Chin Laser Hair Removal Blisters. Will They Go Away? How Should I Treat? (photo)

Question

Yesterday, I went in to have my chin done by Laser Hair Removal. Never had problems before, but yesterday, which was my 5th time and it hurt so bad. Then about 10 minutes later I looked at my chin and it had a huge blister forming immediately ... and now today the blister, which has popped, is trying to heal, but now my whole chin and half throat area is swollen. Will this go away? How do I treat it? Im actually starting to get more worried about the swollen chin over the blister. :(

Leyda Elizabeth Bowes, MD · Answer

You may apply an antibiotic ointment (mupirocin preferred) and a mild steroid cream twice daily for 10 to 14 days. Do not remove the roof of the blisters; they act as a natural band aid. You should keep them covered. After two weeks, ask your doctor about possibly using Biafine cream, a healing cream, twice daily for another two weeks. Throughout all this time, please follow strict sun avoidance of the area, in order to prevent darkening of the skin. Although this is an unwanted event after laser hair removal, it should heal completely and your skin will be restored to its normal state.

Mitchell Schwartz, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

Potential risks of laser hair removal include burns even when optimal laser treatment parameters are used. This can lead to temporary or even permanent hypo-pigmentation or hyper-pigmentation. To help prevent this, my recommendations for treatment of burns in the skin are as follows:
	1. Keep the areas clean by washing with a mild soap twice daily.
	2. If there is blistering, relieve the pressure and hasten healing time by gently popping all blisters using a sterile needle or pin at the side of the blister. This should be a painless procedure. Do not remove the roof of the blister but allow it to settle down so it is flush with the skin. The blister roof will then form a protective cover.
	3. Apply Aquaphor Healing Ointment (available without a prescription) to all involved areas to keep them "greasy". The greasier the area is, the faster it will heal. The drier and scabbier the area gets, the slower it will heal.
	4. Permanent scarring is unlikely but you have to guard against post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation by constant protection from the sun for these areas such as using protective clothing as well as broad spectrum sunscreens.
	5. Make certain you are under a doctor's care and watch for signs of infection so that oral antibiotics can be started as soon as possible if necessary.

F. Victor Rueckl, MD (in memoriam) · Answer

First, contact the office where you had this done - I sincerely hope a physician is there - and make sure they know your treatment was done at too high of a setting and you have this burn and swelling. If there is a physician, please ask to go in asap and get a prescription for a betamethasone ointment, which helps alleviate burns. If there isn't a physician (which is not good), then you'll have to do postcare at home and hope for the best. First, do not rub or pick or scrub the area. Only lightly wash it with a mild soap like Dove. Do not pick at or pull on blisters or skin. Keep the area very moist - apply either hydrocortisone 1% (available for a few dollars at any pharmacy) or Aquaphor religiously. You can keep the area covered with a band-aid if you'd like. If you do go out in the sun, make sure you apply sunscreen liberally because sunburning a laser burn is very dangerous. For the swelling, you can try an OTC antihistamine, that usually helps, and ice packs. And finally, as the area heals, you may have hyper (darker) or hypo (lighter) skin there (hopefully not) in which case you may need additional prescription products or treatments done.

Chin Laser Hair Removal Blisters. Will They Go Away? How Should I Treat? (photo)

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