When can I wear makeup after getting (fill-in-the-blank) treatment? That’s a question we hear from most of our guests at White Orchid Spa, so we’re compiling the answers—and explaining why—in this blog post. Makeup can interfere with recovery, skin healing, and treatment outcomes in many, but not all, cases.
We’ll detail our post-treatment instructions for makeup application based on specific treatments—ranging from BOTOX® and filler injections to microneedling and chemical peels.
How Makeup Affects Recovery and Results
The ingredients in your makeup often include oil or mineral-based material. These ingredients can:
- Clog pores
- Disrupt the skin’s natural shedding process
- Interfere with healing
Sometimes, applying makeup and rubbing the treatment area can disrupt the results, especially with injectables.
When Can You Apply Makeup Post-Treatment?
How long you should wait to apply makeup depends on the nature of the treatment. Let’s take a look at different procedures:
Microneedling
Depending on your skin type and how well you tolerate the treatment, we recommend waiting 48 to 72 hours. This brief hiatus gives the skin enough time to recover from the micro-injuries created during the treatment. People with sensitive skin might want to wait a day or so longer before applying makeup.
We encourage you to use a gentle cleanser, moisturizer, or topicals containing skin-nourishing ingredients such as hyaluronic acid after a microneedling treatment to promote recovery.
Chemical Peels
The guidelines for when you can apply makeup after a chemical peel partly depends on the strength of the peel. At White Orchid Spa, our nurse practitioners use light or medium peels to address our guests’ concerns. These include VI Peel® and our Complexion Correction MD Peel. You should generally wait at least 24 hours after a light peel to apply makeup. If you get a medium peel, wait at least 3 to 5 days. The peeling process typically spans up to 7 days, and treating your skin gently during this time is essential. Applying a soothing moisturizer after using a gentle cleanser is fine.
BOTOX and Dermal Filler Injections
We typically recommend guests wait 4 hours after cosmetic injections before applying makeup. This gives the injection sites time to resolve any immediate post-treatment swelling and allows the injectable to settle. You can resume your daily skincare routine but should not use harsh exfoliants at the injection sites until completely healed.
Microdermabrasion
Microdermabrasion is the gentler cousin of dermabrasion treatments, which use a rotating device to “sand” away the skin’s outer layer. Microdermabrasion sprays tiny crystals onto the skin to treat mild complexion issues. You can typically apply makeup very soon after a microdermabrasion treatment. Because dermabrasion removes skin, you should wait until you’ve healed before applying makeup.
Microblading
Because microblading involves tiny cuts in the skin, it’s important to wait about 14 days before applying makeup. The skin flakes and sloughs off as the wounds heal during this time. Even though microblading is considered semi-permanent makeup, many people like to use makeup to enhance their results.
Laser Resurfacing
As with chemical peels, the intensity of a laser skin resurfacing treatment influences when you can resume applying makeup. If you undergo an aggressive skin resurfacing treatment with a CO2 laser, you need to wait 2 weeks before applying makeup.
Our med spa uses the Halo® hybrid fractional laser to resurface the skin, combining ablative and non-ablative wavelengths. Halo laser treatments produce impressive results without the downtime typically necessary with other laser treatments. You can typically use mineral-based makeup 2 days after a Halo laser treatment, although waiting another day or 2 may be necessary.
We also offer Forever Young BBL® skin rejuvenation treatments to address age spots, acne, vascular lesions, and redness. The broadband light wavelengths penetrate the skin without harming the surface, so you can apply makeup immediately after the procedure.
What Treatment Is Right for You?
Check out our entire med spa and day spa treatments menu to determine what procedure will address your aesthetic concerns. You can request a consultation using the online form or give us a call at (772) 231-1133 to schedule an appointment.
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