating when combined with retinol. Furthermore, your dermatologist will likely advise against waxing threading or any other means to remove hair at the surface as these can interfere with its effectiveness and lead to severe abrasions on facial areas.
Before undertaking any type of exfoliating or rejuvenating procedure, it is wise to wait several days or up to one week after stopping taking retinol medication before initiating exfoliation or rejuvenating treatments. This allows your skin time to adapt and recover from its new routines.
Keep in mind that while tretinoin may help clear up acne, it won’t address scars or redness that remains after spots have healed. If this concerns you, vascular laser treatment could be the perfect solution.
Avoid Waxing or Threading
As opposed to waxing or plucking, which strips hair out from its roots, laser treatment destroys hair follicles through heat treatment and stops future growth of unwanted hair. Therefore, during your tretinoin treatment it is crucial not to use any form of hair removal that involves pulling it from its source such as waxing, tweezing, chemical epilation or hair bleaches as this could compromise results.
Therefore, we advise clients to wait until after their tretinoin course has concluded and their skin has stabilized before considering hair removal treatments such as electrolysis or laser hair removal. Doing these types of practices while taking tretinoin may lead to redness, irritation and even oozing of skin; also increasing risk for infections.
Threading is an increasingly popular technique for hair removal that is similar to tweezing, yet can cover larger areas of the face and body. It consists of using cotton thread to pull individual follicles from their roots with tension; unfortunately this method can damage skin leaving shiny scars. Threading may be especially traumatic for clients taking tretinoin medication as this technique tears into it leaving an open wound or puncture wound on its path to being pulled out with force from cotton thread.
Retinol promotes cell renewal and thins out your outer layer, leaving it more vulnerable to treatments that require direct contact such as waxing. Unfortunately, waxing and tretinoin don’t mix.
Threading or any other methods of hair removal should also be avoided if taking oral acne medications such as tetracycline and doxycycline, which make skin more vulnerable to sunlight and increase your risk of sunburns.
Clients using natural fillers should wait at least four to six weeks before beginning laser treatments in the area where they’re being applied, whether made of hyaluronic acid or silicone. Fillers may alter your facial contour and affect how effective a laser treatment will be.
Before your laser appointment, we also advise avoiding exfoliating treatments or chemical peels such as at-home dermaplaning. Exfoliation products can remove dead skin cells that provide protection to live cells beneath, making your skin more vulnerable to laser damage. This also applies to any alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) or beta-hydroxy acids (BHAs), such as glycolic acid or salicylic acid treatments.
Avoid Sun-Sensitive Antibiotics
If you are taking antibiotics like tetracyclines and doxycycline, it is imperative that they are stopped at least three weeks prior to your laser hair removal appointment. These antibiotics increase your skin sensitivity to sunlight, increasing the chance of sunburn or scarring due to laser hair removal treatments. In addition, any hair removal method which removes surface skin such as waxing, tweezing, chemical epilation or microneedling must also be avoided as much as possible; shaving your hair at least 12-24 hours prior will allow the laser hair follicle directly without harming any surface skin cells on its way in target mode allowing direct laser targeting of hair follicles without damaging surface skin areas or surface damages skin surface areas caused by laser treatments.
Avoid skincare products containing retinol, alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), beta hydroxy acids (BHAs), glycolic acid, salicylic acid or vitamin C as these ingredients may cause irritation and increase sun sensitivity; further making absorption of tretinoin more challenging for your body.
Communication with your laser professional about your skincare routine prior to treatment is vitally important. A gentle exfoliator such as age defying serum is acceptable, however any products which could irritate or hinder tretinoin’s effectiveness should be avoided.
While you are taking tretinoin, waxing any facial area could result in serious abrasions that could impede its effectiveness and could hinder progress of treatment. However, you can safely shave and thread eyebrows as long as they are done carefully – your laser hair removal provider can advise you on safest shave techniques for face, neck and chest hair.
Laser hair removal can help treat acne by eliminating two contributing factors, clogged pores and inflammation. While it’s no cure-all solution, laser hair removal may reduce redness and swelling associated with acne breakouts as well as lighten dark spots caused by them; additionally, it improves skin tone, texture and reduces fine lines – so while it might not prevent all breakouts altogether it can make them less severe and frequent.
