Congratulations on finally using a laser to remove those pesky hairs that constantly grow without ceasing. Now you are on your way to a long and hairless life that might just need a few touch-ups along the way. 

But if you think your work’s done, think again. You still have to take good care of your skin, even though you don’t have to constantly worry about keeping it smooth and hair-free.

It is a good idea to learn how to exfoliate your skin after laser hair removal, however, please be aware that exfoliating too soon after your laser hair removal treatment is not a smart idea because your skin is just too sensitive at the point. 

If you undergo laser hair removal, it’s recommended that you wait about a week to ten days, after the treatment, before you begin exfoliating. It is normally during this period of time when the majority of the hair starts falling out from the hair follicles.

When you do exfoliate, use a washcloth, puffy shower sponge, a loofah or an exfoliating shower wash to help the process along. Don’t use anything rough, like a gritty salt scrub, because it would be too harsh on the skin, remember that your skin is still sensitive.

In other words, your skin just went through a process that it’s not used to and it will be a little extra sensitive. 

Post-laser hair removal care is very important, not only to keep your skin feeling smooth and looking good but to prevent any damage that may occur during the period that it’s more sensitive and fragile. 

Here are a few things you should keep in mind after you’ve gone through a laser treatment.

Should I Exfoliate After Laser Hair Removal?

You most certainly should. Exfoliating has nothing to do with hair, but with your skin. It removes all the dead skin cells from the surface and it can also give your pores a good cleaning. 

During a laser treatment, not all the hair is removed. Some still lie beneath the surface, but they will shed naturally in a few days. Exfoliation helps this process along by removing all those shedding hairs.

How Long After Laser Hair Removal Should I Exfoliate?

Imagine you have just walked out of your laser treatment session – your skin is a little red, a little itchy, and most certainly a little sensitive to the touch. Do you really think it’s a good idea to scrub it right now? 

Definitely NOT! But we all know that you will have to exfoliate at some point, right? Of course, but you won’t need to right away.

If you followed the pre-laser treatment instructions, then you will have exfoliated a few days prior to your laser hair removal. This means that you already got rid of the dead skin cells on the areas that were treated. 

Once you have gone in for a treatment, its best to wait a few days before exfoliating again: 5-10 days should be enough. This gives your skin enough time to rest and heal before you start scrubbing it, and it also gives enough time for the shedding dead hairs to fall out.

How To Exfoliate After Laser Hair Removal?

First thing’s first – exfoliating after a laser treatment is not that different from when you usually do it. 

Start off by dampening your skin with warm water. Make sure it’s not too hot, otherwise you could irritate your skin. Plus, hot water could make your skin even drier. 

Apply the cleaner or scrub and use circular motions to lather up the soap, whether you ‘re applying it on your face or the rest of your body. 

You can either use a chemical exfoliant that’s like a body/face wash but with little rough beads that scrub away the dead skin cells. You can also use a brush, exfoliating glove, or loofah to scrape away the dead skin cells – these tools are particularly helpful if you have very dry skin.

Do it gently. Exfoliation is all about removing the dead skin cells so that your skin looks new and healthy, and the idea of that might want you to scrub a little harder. 

Don’t! Take it easy and don’t get too rough. Scrubbing too hard will do more harm than good, for example, you can scrub healthy skin and leave behind flakey, dry patches that are more very sensitive and painful. 

Don’t overdo it. Your skin does not shed so quickly so there is no point in exfoliating every day. Overdoing it will also damage your skin as you will be continuously scrubbing away the protective layer. 

If you scrub on the skin that is already sensitive, it will further the damage and it will take twice as long to heal. 

However, the number of times that you need to exfoliate is different for each person: those with dry skin would have to exfoliate 2-3 times a week, while people with normal skin only have to do it once a week.

What To Do After Exfoliating?

After you have scrubbed away all the dead cells, your skin will feel brand new. But in order to keep it looking and feeling good, you have to take care of it, especially after exfoliating. 

Make sure you don’t forget to apply a moisturizer. Your skin has just been stripped of a layer and if you don’t apply a moisturizer to hydrate and protect it, your skin will become dry and flakey. 

Dryness is the enemy of skin, because the dryer it is, the more you will be tempted to exfoliate some more, which if done too often, will damage your skin. 

So, try not to forget to treat your skin with a protective layer of hydrating lotion.

Before you leave the house, apply sunscreen. Even if you just need to quickly walk down the street, the UV rays from the sun are powerful and dangerous. 

Exposure to these UV rays, even for short periods of time, can be risky – so it’s better to be safe than sorry. 

It would not hurt to make applying sunscreen a daily habit If you’re someone who is always in the sun, the best thing you can do is use a sunscreen with a higher SPF, like SPF 50. This will protect you from 98% of UVB rays. 

Most medical journals recommend that if you spend a lot of time in the sun, then applying sunscreen once is not enough – you should at the very least apply it every 2 hours for maximum protection from the sun’s UV rays.

At the end of the day, hair removal and skincare are both a part of the same cycle. Exfoliation is an essential task that should be done before and after laser hair removal. 

If done properly, and if followed by proper skincare routines, then you will maximize the results of your laser treatments and you can happily enjoy silky smooth and hairless skin.

Let us get rid of those unwanted hairs. Visit the main hair removal home page for as much information on hair removal as possible. You can also visit the main IPL hair removal page. Thank you for visiting the lovely skin stuff site.  We appreciate you greatly.