Laser hair removal burn after at-home treatment, will this go away? (Photo)

Hello there,

Thank you for sharing your concern — I completely understand how stressful this must feel. What you’re describing sounds like a superficial burn or pigmentation change that can sometimes happen when the laser interacts with dark pigments, such as black eyeliner. Unfortunately, many home-use devices aren’t able to distinguish between skin and surface pigments, so when the light energy hits a dark line (like eyeliner), it can cause a mild burn or temporary discoloration along that path.

The good news is that in most cases, these marks do fade with time. It may take several weeks to a few months, depending on your skin type and how deep the pigment change is. The key right now is gentle care and avoiding anything that could irritate or inflame the area further. Here’s what you can do:

Keep the area moisturized with a soothing, fragrance-free product like aloe vera gel, Aquaphor, or a gentle healing ointment.

Avoid sun exposure — even small amounts of UV light can darken healing skin. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen daily if the area is exposed.

Do not pick, scrub, or exfoliate the affected area; let it heal naturally.

If the area becomes darker (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation), lightening creams containing ingredients like niacinamide, azelaic acid, or licorice root extract can help once the skin is fully healed.

If you ever notice blistering, scabbing, or increased redness, it’s best to let it heal first before using any active treatments. Most importantly, avoid using eyeliner, pen, or any dark marking tools in the future when doing laser sessions — the pigment absorbs too much heat and can cause these kinds of marks.

In most cases, this type of pigmentation fades completely over time, so try not to worry too much — your skin has a remarkable ability to repair itself.

Our office has many different treatments for scars depending on the depth of atrophy or hypertrophy. Scars require a combination approach using our HI DEF protocol which uses a combination of lasers, topical scar modulation, and RF treatments to pixelate scars, improve contour, reduce hyperpigmentation, and improve the visibility of the scars so that they are no longer visible in ambient light. Everyone has a unique pattern of scarring and we employ our HIDEF technique to improve texture, color, contour, and topography. We often use a combination of treatments that begin with a careful examination to examine the micro texturing of the acne scars. Atrophic scars and indented scars can benefit from injectable fillers such as Radiesse, Sculptra, and Restylane with or without subcision to remove tethered scars and atrophic depression. Hyper-redness in scars can be improved with V beam laser, Excel V, BBL, IPL, and Venus RF to improve the redness and reduce the visibility of deep scars. Fractional Thulium laser and clear & brilliant can also reduce the inflammation and redness of the scar when combined with topical therapy. Fractional lasers such as Fraxel, erbium, and CO2 laser can be combined with radio frequency and also fractional RF to improve textual issues and microtopography. Subcision and TCA cross are also used for deep ice pick scars and narrow valley scars in order to improve the micro texture. Above all, our combination approach with our clinical nurses and board-certified plastic surgeons can improve the quality of your skin by using at home Melarase creams combined with PRP treatments in our office to improve your skin quality and tone. I recommend getting a formal evaluation with an experienced team of experts in order to reduce your scarring.

Finally, hyperpigmentation of scars can be improved with at-home Melarase AM, Melarase PM, and Melapads to help reduce active PIH and melanin deposition.

Best,
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon