Aftercare guide

After microneedling: what to use, what to avoid, and when to go back to normal.

The routine our nurses give patients for the seven days after microneedling, RF needling or Morpheus8. Day by day, product by product, whether you were treated with us or somewhere else.

Placeholder caption. Replace with the day 1 / day 3 / day 7 recovery sequence when photographed.
Sofia Amirova

Written by Sofia Amirova, Registered Nurse

Clinic protocol, reviewed September 2026· 7 minute read

Amirova is a clinic and a store. We sell the kit named on this page. The routine is here in full whether you buy it or not.

The evening after

You were told what not to use. Nobody said what to use.

Day three. Your face is tight, a bit pink, and starting to flake at the edges of your nose. The sheet from the clinic says no actives for a week and not much else. It is 11pm and you are typing "is this normal" into your phone.

That is the moment this page is written for. Most aftercare sheets stop at the list of things to avoid, so people either put nothing on freshly treated skin for a week, or put their normal serum back on because nobody said not to. One of those stings. The other one burns.

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.

Why the usual fixes fail

What people try on day three, and why it does not work

None of these are stupid. They are what you do when the only instruction you were given was a list of things to stop.

01

The aftercare sheet

It tells you what to stop. It does not tell you what to put on skin that feels like sandpaper, so you are left guessing, at exactly the moment guessing is expensive.

02

Reddit at midnight

The consensus is right (strip it back, hydrate, SPF) but nobody can tell you which products are safe on open skin, or which day to start.

03

Your usual gentle serum

"Gentle" on normal skin is not gentle on treated skin. Fragrance, low pH and anything that tingles goes deeper than it should for the first week.

04

Nothing at all

The safest-sounding option. The barrier is open, water is leaving faster than usual, and dry, tight skin heals slower and flakes harder.

The root cause

For seven days, the barrier is open.

Microneedling works by making thousands of controlled micro-channels in the skin. That is the point of the treatment. It also means that for the first days the skin's barrier is open: water leaves faster than usual, and anything you apply travels deeper than it normally would.

So "no actives" is the right instruction and only half of it. Skin with an open barrier still needs to be kept clean, kept comfortable, kept out of the sun, and given the one thing that helps it close: water held in, not pulled out. The fix is not complicated. It is four gentle steps and a calendar.

The routine

Four steps, day by day.

Cleanse, treat, recover, protect. The products named are the ones in our kit; the steps work with anything gentle, fragrance-free and active-free.

  1. Day 0

    Treatment day: leave it alone.

    Evening. If 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.

    UseRecovery balm

  2. Days 1 to 6

    The recovery routine, morning and night.

    Cleanse. A gentle, non-foaming cleanser. Lukewarm water, pat dry with a clean towel.

    Treat. The 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".

    Recover. Recovery balm over the top, a thin layer. Reapply during the day if the skin feels tight.

    Protect. Morning only: a mineral SPF 50. Every day, even indoors near windows. This is the step people skip and regret.

    UseCleanser, ampoule, recovery balm, mineral SPF

  3. Day 7 onward

    Bring your routine back, one product at a time.

    Add. Your antioxidant serum in the morning, under SPF. In our kit that is Pro-Heal. Give it three days before you add the next thing.

    Then. Retinol or exfoliants from around day 10 to 14, starting at half your usual frequency.

    Keep. The SPF. Permanently.

    UsePro-Heal, then your routine

The kit

This is the routine above, in a box, in order.

Four products and a printed calendar, with the first active back in as a gift on day seven. Or use your own; the routine is the point.

See the kit $205.00

The other half

What to stop, and what to use instead

You were told what not to use. This is the rest of that sentence.

Stop until day 7

  • Vitamin C, retinol, AHAs, BHAsActives. Day 7 is when they come back, one at a time.
  • Exfoliants of any kind, clay masksFlaking comes away on its own. Scrubbing it opens the skin again.
  • Fragranced products, anything that tinglesTingling on treated skin is irritation, not "working".
  • Makeup until day 2, then mineral onlyGive the channels 48 hours to close. Mineral for the first week.
  • Exercise, saunas, pools, hot showers on the faceHeat and sweat on day 0 and 1. Back from day 2.

Use instead

  • A gentle, non-foaming cleanserLukewarm water, fingertips, pat dry.
  • The post-procedure ampouleMade for freshly treated skin. The one thing that goes on day 1.
  • Recovery balm, thin, morning and nightHolds water in while the barrier closes. More often if tight.
  • Mineral SPF 50, every morningZinc, not chemical filters, on healing skin. Even indoors.

General guidance from the clinic's aftercare protocol. Your nurse's instructions for your treatment come first.

Your nurse

"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 Amirova, Registered Nurse and founder, Amirova Beauty Atelier, Neutral Bay. Every product on this page had to earn its place on her own patients before it earned a place in the box.

  • AHPRA registered
  • 15+ years experience
  • Award-winning clinic

In the box

What each product is for, and when

The honest version of "what is in the kit": one job per product, the day it starts, and the day it stops.

Tensage Intensive Serum 40Step 1

Tensage Intensive Serum 40

Treat. The post-procedure ampoule, the one thing in the kit made to go on freshly treated skin.

WhenAM and PM, days 1 to 6

Sheald Recovery BalmStep 2

Sheald Recovery Balm

Recover. The barrier step: a thin layer holds water in while the channels close.

WhenAM and PM, day 0 to 7, more often if tight

K CeuticStep 3

K Ceutic

Protect. Mineral SPF 50 made for post-procedure skin.

WhenEvery morning from day 1

Cleansing ComplexStep 4

Cleansing Complex

Cleanse. Gentle, non-foaming, no fragrance, nothing that tingles.

WhenAM and PM, days 1 to 7

Before you ask

The questions we get on day three

Do I have to buy the kit to follow this?

No. The routine is on this page in full, and it works with any gentle, fragrance-free, active-free cleanser, barrier balm and mineral SPF you already own. The kit is the version we send our own patients home with, in the sizes for seven days, with the calendar in the box.

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 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 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 meant to go on freshly treated skin. If your clinician said to use nothing at all, follow them.

I was treated somewhere else. Can I still call?

Yes. A free 15-minute call with one of our nurses is open to anyone in their first week, whoever treated you. REPLACE with the booking link before launch.

The kit

Microneedling Aftercare Kit

Everything above, in the sizes for seven days. Launch price $205: about $29 a day for the week that decides your result, and less than the five bought separately.

Microneedling Aftercare Kit

What's included

  1. Tensage Intensive Serum 40

    Tensage Intensive Serum 40

    $45.00
  2. Sheald Recovery Balm

    Sheald Recovery Balm · 15g

    $44.00
  3. K Ceutic

    K Ceutic

    $90.00
  4. Cleansing Complex

    Cleansing Complex · 60ml

    $44.00
  5. Pro-Heal Serum Advance+ Trial Size

    Pro-Heal Serum Advance+ Trial Size

    Included free with the kit

    Free gift$20.00
Included with the kitFree shipping Australia wide$10Free Pro-Heal serum sample, from day 7$20Free printed day-by-day guideNurse check-in on day three
Kit price $205.00$243.00 bought separately
Buy the kit, free shipping

Launch price. Same-day pickup at Neutral Bay.

Wrong for your skin? We swap it

Tell us within 30 days and we exchange it for the equivalent product, no questions. And a nurse checks in on day three, when the flaking starts and the questions do.

Having your treatment with us? Tell us at booking and we will have the kit ready to take home.

Take it with you

The day-by-day guide, as a printable PDF

One page, tick-off calendar, stuck to the bathroom mirror. We email it straight away.

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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 your skin is getting worse instead of better after 72 hours, feels hot, or you are worried, contact them or your GP.