Best Skin Aftercare Following Laser Resurfacing?

Proper skin care after a laser is extremely important to make the most of your laser treatment and help the skin heal as quickly and safely as possible to maximize your results.
After a standard resurfacing treatment, the skin should remain completely moist until the top layer (epithelium) has healed.  My patients are instructed to use a thin layer of Aquaphor around the clock.  I also instruct patients to gently clean the skin with warm water and a gentle facial cleanser. This should be performed once a day, either in the morning or evening.  After the gentle cleansing, do not rub the skin dry, simply pat dry with a soft cloth.  I then recommend a vinegar soak for its antibacterial and fungicidal properties.  I have patients dilute 1-2 tablespoons of white vinegar in 1 gallon of water. Using a cloth the vinegar solution is pat all over the face where the laser was performed.  After the vinegar soak, I have my patients re-apply Aquaphor. This is repeated daily until the top skin layer has healed.
There are a numer of post laser facial masks that I will use for deap resurfacing, inclduing some by Skin Ceuticals. This is something I do in the office, not something you need to do at home. I will also offer PRP after the laser to add additional growth factors to promote healing and collagen production. Again this is something I do in the office, not something you would do at home.
It is extremely important to avoid all sun exposure during the immediate post-laser phase.  Once the skin has healed, I have patients begin using SPF 30 (at a minimum) until the redness has subsided.
For patients at higher risk of hyperpigmetation after a laser I will pre-treat them with a tretinoin cream and hydroquinone and then restart the combination after the skin has healed until the redness has resolved.
I see patients back anywhere from 3-7 days after the treatment (depends on the treatment) and then at week 2-4 to check in on the healing process.

There are three stages to skin care after laser skin resurfacing. It is also important to differentiate between lasers and how the laser is used (depth of treatment).  This will vary depending on your goals, and the physician's experience. Considering that you are referring to a deep skin resurfacing, this is likely  a deeper CO2 or fractional CO2 laser. Every surgeon will have a bit of a different routine and we always recommend following your own surgeons instructions for this.1) Immediately After (3-10 days depending on laser and your skin)-  Initially after the laser skin resurfacing procedure, your skin is healing. The normal barrier that locks in your skins moisture is compromised.  In order to protect the skin and help it heal, some type of occlusive barrier should be used.  We recommend Aquaphor or Vaseline for most people.  This is used until the skin is peeled and stops crusting.2) Shortly After-  Once the skin is peeled and healed, you must protect the skin with an excellent chemical free moisurizer and chemical free sunscreen.  There is some growing evidence that certain creams/serums with growth factors may also help collagen production and expedite resolution of redness.  We recommend this for our patient too. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a medical grade sunblock. 3) Long term-  This is long term skin maintenance. You have spent time and money on your skin to look better.  Now it is time to maintain it and prolong the results.  Maintenance involves sunblock daily and a good moisturizer.  In addition, you may add things like Retin-a, retinol, growth factors, vitamin C, hydroquinone, etc.  This is HIGHLY customized to the individual person and there is no one size fits all approach. Your surgeon and their skin care team should help you come up with the best plan that works for you.Hope this helps, and remember that it is generally best to follow your physicians advice over what you may read online. Every situation is different

For after care, I recommend skin care with vitamin c, b5 hydrator, silicone based scar gels with growth factors and enzymatic washes with papaya enzyme. PDT therapy can help calm inflammation. Sun protection is essential. Typically I recommend adding Cosmelan and viva 4-6 weeks after lasers to improve outcomes along with microneedling/prp to get the best outcomes with texture and tone.  Please see an expert. Best, Dr. Emer.