TCA CROSS Aftercare —
Leave The Crusts Where They Are

Straight after treatment each scar carries a dense white frost, with stinging, redness and a little swelling. The frost fades within hours, and over the next day or two each point darkens.

Do

• Wash gently, then pat the skin dry.
• Put the moisturiser or ointment supplied by the clinic on the treated points.
• Start sun protection now: shade and a hat outdoors, with daily broad-spectrum sunscreen.

Avoid

• Rubbing or scrubbing the points.
• Make-up over the points.
• Hot showers on the face, saunas and sweaty exercise.
• Retinoids, exfoliating acids and other actives.

From about day two each point carries a small dark crust, protecting the collagen that is starting to fill the scar from its base. Crusts usually separate by themselves after five to seven days. Pulling one off early can turn an improving scar into a pigmented one.

• Keep the points moist with what you were given.
• No picking, scrubbing, peels or cleansing brushes.
• Itching is common as crusts lift; try not to scratch.
• Sleep face up on a clean pillowcase.
• No facials or other treatments on the same skin.

More in the post-laser recovery guide.

Once the crusts have gone the points are often pink for a few weeks. Post-inflammatory darkening is the main risk in medium and darker skin; after TCA CROSS it shows as small dark dots rather than a patch, and usually fades over two to four months.

• Broad-spectrum sunscreen every morning, reapplied outdoors, with shade, for weeks.
• No deliberate sun; a beach holiday soon after is a reason to move the session.
• If you were given a pigment-calming cream for the course, use it as directed.
• Retinoids, acids, scrubs and peels wait until the clinic says the skin has healed.

A point that darkens is shown to the clinic, not treated at home with stronger brightening creams. See post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.

Exercise and heat. Sweaty exercise, saunas and hot showers on the face are avoided for the first days after each session; ask the clinic when your usual routine can return.

Make-up. Around the points, not over them, until the crusts have separated, usually after about a week.

Being seen. How the dots look that week, and working through it, are covered in downtime across an acne scar plan.

Flights. Usually fine the next day, with aftercare continued on the trip.