Not on freshly sun-exposed or burnt skin. Recent sun or a sunbed leaves the skin inflamed, sensitised, and full of active melanin — so waxing can strip burnt skin away, acids bite harder than expected, and IPL or laser can chase the pigment and cause burns or blistering. "I caught a bit of sun on holiday" is a contraindication, not a detail.
The standard most UK insurers and training bodies follow:
- Waxing: wait at least 48–72 hours after sun exposure, and never wax over visibly burnt, peeling, or tender skin — it lifts live skin with the hair.
- Chemical peels and strong actives: postpone on recently sun-exposed skin; the barrier is compromised and the pigmentation risk is high.
- IPL and laser: the strictest of all — most protocols require no sun or sunbed for around 2–4 weeks before and after, because tanned or burnt skin dramatically raises the burn risk. Follow your machine and insurer's exact wording.
- Fake tan counts too for light-based treatments — it interferes with the device reading the skin.
The catch is that clients don't volunteer a tan, and a sunbed the day before doesn't always show. Ask directly about recent sun, holidays, and sunbeds, and get the answer dated and on record before you start. Under UK GDPR that's health-related data and needs a secure client record, not memory.
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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