PolynucleotidesExplainedIndependent UK guide

Polynucleotides aftercare

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Aftercare advice varies between clinics and between products. The guidance below reflects what UK practitioners commonly recommend, so that you know roughly what to expect. Where your own practitioner’s instructions differ, follow theirs — they know what was used and where.

The first 24 hours

  • Expect small raised bumps at each injection point. These usually flatten within a few hours and almost always within a day.
  • Leave the area alone. Avoid rubbing, massaging or pressing on it.
  • Avoid make-up on the treated area for the rest of the day, and use clean hands and clean brushes when you resume.
  • Skip strenuous exercise, saunas, steam rooms, hot yoga and very hot showers.
  • Avoid alcohol, which can worsen swelling and bruising.
  • Sleep on your back with your head slightly elevated, particularly after under-eye treatment.
  • A cool compress held gently against the skin, not pressed, can help with swelling.

The first week

  • Keep skincare simple: gentle cleanser, plain moisturiser, daily SPF.
  • Pause retinoids, acids, vitamin C serums and exfoliating scrubs for around three to five days, or as advised.
  • Avoid facials, microneedling, peels, laser and radiofrequency for about two weeks.
  • Avoid sunbeds and prolonged direct sun, and protect the area with SPF 30 or above.
  • Avoid swimming pools for 24 to 48 hours.
  • Drink water normally and expect any bruising to fade over roughly five to ten days.

If you are having a course, your next session is usually two to four weeks later. See how many sessions.

What to avoid and why

Heat and exercise increase blood flow to the face, which tends to increase swelling, redness and the chance of a bruise spreading in the first day or two.

Pressure and massage can displace product that has just been placed in a specific layer of skin, and can aggravate a bruise.

Make-up and unclean hands introduce bacteria to injection points that have not yet closed over, which is the main infection risk in the first hours.

Alcohol and blood-thinning supplements such as fish oil and high dose vitamin E make bruising more likely. Never stop prescribed medication such as anticoagulants for a cosmetic treatment without speaking to the doctor who prescribed it.

When to contact your practitioner

Contact your practitioner promptly if you notice:

  • Swelling or redness that is increasing after 48 hours rather than settling.
  • Pain that is worsening rather than easing.
  • Heat, spreading redness, discharge, or a fever — possible infection.
  • A lump that persists beyond two to three weeks.
  • Any reaction that concerns you, even if it is not on this list.

Seek urgent medical help — NHS 111, or 999 if severe — for skin that turns white, grey or mottled; severe or rapidly increasing pain; any change in vision; or difficulty breathing, throat tightness or widespread hives, which may indicate an allergic reaction.

More detail on what is expected and what is not is on the side effects page.

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