After your treatment
The night of
In fact, I would prefer you to leave your skin completely alone and simply allow it to rest overnight.
Your skin has had plenty of stimulation during your treatment. Tonight is not the time to add more.
If you feel you must cleanse
If, for whatever reason, you feel you need to cleanse your skin again before bed, keep it extremely gentle.
I recommend:
- dermaviduals Total Cleansing Cream
- followed by dermaviduals Base Cream Classic
First 48 hours
Because I'm using Syneron Sublative Radio Frequency, your skin may look and feel a little different immediately after treatment.
You may notice small red squares or grid-like marks across the treated area. I see this particularly in clients who are quite vascular or who have naturally ginger or red hair.
Your skin may feel warm or hot initially, which is expected following treatment.
Around 48 hours
By around 48 hours, your skin should no longer feel hot.
It may still feel slightly sensitive or tender, so please be gentle with it.
Use only the recommended products we have discussed together and follow the course I have given you. This is not the time to introduce new products, experiment with actives or try to speed up the healing process.
If anything feels unusual or you are concerned about your response, please contact me.
Day 3 to 7
Let your skin do the work
By day three, the heat from your treatment should have settled. Your skin may still feel a little sensitive, dry or different to the touch, but it should be gradually becoming more comfortable.
This is not the time to add extra products, exfoliate or try to accelerate the process. Your skin is busy repairing and responding to the treatment.
What you may notice
This is the part of the process where I often tell my clients not to judge their skin too quickly.
In my experience, during the first week the skin can look a little undefined. It may not look particularly different, and you may even wonder when you're going to see the improvement.
That's completely okay.
The changes from Radio Frequency are not always immediately visible. The skin needs time to respond.
So for the first week, my advice is simple:
Don't chase the result. Don't over-treat your skin. Let it respond.
The best results are developed. They don't happen overnight.
Week 2 to 4
Supporting your results
By week two, your skin should be feeling much more settled.
This is when I generally find things start becoming much more noticeable.
The skin begins to develop better structure and definition, and you may start to notice it looking and feeling:
- Firmer
- More taut
- More structured
- Smoother and more refined
The improvement continues to develop beyond this point as your skin continues its natural response to the treatment.
This is also the stage where I may begin to introduce more supportive skincare, depending on how your skin has responded.
Your skincare, choose your system
I don't recommend mixing dermaviduals and SkinCeuticals within the same skincare routine.
I prefer to choose the system that is best suited to your skin, your barrier and the result we are trying to achieve.
Both can provide excellent supportive care when used correctly.
The exception, sun protection
The one product category I absolutely want you to use regardless of which skincare system I have recommended is your sunscreen.
Daily sun protection is essential for protecting the skin while we are working on firmness, texture and long-term skin quality.
What I want from you
Keep your routine consistent.
Don't add products because you think more will give you more.
The skin needs the right ingredients, in the right quantities, at the right time.
By weeks three and four, we can assess how your skin is progressing and whether your skincare needs to be adjusted.
My job is to keep assessing your skin and knowing when to introduce more, and when to leave it alone.
Treat. Support. Protect. Let your skin do the rest.
Long term
Once your skin has completely recovered, I want you back on an active, personalised skincare routine.
Depending on your skin, this may include:
Hydration & barrier support
Dermaviduals DMS Base Cream Classic, DMS Base Cream High Classic, DMS Base Cream High Classic Plus, Hyaluronic Acid Concentrate, Hyaluronan NAG Liposomes, Liposome NMF Complex Plus, D-Panthenol, Vitamin E, Vitamin B and CM Glucan Complex.
Antioxidants & skin quality
SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic, Phloretin CF, Phloretin CF Gel, Silymarin CF, Hydrating B5 Gel, Resveratrol B E and Metacell Renewal B3.
Skin renewal
We may incorporate glycolic acid, AHAs/BHAs or SkinCeuticals Cell Cycle Catalyst, depending on your skin and treatment plan.
You do not need everything. I will select what your skin actually needs.
Please tell me about anything your doctor has prescribed for you, including any skin treatments, before we start.
What is normal, and what is not?
There are a few things after Sublative Radio Frequency that can look a little alarming, but are completely normal.
And then there are things that aren't normal and that I want you to contact me about.
The night of your treatment
It is completely normal for your skin to feel tender, warm and quite sensitive immediately after treatment.
That warmth can continue for up to 48 hours, although for most people it settles within the first 24 hours.
If you have ginger/red hair or a lot of vascularity, including skin affected by rosacea, you may experience a little more swelling or redness. In my experience, this can simply be your skin responding strongly to the treatment.
I have seen this many times, and it has not prevented my clients from continuing with their treatment course.
A little weeping the next morning
You may notice a small amount of weeping or moisture from the skin the following morning.
This can dry and feel a little like a crust.
This is simply plasma escaping through the tiny treatment points in the skin and, on its own, is not something to panic about.
You can gently wipe it away as directed, but please don't pick, rub or try to remove anything aggressively.
The grid, yes, it is supposed to be there
The little grid pattern you see on your skin is from the fractionated handpiece.
Each individual grid contains pinpoint treatment spots. These tiny treatment points are delivering controlled energy deeply into the skin, where the real remodelling process takes place.
The purpose is to stimulate the skin's natural remodelling response, including the production and organisation of collagen and elastin.
So when you look at your skin and think, "What have we done?", remember, the grid is exactly what I expect to see.
It will gradually disappear as your skin heals.
Please, contact me.
You do not need to decide whether something is normal before contacting me. That's my job.
For your first Sublative Radio Frequency treatment, I ask you to send me photographs each day for at least the first week.
These photographs are important for several reasons. They become part of your personal treatment file, they allow me to monitor how your skin is progressing, and they give me a much better understanding of how you are responding to your treatment.
Most importantly, they give you reassurance.
I don't publish my clients' photographs on this website. I can show you before and after photographs, with their permission, at your consultation.
I am right here alongside you while your skin is going through the treatment and recovery process.
So please don't sit at home wondering.
Text me. Send me a photo. Call me.
I'd much rather hear from you than have you worry unnecessarily.
What signs mean I should call you or see a doctor?
What is not normal?
There are a few things I don't want you to simply watch and wait with.
Please contact me if:
- Your skin remains excessively hot beyond 48 hours
- You develop significant or increasing swelling
- An area becomes increasingly painful, rather than gradually settling
- You develop persistent or significant weeping or oozing areas
- You develop blistering, open areas or anything that looks substantially different from what we discussed
- You are simply worried that something doesn't look or feel right
If you have any concerns
I can't stress this enough. If there is anything you have even the slightest concern about, particularly something I haven't covered in this aftercare section, please feel free to text or call me.
If you're concerned, I want to know.
If you cannot reach me and you are worried, see your GP or go to your nearest emergency department. In an emergency, call 000.