Laser hair removal is an efficient and safe way to permanently eliminate unwanted hair. However, it is essential that patients follow proper skin care guidelines after receiving laser treatments, including refraining from certain activities like exercising.
Sweating can aggravate already sensitive hair follicles left after laser hair removal, potentially leading to painful rashes or blistering. Luckily, there are a few simple things you can do in order to resume exercising safely.
Wait at Least 24 Hours
Laser hair removal is a popular cosmetic procedure that permanently eradicates unwanted body hair. After receiving laser hair removal treatments, patients often have questions regarding when it’s safe to exercise post-treatment and how long to wait before engaging in physical activity again. Although exercise is healthy for you overall, after laser hair removal it’s essential that proper care be taken with regard to protecting and healing skin post treatment and avoiding activities that might irritate it further.
As part of your workouts, one thing to take into consideration is your sweat levels. Although sweat is an unavoidable part of physical exercise, excessive sweating after laser hair removal treatment can pose a number of potential complications: irritation to hair follicles in the treated area as well as bacteria-laden sweat that could potentially cause rash or infection; additionally excessive sweating delays the healing process and could impede effective results.
After receiving laser hair removal treatments, it is often advised that patients wait at least 24 hours before exercising in order to reduce the chance of an adverse reaction, rash or infection in the treated area. Please consult your healthcare practitioner regarding an ideal waiting time in your specific case.
As soon as you’re ready to resume exercising, it is wise to opt for low-impact activities, like walking or swimming, in order to protect the skin without increasing heart rate. Furthermore, make sure to apply moisturizer after every workout in order to hydrate the treated area and prevent it from drying out or becoming irritated.
Dependent upon where your laser tattoo removal treatment was administered, additional waiting may be necessary before engaging in physical activities again. If it involves areas that tend to get irritated quickly such as legs, armpits or bikini line then at least 48 hours should elapse before you return to exercise.
If you plan on going swimming, wait at least an hour after exercising before beginning to exercise again. Swimming pools contain chemicals and bacteria which may irritate the treated area. Furthermore, avoid direct sunlight after exercising in order to protect your skin from becoming over-irritated or sunburnt.
Avoid Swimming
Working out after laser hair removal requires that you wait several days for the skin to heal before engaging in exercise, though this might seem frustrating at first. While this might seem counter-productive, it actually has great implications for the results of your treatment; when working out immediately following laser hair removal session can cause sweat to penetrate deeper into skin layers increasing redness, irritation, or rashes; however low impact activities like walking and stretching are still safe options to try during this waiting period.
Additionally, it’s wise to avoid swimming for at least 24 hours following your laser hair removal treatment. Pool water contains chemicals, bacteria and algae which may irritate skin even without added physical exertion. If necessary, make sure that waterproof sunscreen with SPF 50 protection is applied prior to jumping in the water.
After laser hair removal, swimming should be avoided because chlorine pools may irritate treated skin and lead to rashes or infections. To swim safely after laser hair removal it would be best if using either an outdoor lake that does not use chemicals as swimming pools can sometimes aggravate treatment issues further. If swimming becomes necessary for any reason then using either saltwater pools or lakes will provide better options than chemical-laced pool facilities.
While recovering from laser hair removal, you should avoid taking hot showers, saunas and steam rooms. Hot showers and saunas will increase your body temperature and cause you to sweat more than normal; this extra sweat may then irritate the treated area causing a rash or even bacterial infections to form.
Avoid activities that generate heat, such as tanning beds, prior to your laser hair removal session. Tanning can misdirect laser light towards pigment in your skin rather than hair follicles for removal. If tanning cannot be avoided prior to laser hair removal, an experienced practitioner who works with all skin tones and uses techniques designed to minimize discoloration or blotchiness may be more appropriate.
Avoid Sunlight
Laser hair removal treatments offer many benefits to the skin, but after having treatments there are a few guidelines to abide by in order to maximize results. Exercise can irritate the treatment area while sunlight will make it even more sensitive, both factors being detrimental to recovery processes and potentially altering results.
Sun exposure and exercising after laser hair removal should be avoided to protect your skin from becoming red, dry and itchy. Sweating may further irritate sensitive hair follicles in the treatment area; sweat may contain bacteria which can lead to infections or rashes on treated skin.
If you must exercise, take a cool shower after. Use mild soaps, but be mindful not to scrub too hard at the area being scrubbed; save any exfoliating products such as body scrubs or loofahs until after drying off completely and allow your skin time to settle before trying another workout session. Ideally wait 30-60 minutes for everything to settle before trying it again.
Wear sunscreen on any area being treated, particularly when heading outdoors for workouts or other tasks, to protect the skin from UV rays that could otherwise cause sunburn and hyperpigmentation. This will protect it from possible health risks like sunburn.
No matter the severity of your treatment, it’s essential that you follow all guidelines for exercising after laser hair removal in order to maximize results from each session. Doing this will guarantee optimal outcomes from each laser hair removal treatment session.
Laser hair removal can be an excellent way to permanently eliminate unwanted hair from various body parts, such as the face, legs, armpits and bikini line. Unfortunately, laser treatment has its own set of drawbacks, including discomfort, temporary mobility loss and even some areas appearing sunburned after treatment. By following a few simple tips during this process you can reduce side effects while keeping your skin healthy throughout.
Avoid Shaving
Laser hair removal is an efficient and safe solution for permanently eliminating unwanted body hair, yet many patients still wonder if they can resume their regular workout regimen after treatment. While the answer is yes, certain guidelines must be observed to ensure proper healing of skin.
One key takeaway from laser hair removal treatments should be avoiding shaving right before or right after an appointment, since hair follicles are still in their anagen stage (when new hairs emerge and push out old ones from beneath the surface of skin). Shaving can disrupt this cycle and prevent laser beams from targeting hair roots effectively for laser treatment results that are successful.
After your laser hair removal treatment, try to avoid sweating as much as possible for 24 hours after. Sweat can irritate the skin and lead to breakouts. Therefore, low-impact exercises such as walking, stretching or swimming in pools or oceans is preferable to traditional gym workouts.
Last but not least, you should refrain from using any hair removal methods that might disturb the follicles – such as plucking or waxing – that could disturb them too. Also it would be wise to discontinue any blood-thinning medications at least two weeks before your laser hair removal session.
However, you should usually return to your regular workout regimen 48 hours post laser hair removal session as long as you use sunscreen and avoid sweating excessively until then. Once your skin has fully recovered, exercise as normal without fear that the effectiveness of laser hair removal treatments will be diminished by doing so.
