HALO™ Hybrid Fractional Laser | Downtime

-by Priscilla Di Vincenzo, MSN, APRN, FNP-C

HALO™ is one of the most popular lasers in the cosmetic industry right now. It’s known for its ability to improve fine lines and wrinkles, reduce pore size, even out texture and discoloration, and produce a glowing complexion! We often get asked about the recovery or downtime for a laser like this that has so many possibilities.

What Is the Recovery After a HALO Treatment?

We usually tell patients the recovery after a HALO treatment is about 5 to 7 days. This downtime doesn’t mean you can’t run your typical errands or go to work. What it means is that you probably won’t want to sign up for family pictures or attend major events where you have to look your best. Here’s what you can expect as far as recovery:

• Day One: Redness, swelling, and irritation. Typically, an hour or two after treatment is the most uncomfortable for patients due to the heat buildup in the skin. This is comparable to feeling like you got a pretty bad sunburn. After this feeling subsides, the rest of the week usually flies by.

• Days Two and Three: Both days are the same, with continued redness and swelling. The swelling may be the worst around the eyes these days. Many patients usually feel presentable enough to go back to work around day three.

• Day Four: Skin peppering! This means that your skin looks like it has black pepper seasoning or coffee grounds on the surface. This is actually your dead skin tissue starting to make its way to the surface as it prepares to fall off, in order to make room for the glowing skin that’s waiting to peek through. At this point, your skin will feel very sand-papery and dry.

• Day Five: The black peppering on the skin’s surface will start to slowly fall or flake off, or peel away. During this time, it may look like you have a bronzed glow to your skin with all the tiny dark spots. The sandpaper feeling will start to improve.

• Day Six: Continued flaking off of the dead skin cells will start to get patchy in some areas. You may have some stubborn areas of the peppering, especially on the outskirts of the face, but at this point the majority has usually fallen off.

• Day Seven: This is your time to glow! HALO is known to produce a reflective appearance to the skin. Typically, patients feel that on this day their skin is softer and refreshed. Sometimes a rosy color is present on the skin at about a week out, but this is the day where your skin starts to shine!

Throughout this week of downtime, we provide a custom skin care kit that goes along with each day of recovery. The products help to keep your skin moisturized and speed up the recovery process.

If you are interested in learning more about this treatment, give our office a call! Get ready to glow with HALO. We promise, the week of downtime is worth it!