Tips for Before and After Treatments

At SharpLight, we put an emphasis on the whole person and creating an experience that maximizes the benefits of each of our treatments. This means that the time your clients spend in the presence of our innovative technology is only part of the process. To ensure they get the most from their time with SharpLight, we need to manage expectations, promote the benefits of multiple treatments and educate our clients on the best ways to prepare themselves before a treatment and take care of themselves after one.

Real Expectations for Real Results: Creating a successful and rewarding experience for your client starts well before they enter the procedure. One of the best ways to ensure a good result both physically and mentally is to manage expectations for what SharpLight can do and how many treatments will be needed, the type of aftercare required and potential complications.

Not only will giving your client this information beforehand give them a healthy, realistic view of their procedure but allow them to prepare for aftercare considerations and know what to look for in terms of normal and abnormal results.

Medical History: During your 30-45-minute consultation you should get your client’s full medical history. This is also a time to consult with your patient about their ethnic and racial background to ensure their skin gets the optimal treatment for their unique pigmentation and skin texture.

Pre-Photo and Test: Take your client’s before photo so they can see exactly what results they are getting and you can also gauge the treatment effectiveness after. This is also the time to do a test pulse on the area to ensure you have the right setting to be effective without causing unnecessary damage. Test pulses should be done at least 24-hours prior to the actual procedure but 48-hours is preferred.

Physical Preparation: While certain preparation will vary depending on the procedure, these are generally good tips for all clients. Emphasize the importance of taking these steps prior to a procedure to maximize results and minimize potential damage.

Prep for Hair Removal: To avoid making the skin any more sensitive than it already is, inform your clients that they should not seek out tanning, including self-tanning products. The skin should also be protected from the sun with an appropriate sunblock. Additionally, other hair removal methods like waxing, tweezing and electrolysis should be avoided for at least a month prior to each treatment. However, shaving should be done within 2 days of the treatment and on the day of the treatment, clients should be advised to skip perfumes, lotions or other skin products.

Prep for Photo Facial: For a photo facial, a client should avoid the sun for at least 2 days prior to the treatment, using retinoid products and no Accutane for six months before the treatment. Also, advise your clients to avoid anti-inflammatory drugs as this can increase bruising.

All good things come to those who wait, and to those who take the time to understand that multiple treatments are often the best and only way to get the results we want. Educating and instructing your clients on multiple treatments before their first procedure is another way of managing expectations and ensuring they don’t get frustrated when results aren’t exactly as they want after the first procedure.

With some treatments, like the Photo Facial, these results are not intended to be permanent and subsequent procedures are needed to maintain results. Ease fears over having to get subsequent treatments by informing clients that they can be done in as little as 30 minutes and will not cause noticeable redness or other damage, meaning they can be done on a lunch break or before a night out. Other treatments, like large areas of hair removal or acne reduction, are better done in multiple sessions to minimize discomfort and also to maintain results.

Depending on the procedure that your client has had done, maximizing results with diet, sleep and exercise will vary, some basic tips include:

Exercise: While exercise can help certain skin conditions in the long run, clients should avoid exercise for up to 24 hours after photo facials and hair removal. Hot tubs and saunas are also not recommended during this time as they can increase irritation and redness.

Diet: A healthy diet containing whole foods rich in vitamins can be beneficial to healing and maximizing results. Healthy fats from avocados, salmon, and walnuts are known to help heal and revitalize skin so this can also help.

Sleep: Sleep is essential to health and healing. Getting a minimum of 7 hours of sleep per night is important for most adults and is especially helpful for anyone who is trying to heal their skin after hair removal, acne treatments, and other procedures. Moreover, being well rested is almost guaranteed to give a person a younger, more vibrant look naturally.

SharpLight is here to support both you and your clients. We make it our priority to not only provide you with optimal technology but the tools to serve your customers better. If you need help, suggestions or other resources to market, promote or educate your services including the benefits of before and aftercare, call us at 1 (866) 513-7797.