Can I wear makeup before and after laser eye surgery? The Do’s and Don’ts

Published on 14th December 2018

A common question that we get asked here at Visualase Laser Eye Surgery Clinic, Bolton is ‘When can I wear makeup again?’   

Although it may sound like a fairly unimportant question, it is actually rather crucial to both your safety and recovery post treatment. There are some precautions that we recommend you take before, during and after surgery to ensure you receive your desired results without any setbacks or complications.

Below we’ll go through what you need to know about wearing makeup before, during and after laser eye surgery.

Before surgery:

When attending your initial consultation, it’s best to have minimal to no eye makeup on e.g mascara, eyeliner and eyeshadow. This is because, during your consultation, a series of tests are carried out on your eyes and makeup residue can affect the results.

During surgery:

It’s recommended that eye makeup shouldn’t be worn for a minimum of 24 hours before surgery.  

On the day of surgery, no makeup (this includes foundation, powders, mascara, eyeshadow and eyeliner) should be worn - this is to avoid complications or infections.  

After surgery:

After surgery, it’s recommended that you adhere to the following wait times to avoid infection and irritation to the eyes:

• Avoid wearing mascara for 1 week
• Avoid wearing any products which may flake into your eyes e.g eyeshadow, eyeliners for a 1 week.
• Avoid wearing powder based foundations, blushers and other products for 5 days.
  

 You can start to wear light foundation and lotions two days after surgery but avoid areas that are directly surrounding the eye. When you’re removing your makeup, take extra care, be gentle and avoid any harsh rubbing motions.

You may also want to think about buying some new makeup brushes and tools post-treatment as they are known to build up harmful bacterias.

If you have any further questions surrounding makeup and laser eye surgery please feel free to contact our Bolton based team.

Start your new year with new vision and book your consultation and assessment today! Visit our site to find out more.

All eye surgical procedures carry a level of risk including not obtaining the desired outcome, through to varying levels of visual loss. Your eye surgeon will discuss the risks and benefits, including ones specific to your circumstances, at the time of your pre-operative consultation.