Aftercare after a facial skin treatment
A general aftercare map for peels, microdermabrasion and similar clinic visits — products to pause, sun, and when the clinic sheet beats a website.
By the Anti Wrinkle Brisbane editors · Published 17 June 2025 · Updated 8 September 2026
South Bank Parklands, Brisbane 03 by Kgbo. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons file page. Also listed on the image credits page.
Aftercare is where good consultations become ordinary evenings. This hub exists because generic lists forget Queensland heat and because the old clinic site sent people back into Stanley Street sun.
The sheet in your hand is the primary source
Whatever was applied or abraded changes the next 48 hours. If you cannot read the sheet, ask for another copy before you leave. Questions to ask before a facial procedure should have included this.
Pause the extras
Retinoids, home acids, scrubs and new “soothing” oils are the usual pile-up. Everyday exfoliation versus clinic treatments explains why.
Sun is not a vibe
Treated skin can burn more easily. Hats, shade and a sunscreen your clinician is happy with are the job. Queensland sunscreen and UV.
Water, sweat and the river
South Bank looks like aftercare. It may be heat and bacteria in a swimsuit. Ask about swimming. Heat, exercise and travel after a clinic visit covers the rest of the diary.
Infection hygiene
Clean hands, clean pillowcases, no picking flakes. If you were given an antiviral or other medicine, that is a prescription conversation with your practitioner, not with this website.
When to phone
Pain that is escalating, pus, fever, or a visual change that frightens you: bruising, swelling and when to seek help. After hours, use the number you were given or urgent care.
What we will not call a “healing glow”
Colour changes are not testimonials. We will not narrate a stranger’s day three. If a clinic’s SMS asks you for a photo for their grid, you can refuse.
Questions readers ask
Whose instructions win if this page disagrees with my clinic?
The clinic’s written sheet, because they know what was done. This page is background for Brisbane readers, not a protocol.
Can I wear makeup the same day?
Sometimes you will be asked to wait. Makeup can sting and can introduce other products. Ask before you leave the building.
What does “bland care” mean?
A simple moisturiser and cleanser without new acids, fragrance experiments or leftover holiday scrubs. If water stings, simplify further and call the clinic if you were told to.
Is swelling always a problem?
Mild swelling can be expected after some treatments. Sudden pain, spreading redness or feeling unwell is a different story — see the bruising and swelling article.
Image credit for this article is also collected on the credits page. Corrections go through the contact form.
Keep reading
Heat, exercise and travel after a clinic visit
Why Brisbane summers, gyms, saunas and airport queues belong in the aftercare conversation, and which questions to ask before you book the procedure next to a holiday.
Bruising, swelling and when to seek help
How to tell ordinary post-treatment colour change from symptoms that need a clinic call or urgent care, written without case stories or promised timelines.
Reporting concerns about a practitioner
Where Australians can take a concern about cosmetic care or advertising — the provider first, AHPRA, the TGA, and health complaints bodies — without turning this page into a case file.