How long does swelling last after laser PMU or tattoo removal?

Most of us probably have a faded childhood photo at home where, along with chubby cheeks and a carefree smile, you have scraped elbows and grazed knees.

Right before the first day of school or some other important event, an annoying bump, branch or stone would always end up under your feet. You always fell onto asphalt or gravel, and there you were with a bruise or a cut on your face, looking for a plantain leaf to heal it faster.

Then, of course, your mum would treat all this "beauty" with hydrogen peroxide and brilliant green antiseptic, after which you went to your first meeting with classmates after the summer with your head held high, a split lip and a ready explanation that it was a "gangster's bullet".

As a child, you never wondered how long it would take for a wound to heal or a bruise to fade. There was no panic or fear that it would stay forever. In your head there was a sequence: wound – blood – antiseptic – scab – pink mark – clear skin.

Now try to remember the last time you had a bruise. Or a scraped knee? You are probably picturing some kind of tragedy now: how you slipped on the ice or fell off a stepladder at the country house. I am sure there is a whole story about recovery and treatment, even if it was just a superficial injury. And women, I think, will also tell you how they hid it under clothes or makeup.

I think clients after laser eyebrow removal can tell stories that are just as dramatic. There is not a single artist who does not have a conversation in their messenger that starts with:

Doctor, everything is swollen, is this normal? It's been half an hour already, and the swelling still hasn't gone down!

The client is in shock

So, swelling after laser treatment of eyebrow PMU (permanent makeup) is an absolutely normal reaction: these are signs of developing aseptic inflammation in the tissues!

When the laser beam breaks up the pigment, micro-injuries occur, and the skin reacts to them. The degree of swelling can vary: it can be barely noticeable puffiness, or swelling as if you had gone 12 rounds with a professional boxer in the ring.

How long the swelling lasts can also vary greatly, from a few hours after the procedure to several days.

The longest I have seen is five days of gradually decreasing swelling!

Swelling after laser removal can be predicted!

First, if there is a lot of pigment in the tissues, swelling is highly likely. If you see densely packed eyebrows, warn the client about possible inflammation straight away.

Second, if the client has excess skin or slight puffiness of the tissues, the swelling will most likely be pronounced and last a long time. It is also better to warn them about this in advance.

If the skin is dense and there are no signs of swelling, the puffiness will most likely last only a short time.

Moderate swelling in itself is not a health hazard; it is simply the body's response to laser exposure. The degree of swelling indirectly shows that the treatment was effective enough.

Moderate cooling of the skin after laser treatment is worth using: it helps reduce both the discomfort and the swelling! I do not recommend prescribing any medications to reduce swelling.

If there is positive progress, meaning the swelling decreases over time, the process is developing absolutely normally!

How long the swelling lasts depends on a large number of factors that are quite hard to account for, so the main thing is this: if the swelling is decreasing, it is just a matter of time and you need to wait.

If the swelling does not decrease or, on the contrary, increases, this may indicate that the process has got out of control, and that is a completely different story.