How to prepare your skin for an autumn course
September is the best moment of the year for stronger treatments. Three weeks of preparation decide how the skin copes.
From October to March the skin is no longer exposed to strong sun, and that is the only window in the year for medium-depth peels, retinoid therapy and lasers. But a treatment performed on unprepared skin gives a weaker result and carries a higher risk of irritation. Here is what to do in the three weeks before you start.
Three weeks before
Stop experimenting. This is not the moment to introduce three new products at once — if the skin reacts, you will not know to what. Keep what works and add nothing.
Two weeks before
Introduce a priming product if your cosmetologist recommended one. Usually that is a low concentration of an acid or a brightening ingredient, applied every other evening. The job of this stage is to accustom the skin, not yet to change it.
One week before
- Stop retinol and strong acids.
- No waxing in the area to be treated.
- Do not schedule around your period if that is when you are more sensitive.
- No sun — including sunbeds and through a car window.
The day before
Moisturise and nothing else. No exfoliating masks, no brushes, no hot baths. The skin should arrive calm and intact.
What not to do throughout
Do not start a course right before an important event. The most common mistake we see: a first strong treatment two weeks before a wedding. Even if everything goes well, you will spend the fortnight anxious, and that serves nobody.
Do not start a series if you know the next three months leave no room for regular visits either. A course abandoned halfway is money spent without a result — better to push the start back a month than to drop out after the second session.
When to come for a consultation
August or early September is ideal. That leaves time to prepare the skin and to lay out the series so it closes before the spring sun.