Before you start
The aftercare Alex gives you on the day always comes first, because it's written for your skin and your treatment. This page is a reminder you can come back to while you heal.
Some redness, swelling and tenderness is normal after most treatments and settles within a few days.
Contact Alex if
- Redness, swelling or heat is getting worse after the first two or three days
- The area weeps, has a yellow or green discharge, or smells unpleasant
- You're unsure whether something is normal: a photo on WhatsApp is the quickest way to check
If you have a high temperature or feel unwell, or you think you're having an allergic reaction, get medical help straight away: call your GP or NHS 111, or 999 in an emergency.
Brow tattooing
Fresh brows look darker and sharper for the first week or so. Around the end of the first week they start to flake, and for a week or two after that they can look lighter or patchy as the skin settles. That's normal, and the colour comes back as they heal.
Do
- Keep your brows clean and dry, and follow the aftercare instructions Alex gives you
- Let flakes lift away on their own
- Sleep on your back if you can for the first few nights
For around two weeks, avoid
- Picking, rubbing or scratching
- Makeup on the brows
- Sun, sunbeds, saunas, steam rooms and swimming
- Heavy exercise that makes you sweat
- Exfoliating skincare, retinoids and facials on the brow area
Once healed, a daily SPF helps your brows last. Your second session, 6 to 12 weeks after the first, finishes the colour and shape.
Lip tattooing
Fresh lips look bright and a little swollen at first. Around days three to five they start to flake, and for a week or two after that the colour can look faded or patchy before it comes back.
Do
- Keep your lips clean and moisturised with the balm provided
- Drink through a straw for the first few days
- If you're prone to cold sores, take any antiviral treatment your GP or pharmacist has advised
For around two weeks, avoid
- Picking or peeling the flakes
- Lipstick, gloss and lip products other than your balm
- Very hot, spicy or salty food for the first few days
- Sun, saunas and swimming
Once healed, an SPF lip balm helps the colour last. Sun, smoking and exfoliating lip products all fade it faster. Your second session builds the colour.
Eyeliner tattooing
Some puffiness is normal for a day or two, most noticeably in the morning, and the line looks darker and bolder than it will once healed.
Do
- Keep the area clean and dry
- Wear your glasses and leave contact lenses out for a few days
Until healed, avoid
- Eye makeup, including mascara
- Rubbing your eyes
- Lash extensions, lash lifts and tints
- Swimming, saunas and steam rooms
Your second session, 6 to 12 weeks later, fills any gaps and perfects the line.
Beauty spots and freckles
Freckles look darker and a little raised for a few days, then tiny flakes lift away.
Do
- Keep the area clean and dry
- Let any flakes lift away on their own
Until healed, avoid
- Makeup on the area
- Sun, saunas and swimming
Once healed, a daily SPF keeps the colour at its best.
Colour boosts
A colour boost heals like your original treatment, and usually more quickly and easily, as there's less to do. Follow the aftercare for brows, lips or eyeliner.
Laser tattoo removal
The area may be red, raised or lightly blistered for a few days, and can feel like mild sunburn.
Do
- Keep the area clean and covered for the first few days
- Keep it out of the sun
- Let any scabs or blisters heal on their own
Until healed, avoid
- Picking, scratching or popping blisters
- Hot baths, saunas and swimming
- Sunbeds and fake tan
Following your aftercare, and not picking, is the best way to protect your skin between sessions.
Saline tattoo removal
A light scab forms as the pigment lifts. That's how the pigment leaves the skin, so it's important to let it fall away naturally.
Do
- Keep the area clean and dry
- Let the scab form and fall away on its own
Until healed, avoid
- Picking or scratching the scab
- Makeup on the area
- Sun, saunas and swimming
Laser hair removal
The skin can be a little red and warm for a few hours. Treated hairs shed over the following weeks.
Do
- Keep the area out of the sun and wear SPF
- Shave between sessions if you need to
For a day or two, avoid
- Heat: hot baths, saunas, steam rooms and heavy exercise
- Perfumed products and deodorant on the treated area
Between sessions, avoid
- Waxing, plucking, threading and epilating, as the laser needs the hair root in place
- Sunbathing, sunbeds and fake tan
Pigmentation removal
Treated spots darken first. Around five days after treatment the darkened pigment starts to flake away on its own, leaving lighter skin underneath.
Do
- Keep the area moisturised
- Wear SPF 50 every day, even when it's cloudy
Until healed, avoid
- Picking or scrubbing the flakes
- Sun, sunbeds and fake tan
Without sun protection new spots can form, so SPF is part of the treatment.
Brow treatments
For lamination, hybrid brows and tints.
For the first 24 hours, avoid
- Getting your brows wet
- Makeup on the brows
- Steam rooms, saunas and heavy exercise
Afterwards
- Brush laminated brows into place each day, and a brow gel or conditioning serum helps keep the shape
- Use a gentle cleanser around tinted or hybrid brows: oily skin, exfoliating skincare and regular swimming fade the tint faster
Lash treatments
For lash lifts and tints.
For the first 24 hours, avoid
- Getting your lashes wet
- Mascara
- Steam rooms and saunas
- Rubbing your eyes
Afterwards
- If you wear mascara, a gentle, water-based mascara and remover are kindest to the lift
- Leave at least six weeks between lifts so your lashes stay healthy
Waxing
For 48 hours, avoid
- Heat, the sun and swimming
- Tight clothing over the area
- Perfumed products
Afterwards
- Gently exfoliate the area two or three times a week, starting 48 hours after your wax
- Moisturise daily to help prevent ingrown hairs