How long after a facelift is it safe to move forward with Clear and Brilliant laser?

Question

I have a fair amount of sun damage and I would like to have a laser reatment. It was recommended that I try Clear and brilliant. I had a mini facelift three months ago. How long should I wait?

Anna Chacon, MD, FAAD · Answer

After a mini facelift, the skin is still continuing to settle and remodel even beyond the early healing period, so timing with any laser treatment really matters.

At 3 months post-op, most patients are generally healed on the surface, but the deeper tissue is still stabilizing. Even if everything looks good externally, the skin is still undergoing subtle changes in collagen remodeling and vascular recovery.

So when is it safe?

For a light, non-ablative laser like Clear + Brilliant, many surgeons will typically consider it safe around:

3 to 6 months after surgery for conservative, low-energy treatments
Closer to 6 months if there was more extensive dissection, skin tightening, or if healing has been slower than expected

Clear + Brilliant is relatively gentle, but it still creates controlled micro-injury in the skin to stimulate collagen, so we always want to make sure:

Incisions are fully healed and stable
There is no residual swelling or tenderness
The skin barrier is fully normalized
In your situation

Since you are at the 3-month mark, you are likely in a borderline window. Some patients can start light treatments now, but many providers would still prefer waiting a bit longer—especially if the facelift involved significant tightening or repositioning.

If sun damage is your main concern, waiting a little longer is usually very reasonable, because:

It does not change your surgical outcome
It allows safer laser settings
It reduces any risk of irritation or prolonged redness in healing tissue
My general approach

If everything is healing well, I usually lean toward:

Starting light Clear + Brilliant around 4–6 months post-op
Beginning conservatively with lower settings
Then gradually building treatment intensity over time for sun damage correction

The key is not rushing it—because with lasers, timing doesn’t just affect safety, it also affects how beautifully and evenly the skin responds long-term.

Ran Y. Rubinstein, MD · Answer

Hi and thank you for your question. At 3 months postop your skin should be healed enough to proceed with a laser treatment, although it's always best to check with your surgeon if there is any concern. Clear and Brilliant is an excellent treatment, however if the sun damage is more severe you will likely benefit from a more aggressive laser.

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS · Answer

Fractional laser is an amazing and highly effective treatment in our office. We use the laser treatment to help with acne scars, large pores, fine wrinkles, tissue collagen loss, scars, sebaceous hyperplasia, active acne, and for brightening dark pigmentation. Although there are very strong fractional lasers such as CO2 laser, we use lighter treatments for corrective skincare and maintenance of results. Our Thulium fractional laser, clear and brilliant laser, and Ultra Thulium laser are excellent options in our clinic. We also perform CO2 fractional and erbium depending on skin tone and tolerance for downtime. Patients do have to use a Melarase cream before and after treatment to help further reduce pigmentation after laser.  Melarase AM, Melarase PM, and Melapads can seriously improve surface sun damage and UV related pigmentation. Dark spots can improve with these treatments. I recommend fractional laser for incisional scars as well, especially after plastic surgery.

Anna Avaliani, MD · Answer

You always should ask your doctor what is allowed under their care. Everyone doctor has their own preference of procedures they allow after surgery and with certain timelines.Three months is more than enough time to start a laser treatment but you should always double check first with your surgeon.

How long after a facelift is it safe to move forward with Clear and Brilliant laser?

Answers (4)

More Clear and Brilliant Questions

Clear+brilliant vs Clearlift?

Would Clear and Brilliant laser correct the appearance of my acne scars? (photos)

34, Hispanic female, will Clear + Brilliant help get rid of blackheads & acne?

Should I keep get monthly Clear + Brilliant session for melasma or space them out?

Would Clear and Brilliant help minimize pigmentation and mild melasma?

How to treat PIH from Morpheus? (Photo)

WE SEND PRETTY
EMAILS