Not over any area where they've applied it. Retinol, retinaldehyde, and prescription tretinoin (Retin-A, Differin, adapalene) all speed up skin cell turnover, which leaves the surface thinner and more loosely bound than it looks. Wax grips that top layer and lifts it — so on retinised skin you can pull away live skin along with the hair, causing raw patches, bleeding, and post-inflammatory marks that can take weeks to settle.
The standard most UK insurers and training bodies follow:
- Facial waxing (brows, lip, chin): have the client stop topical retinoids on the area for 5–7 days before, longer for prescription tretinoin. This is where most injuries happen because the skin is thin and clients forget their eye cream or serum counts.
- Body waxing: same rule for any zone they treat — backs, chests, and bikini lines are all fair game for prescription retinoids now.
- Oral isotretinoin (Roaccutane) is different and much stricter — that's a 6-month stop, not a few days. Don't confuse the two.
The catch is that clients don't think of their nightly serum as "medication," so they answer "no" when you ask about products. Ask specifically: "Are you using any retinol, vitamin A, or acid products, even over the counter?" Then get the answer dated and on record before you start.
Every client, remembered — safely.
SAY-OS keeps each client's contraindications, allergies and history in one place, and flags them at booking — so the right call happens before they're in the chair.
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