Burn by Laser or IPL & Post Treatments

Topic: Over-treated by any light therapies - Prevention & How to look after yourself when you are over-treated?

 

Prevention:

For any laser, Diode or IPL hair removal, over-treated signs of blistering &/or burning will not appear straight after you are hit by the light beam, but few minutes or even few hours after that. This is the reason why patch tests must be performed for different areas at least few days prior to the treatment.

So how do you know that you are over-treated?

When light beam hitting your skin, you will feel like a hot rubber-band snap, without any lingering pain or heat. Your skin should cool down almost immediately. If it feels extremely hot and is not cooling down you MUST alert your therapist immediately. The heat & pain should go away almost immediately as soon as the pulse stopped & moved away from that treated spot.

Any lingering pain or burning sensation can result in blisters and/or burn.

Compared to the situation when you have extended sun exposure when you go to the beach, you will only feel lingering heat but you won't see any skin reactions yet. Then within a day or two after that skin reaction either tanning, blistering, peeling or sun burn will start to appear. This is similar to burn caused by light therapy such as Laser, diode, IPL or LED

What to do if over-treated by LHR & other light therapy?

 ** IF YOU THINK YOU ARE SERIOUSLY BURNT, GO TO EMERGENCY IMMEDIATELY. THEY SHOULD BE OPEN 24/7 ***
Otherwise read below.
 

Ask your therapist to COLD compress you IMMEDIATELY for at least 20 minutes
(Be aware that ICE compression can cause freeze burn. Thus, if iced pack is used ensure to keep removing it from the same skin area every few minutes and/or wrapped the iced pack with disposable kitchen paper towel such that it does not have direct contact with your skin.)

To minimise scaring, skin must be kept moist while skin is healing. So, the following topical gel, cream &/or ointment are recommended as for examples:

 

-- Aloe Vera gel (non-alcohol)
Alcohol irritates intact skin & it burn non-intact skin.
such as:

https://www.aloeveraaustralia.com.au/product-category/aloe-vera-gel/

Of all aloe gels available in Australia, only gels from Aloevera Australia r genuine, thus they hv wound healing property.

 

-- Silicone gel or sheet

-- Hydrocolloid vs Hydrogel: hydrogel does not dissolve in water, whereas hydrocolloid forms a gel when mixing with water
When should you not use hydrogel dressing? Hydrogels cannot absorb large amounts of fluid and therefore are not suitable for very wet wounds which could become macerated and infected.

Hydrocolloid dressings are recommended for wounds with some exudate, but should not be used for dry wound, because it is designed for absorption of wound exudates. Since hydrocolloid bandages maintain a moist and enclosed environment, they're not appropriate for use on infected areas. Hydrocolloid dressings are designed to be worn for up to a week. Infrequent dressing changes are less disruptive to wound healing.

 

For examples: https://trproplus.com/product/tr-pro-10g/, Solosite Wound Gel, 3M Solugel, Flamigel and etc.

 

-- For customers who developed irritation from aloe gel, please use hydro gel + silicone sheet, instead. Apply thin layer of hydrogel and cover it with super clean reusable silicone sheet from chemist. See images below for examples:

U can cut bigger silicone sheet to fit your purpose.

 

-- Burnaid Burn Gel

-- Sudocrem (zinc oxide)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23188597?fbclid=IwAR1xYc13axHbs1VT1JQzthNlIQOiaZXctcXMwbiLXFhF3AahhfcTAGC-wao

-- Medi Quattro

Please note bufexamac in Medi Quattro can cause allergic reactions in some individuals and has been banned in many countries => https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bufexamac?fbclid=IwAR0KtqeoeIjoLT_OjH-4kq27XSZmX1PDCV4rSV7H5ceEqlfdhtW53CuWJdQ

                                  

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Topic: Scabs after laser

If scabs appear, do not scratch them away. This can cause scarring. Allow them to fall off naturally. SCABBING IS NATURE'S WAY OF SKIN HEALING. Keeping the area moisturised will often curtail the formation of scabs.

Avoid any heat or frictions over the treated areas. For examples, avoid wearing chafing fabrics or tight clothing. Tight & chafing clothing may scratch scabs, create frictions & heat over the skin that still inflame causing prolonged healing process. Wear loose breathable natural fabrics such as cotton or linen.

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Table: Other Risks After Laser/IPL Hair Removal Treatments

Scars develop when both outermost layers (aka epidermis) + deeper layers are damaged.

No visible scars when only one of the two affected.

Non healing wounds can lead to scars which take many months to form and become noticeable. See scholar articles under wound healing topic.

 

 

 

 

For info regarding scar treatments, click here.

=> Go back to starting page, click here.