The short answer
Pico laser can be used in three ways, and each leaves the skin a little differently. Your care follows the mode used. The written aftercare given before you leave takes priority over this page.
Early changes are healing, not the final result. Pigment clears over the following weeks, and how much it clears varies.
Pico laser aftercare by mode
| Mode | What is normal | Your main job |
|---|---|---|
| Toning | Redness and warmth that settle over hours | Keep skin cool and protected |
| Spot treatment | The mark darkens and crusts, and skin beneath may stay pink for a while | Let it crust and flake by itself |
| Fractional | Pinpoint redness, mild swelling, rough texture, sometimes a bronzed look, mild itching | Cleanse gently and moisturise while redness settles |
In the first 24 hours
During the first week
Do not pick them. Let them shed in the shower and on the pillow.
No scrubs, cleansing brushes, peels, retinoids or exfoliating acids until the surface is intact and no longer pink.
Avoid facials, extractions, microneedling, and other laser or light treatments over the same area.
Do not swim while there is any crusting.
Ask the clinic when to restart hydroquinone or tretinoin.
Do not treat it with stronger brightening products.
Sun, make-up, exercise and sleep
| Topic | What to do |
|---|---|
| Sun | Broad-spectrum sunscreen every morning, reapplied outdoors. Wear a hat and keep to shade at midday. Avoid deliberate tanning. |
| Melasma | If melasma is part of the plan, use a tinted sunscreen with iron oxides. |
| Make-up | After toning, once skin is calm, usually the next day. After spot or fractional treatment, once the surface has closed and crusts are gone. |
| Exercise | Light exercise and walking from the next day. Leave hard exercise, hot classes and heavy sweating for a few days. |
| Sleep | Lie face-up on a clean pillowcase while crusts are present. |
What is not normal
Thick, yellow or oozing crusts, any blister, or a cold sore near the treated area.
Pain, swelling or warmth that increases instead of settling, or spreading redness.
A treated spot healing noticeably darker or paler than the skin around it.
New dark patches weeks later, especially over the cheeks. This is likely post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which is reviewed, not treated over.
A raised, firm or thickened area where a spot was treated.
Pale, mottled spots, which are a separate problem.
Who needs extra care, and what it cannot do
Fitzpatrick III to V skin needs extra care, as inflammation can drive pigment. In Asian skin, settings and sun carry more weight than the device name. Melasma is managed as a longer plan. Heat, alcohol or sun during recovery, or energy too high for your skin type, add to the risk. Pico laser breaks up existing pigment but does nothing about why the skin produced it, which is why melasma tends to return. Toning does not run on an open-ended schedule. See what pico laser cannot do for more.
Review, and treatment elsewhere
Dr Sin Yong examines the area in good light, with a dermatoscope where needed, compares your photographs and asks about sun exposure. The next step is decided then. It may be a further pass, a different wavelength, topical therapy or more time. Any fee is set out in writing. If you were treated elsewhere, contact that clinic or another doctor rather than adding products, and bring the device name, mode, wavelength if known, and date. For concerns about your own treatment, please contact the clinic.