You don’t have to love winter to acknowledge that the season does come with some unique perks. Icy roads that excuse you from the work commute, awards shows, cheap flights to islands.… But perhaps the best perk of all is that the winter months are the ideal time to get in all your beauty treatments.
While you can certainly do, say, laser hair removal or CoolSculpting during the summer, the procedures might not be as effective or produce your desired results in time for that beach vacation or August wedding. “I do perform these treatments year-round, but the biggest downside of receiving them in the summer is that you may not be able to receive a treatment at the most effective settings or may not experience optimal results,” says Dr. Sejal Shah, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. Additionally, “there is potentially a higher risk of complications—especially if you have a tan and are being treated with lasers that target pigment—and if your goal is to see results by summertime, you may not see them if you start the treatment in summer.”
Below, experts weigh in on the six treatments you should book as soon as possible—because 80°F weather will be here before you know it.
Laser hair removal
Many people begin to think about laser hair removal when the weather gets warm, but the ideal time to begin this process is in the winter—when melanin production is slower. Laser hair removal is a treatment that uses controlled light energy to destroy the hair follicle, and it works best on people with light skin and dark hair, since the contrast makes it easier for the laser to find the pigment. Because these pigmented cells absorb the light energy, it’s crucial not to have any sun exposure in order for the treatment to be successful—the more pigmented (or tan) your skin is, the harder it is for the light energy to find the hair follicle, resulting in a less effective treatment and an increased risk of complications (like burns).
“I recommend a series of four to six treatments, at four- to six-week intervals, for optimal results,” says Dr. Dianne Quibell, a board-certified physician in Wellesley, Massachusetts. “Hair naturally grows in three different stages, with some growth cycles longer than others, so it’s best to start in the winter and expect [to wait] approximately six months until you’re completely razor-free.”
In terms of downtime with laser hair removal—which typically costs an average of $875—it really depends on how much hair you have. Most patients see a reduction in redness/bumps within hours, with 24 hours post-treatment being the maximum, according to Dr. Quibell. Avoid hot yoga, hot tubs, vigorous exercise, or any other activities that will bring unwanted heat to the treated area in the days following treatment, to avoid skin irritation.
Related: Your Guide to Safe and Effective Hair Removal Lasers for Fair, Medium, and Deep Skin Tones
Chemical peels
Chemical peels are also best administered during the colder months, because patients are less likely to be spending time outside, exposed to the sun. Chemical peels use a combination of acids to exfoliate the skin, causing the outermost layer to shed in order to reveal smooth, healthy skin underneath. “They can also improve the appearance of sun damage, so it’s important to protect the new, more sensitive skin post-treatment, which means avoiding any sun exposure,” says Dr. Marguerite Germain, a board-certified dermatologist in Charleston, South Carolina. Skin is sensitive post-peel, and any sun exposure can be detrimental to its ability to properly heal. “Sun exposure can also redamage the skin, reversing any smoothing and even-toning effects the chemical peel might have had and allowing diminished dark sports to return,” says Dr. Germain.
Depending on the strength of the chemical peel used (there are many different peels to choose from), you’ll probably notice redness immediately afterward, and the downtime will include two to five days of visible exfoliation as the dead skin cells begin to shed. Improved tone and texture will start to become evident as the skin begins to heal, with final results showing around the three-month mark.
Intense pulsed light (IPL) and BroadBand Light (BBL) lasers
IPL and BBL are pulsed-light treatments that apply specific wavelengths to the skin to help diminish the appearance of pigmentation, veins, redness, and age spots. “These treatments target specific pigmented cells, so any excess pigmentation will skew the outcome and could even cause problems like hypopigmentation [white spots] and hyperpigmentation [dark spots],” explains Dr. Germain.
The best time to begin these laser treatments is during the winter, when your skin isn’t tanned or exposed to the sun. “IPL detects red and brown [hyperpigmentation], so it is important that your skin not be tanned when getting an IPL treatment, because as with laser hair removal, IPL may not be able to distinguish between its intended target and the surrounding normal skin—which can increase the risk of complications,” says Dr. Shah.
Not only will it be more difficult for the lasers to detect pigmentation, but it’s a bit counterproductive to get a treatment to fix sun damage during the sunniest time of the year. “Even after the treatment has healed, if patients spend time in the sun, they run the risk of allowing any sun damage that was corrected during treatment to recur from the effects of sun exposure,” says Dr. Germain.
It depends how strong the IPL or BBL treatment is, but downtime usually includes slight redness and mild swelling for a few hours to a day after treatment, similar to a mild sunburn. “However, it is possible to experience more prolonged redness for a few days, and some may notice that dark spots get darker before they lighten,” says Dr. Shah.
Fraxel and Halo lasers
Lasers like Fraxel or Halo are great resurfacing treatments that can address wrinkles, acne scars, pores, pigmentation, and overall complexion. “Ablative [lasers] impact the surface of the skin, causing the uppermost layer to peel away and reveal smoother, clearer skin beneath,” says Dr. Germain. Halo is a hybrid fractional laser that combines ablative and non-ablative wavelengths in order to simultaneously target the top layer of skin and the deeper tissue underneath. Another great option, Fraxel Dual, features two lasers with different wavelengths in one device: one targets pigmentation and sun damage, and the other goes deeper, to target wrinkles, texture, and acne scarring.
“It’s important not to have sun exposure for two weeks prior to these treatments, for best results. And, as with all the other treatments mentioned thus far, accumulating sun damage after the treatment can quash the results,” explains Dr. Germain. Treatment with Halo is customizable, so downtime depends on how aggressive a treatment the patient receives, but it generally includes a couple days of redness and three to five days of mild swelling. “Fraxel usually requires a week of social downtime, meaning patients might experience some redness, swelling, and flaking for about seven days after treatment,” says Dr. Germain.
Tattoo removal
Similar to laser hair removal and facial laser treatments, tattoo removal is most effective when your skin has a lower amount of melanin. PicoSure, a laser often used for tattoo removal, uses carefully controlled pulses of laser light to break down ink pigments in the skin, causing unwanted tattoos to fade after multiple sessions.
“Tattoo removal can technically be done in the summer, but we typically avoid it so you don’t have to cover your tattoo with a bandage during the summer months to keep the area completely untanned,” says Dr. Quibell. “We cannot treat a tanned tattoo, because it could cause permanent whitening to the skin.”
In terms of how long the process will take, it depends on the characteristics (e.g., size, color density) of the tattoo ink. “Lasers like PicoSure work at an impressive speed, but this procedure ultimately requires between six to eight treatments that must be spaced at least two months apart to allow the body to naturally eliminate the tiny, broken-down particles of ink,” says Dr. Quibell. “Following treatment, patients can expect redness or bruising under the skin for a few days. Due to the mechanical effect of the PicoSure treatment, a friction blister may occur in the surface skin, but these blisters do not scar.”
Related: CoolSculpting vs. Emsculpt: What’s The Difference?
Body contouring
While there are no downsides to receiving body contouring treatments during the summer, you won’t begin to see results for a few weeks to months later, so starting your treatment series in the winter is ideal. Whether you’re interested in trying out WarmSculpting, Emsculpt, TruSculpt ID, or CoolSculpting, each body contouring device works differently, with varying results and downtimes.
WarmSculpting with Sculpsure is a noninvasive laser body-contouring treatment to reduce areas of stubborn fat in your abdomen, flanks (the love handles), back, inner thighs, outer thighs, and submental area (double chin). The treatment uses special frames that are applied to the desired area and rotate through a heating and cooling cycle for about 25 minutes. Post-treatment, skin might be a bit red, bruised, or swollen, but that usually subsides after a few days. “For optimal results, I work with patients to develop a customized treatment plan to address those stubborn areas before summer arrives,” says Dr. Quibell. “The best part? Patients can leave the office and head straight to the gym [or] back to work or do whatever else they may have on their agenda for that day.”
Emsculpt is a 30-minute treatment that utilizes high-intensity focused electromagnetic (HIFEM) fields to cause supramaximal contractions of the muscles, therefore building muscle mass while also reducing fat. “A single Emsculpt session to the abdomen or buttocks is the equivalent of doing 20,000 sit-ups or squats, respectively,” says Dr. Shah. “There is no downtime with the treatment, but a series of four treatments over two weeks is required, for optimal results.”
truSculpt iD is a noninvasive radiofrequency treatment that destroys fat cells in the abdomen, love handles, thighs, under the chin, and upper arms. The radiofrequency energy heats up the fat cells until they’re damaged enough for the body to rid itself of them as well as mildly tightens the skin in the treated area. It’s only a 15-minute procedure with no downtime (although some experience tenderness in the area post-treatment), however, it takes about 12 weeks for patients to see results from a single session.
CoolSculpting is also a noninvasive option for addressing the abdomen, the love handles, the inner and outer thighs, bra bulge, back fat, under the butt, the upper arms, or under the chin. It works by using cryolipolysis—or freezing of fat—to kill fat cells in a targeted area. Then the body’s own metabolic process eliminates these dead cells over a period of months, allowing the treated area to become slimmer and more sculpted. “While CoolSculpting is safe and effective any time of the year, some people might prefer to have the treatment during the cooler months so that they are able to see the full results by the time summer rolls around,” explains Dr. Germain. “There is no downtime after CoolSculpting, but the treated area might be swollen and tender for about week post-treatment.”
