Amirova Beauty Atelier · Sydney
After microneedling: what to use, what to avoid, and when to go back to normal.
You were told not to put anything active on your skin for a week. This is what our cosmetic nurse sends patients home with instead, day by day. It applies whether you had your treatment with us or somewhere else.
- Written by a registered nurse
- Microneedling, RF needling, Morpheus8, peels
- Nothing active until day 7
First, the question everyone asks
Is this normal?
For most people the first three days look and feel like this. If yours does, you are on track.
- Day 1: Red and warm, similar to a sunburn. Sometimes a few small pinpoint marks or bumps.
- Day 2 to 3: The redness settles. Skin feels tight and dry, and may start to flake.
- Day 3 to 5: Light peeling or flaking, then it calms down.
- By day 7: Most people are back to their normal skin, ready to bring actives back in.
Everyone's skin is different, and RF needling can run a day or two longer. If something is getting worse instead of better after 72 hours, feels hot, or you are worried, call the clinic that treated you.
The guide
What to use, day by day.
Four steps. Cleanse, treat, recover, protect. The products are the ones in our kit, but the steps work with anything gentle, fragrance-free and active-free.
Treatment day
Day 0: leave it alone.
- EveningIf you cleanse, do it with cool water and fingertips only. Then a thin layer of recovery balm. Nothing else.
Avoid: makeup, exercise, saunas, pools, hot showers on the face, touching or picking.
Days 1 to 6
The recovery routine, morning and night.
- CleanseA gentle, non-foaming cleanser. Lukewarm water, pat dry with a clean towel.
- TreatThe post-procedure ampoule. This is the one thing that is designed for freshly treated skin, and the reason "no actives" does not have to mean "nothing".
- RecoverRecovery balm over the top, a thin layer. Reapply during the day if the skin feels tight.
- ProtectMorning only: a mineral SPF 50. Every day, even indoors near windows. This is the step people skip and regret.
Avoid until day 7: vitamin C, retinol, AHAs, BHAs, exfoliants of any kind, clay masks, fragranced products, and anything that tingles. Avoid until day 2: makeup. When you do go back to it, mineral only for the first week.
Day 7 onward
Bring your routine back, one product at a time.
- AddYour antioxidant serum in the morning, under SPF. In our kit that is Pro-Heal. Give it three days before you add the next thing.
- ThenRetinol or exfoliants from around day 10 to 14, starting at half your usual frequency.
- KeepThe SPF. Permanently.
Why "no actives" is only half the instruction.
For the first week the surface of your skin is more sensitive than usual, which is why the aftercare sheet rules out vitamin C, retinol and acids. Fair enough. But sensitive skin still needs to be kept clean, comfortable, and out of the sun, and most sheets stop before they tell you how.
That gap is why people end up googling on day three, or putting their normal serum back on because nobody said what to use instead. The fix is not complicated. It is four gentle steps and a calendar.
The kit
This is what our nurse sends patients home with.
“I got tired of handing people a list of things not to use. So I put the things to use in a box, with the days written on it.”
Sofia, registered nurse and founder, Amirova Beauty Atelier
Cleanse: iS Clinical Cleansing Complex
Gentle, non-foaming, no fragrance. Travel size, enough for the two weeks.
Treat: Biopelle Tensage
The post-procedure ampoule. Designed for skin that has just been treated.
Recover: iS Clinical SHEALD Recovery Balm
The barrier step. Thin layer, morning and night, and whenever the skin feels tight.
Protect: SPF 50
Mineral SPF made for post-procedure skin. Morning, every day.
Day 7+: iS Clinical Pro-Heal Serum (travel size)
Your first active back in. Not before day 7. The guide tells you when.
The printed day-by-day guide
The page you just read, in the box, with a tick-off calendar.
The Recovery Kit
Having your treatment with us? Tell us at booking and we will have the kit ready to take home.
Had your treatment somewhere else?
That is fine. The recovery routine is the same whether it was microneedling, RF needling, Morpheus8 or a medium peel, and whether it was here or across town. The kit and the guide work the same.
If you would rather talk to someone before you buy anything, our nurses do a free 15-minute call. You can ask if what you are seeing is normal, what to use from what you already own, or nothing at all about the kit. Advice when you ask for it. Never a push.
If something in the kit does not suit your skin, we swap it.
Tell us within 30 days and we will exchange it for the equivalent product, no questions. The only thing worse than not knowing what to use is being stuck with something that stings.
- Registered nurses
- Real clinic, Sydney
- Authorised stockist
- Australia-wide shipping
Not ready yet? Take the guide with you.
We will email the day-by-day guide as a PDF, plus a reminder on day 7 when it is time to bring your actives back in. Nothing else.
Questions people ask on day two.
Can I use my vitamin C serum? It is a good one.
Not yet. Good or not, vitamin C is an active and the first week is not the time. Day 7 is when it comes back, and the guide tells you how.
My skin is flaking. Should I exfoliate?
No. Flaking is part of the recovery period and it comes away on its own. Recovery balm, more often, and leave it alone.
When can I wear makeup?
From day 2 for most people, mineral only for the first week. If your clinic said otherwise, follow them.
Does this work after RF needling or Morpheus8?
Yes. The routine is the same; the recovery period can run a day or two longer. Same for medium-depth peels.
Is the Tensage ampoule an "active"? I was told no actives.
It is a post-procedure product, made for exactly this window. It is the one thing in the kit that is meant to go on freshly treated skin. If you have been told by your clinician to use nothing at all, follow them.
I already own a gentle cleanser and an SPF. Do I need the whole kit?
You might not. The two things people usually do not own are the post-procedure ampoule and the recovery balm. Call us and we will tell you honestly, or buy those two on their own.
Do you ship outside Sydney?
REPLACE ME with the shipping policy summary before launch. Do not publish this page while the shipping policy says to be updated.
This page describes general aftercare and what our clinic recommends to its own patients. It does not replace the instructions from the clinician who treated you. If you are concerned about how your skin is recovering, contact them or your GP.