Photoelectric therapy plays an increasingly important role in the field of skin beauty due to its advantages of low trauma, high safety, and short recovery period. However, the skin will appear dry, erythema, edema, heat sensation and other reactions after treatment, which also affect the patient's experience and treatment effect to a certain extent. However, it is also common for the skin to appear dry, red, swollen, and hot after treatment. What exactly causes these reactions, and how to deal with them correctly?

The application of photoelectric technology in the medical field is mainly based on the principle of photothermal or electrothermal effect, which will cause different degrees of thermal damage to skin tissue during treatment. These treatments act on the skin layers through different wavelengths and heat energy, thereby improving the texture, color and sensory aspects of the skin.

Depending on the degree of trauma during the treatment process, photoelectric treatment can be divided into invasive, minimally invasive and non-invasive treatments. For example, invasive treatments such as ablative lasers (CO2 lasers, Er:YAG lasers) destroy the target area through selective photothermal effects without damaging surrounding tissues; minimally invasive treatments include non-ablative lasers and radiofrequency technologies, which selectively act on the dermis to avoid damage to the epidermis.

 Photoelectric treatments based on the principles of selective photothermal effect, focal photothermal effect, radiofrequency thermal effect, etc. will cause changes in skin structure or function, thereby damaging the skin barrier, which may lead to damage to skin integrity, changes in skin structure, changes in cell function, and then short-term dryness, erythema, edema, increased sensitivity and infection. At the same time, factors such as overtreatment, too short treatment intervals, too high frequency, overly aggressive parameters, operational errors, individual differences in patients, and improper post-treatment care may cause the barrier to be damaged beyond expectations and prolong recovery time.  

The main adverse reactions after photoelectric surgery are:

1. Dryness

The barrier function of the skin mainly depends on the keratinocytes and intercellular lipids in the epidermis, which include ceramide, free fatty acids and cholesterol. Photoelectric therapy will destroy the lipid components in the sebum membrane, such as linoleic acid and linolenic acid, and will also damage the structural lipids of the stratum corneum, causing changes in its structure, stacking order and lipid metabolism enzyme activity. This reduces the anti-inflammatory and protective functions of the sebum membrane, reduces intercellular lipid synthesis and functional disorders, and destroys the "brick wall structure" of the skin barrier, and the skin's moisturizing ability decreases, resulting in dryness symptoms.

2. Erythema, edema, and heat

The photothermal effect can cause dilation, congestion, and increased permeability of skin capillaries, triggering an inflammatory response in the surrounding tissues, affecting the skin's microcirculation and immune barrier function. This inflammatory response is particularly evident after ablative laser surgery, manifested as skin erythema and edema. Heat sensation usually occurs simultaneously with redness and swelling. For example, after laser freckle removal, patients will immediately feel redness and swelling in the treated area, and feel hot when touched. This is because the photothermal energy is converted into heat energy in the skin tissue, which increases the local temperature and stimulates the nerve endings to produce a sense of heat.

Appropriate postoperative care can minimize the patient's symptoms of postoperative dryness, erythema, edema, etc., accelerate wound healing, and maximize the photoelectric effect.

1. Ice compress 

For treatments that do not require heat accumulation, such as fractional laser, 595nm pulse dye laser, etc., appropriate cooling immediately after surgery can effectively relieve thermal damage, accelerate skin repair, and improve laser efficacy. Ice packs, cold sprayers, contact refrigeration equipment, cold air blowers, etc. can be used to quickly cool down the surgical area, reduce continuous thermal damage to the skin, and prevent symptoms such as bleeding, edema, and pain after surgery. However, it should be noted that some skin lesions that require heat accumulation for treatment do not need to be cooled immediately after surgery to avoid affecting the treatment effect.

2. Moisturizing

Dryness is one of the common symptoms after surgery. If the skin is not replenished with moisture in time, it will aggravate barrier damage, increase skin sensitivity, and reduce skin repair ability. It is recommended to apply medical dressings for 3-7 consecutive days to reduce adverse reactions such as redness, itching, fever, and inflammation caused by surgery, accelerate the healing of postoperative wounds, and prevent pigmentation. In addition, the use of moisturizing cream can also accelerate barrier repair and enhance the structural and functional integrity of the barrier. For patients with more severe edema, moisturizing cream and dressings can be stored in the refrigerator before use to help soothe the skin.

3. Strict sun protection

The skin after laser cosmetic surgery is in a highly sensitive period. After being stimulated by ultraviolet rays, basal melanocytes may produce a large amount of melanin, resulting in postoperative skin pigmentation. Therefore, strict sun protection is required after surgery to avoid direct sunlight. When going out, high-multiple sunscreen should be applied, and protective equipment such as sun hats and sun glasses should be worn to reduce the damage of ultraviolet rays to the skin.

4. Prevent infection

If the patient develops an infection after surgery, antiviral drugs or anti-inflammatory ointments should be appropriately added according to the patient's condition for a period of one week until the wound naturally scabs and falls off. If the wound surface is bleeding, red, swollen, and infected, it is necessary to return for a follow-up visit immediately for timely treatment to prevent the infection from worsening and affecting the recovery of the skin.

①The core goal of postoperative photoelectric repair is to quickly restore the skin's barrier function, while minimizing complications and adverse reactions such as erythema, edema, scars, pigmentation, and depigmentation, and on this basis, maintain or even improve the effects of photoelectric treatment in anti-aging and skin rejuvenation.

②Reducing inflammatory reactions, promoting inflammatory recovery, and reducing adverse reactions after treatment are the consensus of postoperative care. Through reasonable nursing measures, postoperative symptoms can be effectively alleviated and rapid skin repair can be promoted.

③ Generally speaking, erythema and edema caused by non-ablative laser are common and short-lived, usually lasting 24 to 48 hours. During this period, patients should closely observe the skin condition and follow the doctor's advice for care.

④ According to the physiological changes in the skin repair process after treatment, the conventional care methods are refined and optimized to better guide postoperative care for better care effects. For example, according to the different stages of skin barrier recovery, adjust the ingredients and frequency of use of moisturizing products, or when the skin is more sensitive, give priority to mild and non-irritating care products, etc.

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Foremed Legend

The core founding team of Suzhou Foremed Legend Medical Technology Co., Ltd. comes from well-known universities at home and abroad such as Peking University. Foremed Legend focuses on the design, research and development and application of high-end medical beauty optoelectronic equipment based on compliance and product strength, and is committed to becoming a leading enterprise in the field of high-end medical beauty optoelectronic equipment in the world, a provider of integrated intelligent solutions for diagnosis and treatment, and a pioneer of medical beauty data integration platform.

Through tackling a series of underlying key technologies, Foremed Legend has now independently developed a number of high-end medical equipment such as picosecond laser therapy devices, long pulse laser therapy devices, intense pulsed light therapy devices, photoacoustic imaging skin detection devices and cold air therapy devices, and continues to deepen the research and development of core product technologies, using better technical solutions to benefit the vast number of beauty seekers.

Adhering to the principle of using technology for good, Foremed Legend will work with industry and ecological partners to bring more safe and effective medical beauty optoelectronic equipment and integrated diagnosis and treatment solutions to the global medical beauty market.