Sun tanning after laser

Okay!! . . . I know it is a big no-no, however, I’m trying to find out what could happen.

I am very light skinned and before I go away, I normally go to a suntan salon and tan for only a minimal amount of time each session, for about 2 weeks prior to leaving.

I have another laser treatment coming up. I only get my underarms and bikini lasered. I know I can’t tan prior to my appointment but I’m wondering what would happen if I suntan after the treatment (I let a week pass after the treatment before tanning). I’m not too concerned about the underarms since they don’t get tanned anyway, but I’m more concerned about the bikini area. I have thought about covering the area while using the tanning bed and also thought about putting a sunblock #50 on the area. However, my preference is to get an all over tan considering it would look a little strange in a bathing suit to have my legs tanned but my bikini area white.

So, even though they say not to tan, has anyone done it, and if so, what were the results.

I can’t see how tanning AFTER you get a treatment would be harmful. The tanning is seen as a no no prior to the treatments because the dark pigment is a magnet to the laser and it raises your chances for skin discoloration.

I would call the laser facility you go to and ask them.

Only tan if your skin has healed most of the way. You are taking a risk at having uneven skin tone as the areas healing (actively growing to repair) can turn darker then the surrounding skin. I say skip the tan if possible as it will take you many weeks after the tanning till you can go back in and have effective laser treatments.
If you need to look tanned then try one of those spray “mystic” tan booths. They just dye your outer layer of skin and this wears off slowly over a week or so.

Chris

You can burn and blister if you tan too soon after laser treatments! In my case, I had to wait at least 2 weeks and even after that I would use sunscreens of decreasing SPF for a few weeks. I would start at SPF 15 one weekend, then 8 the next weekend, then 4, then nothing on most of my upper body.

After both alexandrite and diode laser (Lightsheer) treatments,if I would go out in the sun for even 10-15 minutes without a sunblock, my skin felt like it was on fire. And I tan very easily and get quite dark in the summer. I did not have this problem with the Aurora at all so that is an advantage it has over the lasers. The Nd:YAG lasers may not present as much of a problem either but I have not tried that yet.

As far as tanning before laser treatments, I did start Lyra-i Nd:YAG treatments earlier (8 weeks) after I stopped tanning for the season with no adverse effects. I could never have done that with a diode or alex laser. I had to wait 12-16 weeks before I could tolerate treatment with those lasers.

One sacrifice I made with the laser treatments was less suntanning time. I miss those fall and spring trips to the Bahamas! But it was worth it! When I am sufficiently hair free I will go back there.

RJC2001

You have to stay away from the sun for at least 2 weeks. I had one client who didn’t listen to me, and came back complaining about the dark spots all over treatment area. It may take around 1 month to desapear, so I would recommend against it.