Search what to use after a CO2 laser and every clinic gives the same answer: gentle cleanser, ointment, sunscreen. That is wound care, and wound care is not a protocol. Ablative resurfacing removes tissue on purpose so your skin rebuilds it — the result you paid for is not the healing, it is the rebuilding underneath. This is the sequence we actually use, day by day.
Immediately after treatment the skin is open and the priority is a single job: support the matrix as it rebuilds. Pavise Extracellular Matrix Restore is the only thing that goes on at this stage. No actives, no layering, no experimenting.
Pavise's clinical data documents 2X faster tissue repair after CO2 and Erbium YAG treatment, and it is the subject of a registered trial as the primary occlusive treatment following ablative CO2 and Er:YAG resurfacing — the exact platforms we run.
Carboxy therapy to cool and calm the treated skin. After Moxi, Halo or BBL, day two is usually the right time to start it.
After fully ablative CO2, ContourTRL or deep Erbium YAG — the treatments this page is written for — ask your provider before you start it. Depth changes the answer.
From day three, sunscreen joins the protocol and never leaves it. Sun exposure during the months of remodeling is the fastest way to undo the result, and the main driver of post-inflammatory pigmentation.
Cleansing that removes daily mineral SPF without stripping the barrier, nightly repair, and eye care. These come in after your skin has closed and your care team has cleared you.
The Piazza Center is a board-certified plastic surgery practice in Austin, Texas, led by Dr. Rocco Piazza, MD, FACS. Our resurfacing treatments — fully ablative CO2, ContourTRL, HALO, BBL and Moxi — are performed by our clinical nursing team, and that same team follows you through the entire recovery.
That continuity is why this list is short and specific rather than a shelf of everything we sell.
Timing is set at your post-op visit. Depth varies, and so does the sequence. Ask before you start anything — and note that silicone scar gels belong to surgical incision care after healing, not to laser recovery.
START HERE
Recovery advice is close to useless without the modality. Depth decides how long your skin takes to close, and which steps below apply to you at all. Moderate treatments run roughly 7 to 10 days of visible downtime; more aggressive ones can run to two weeks, with redness lasting longer still.
Every treatment above links to its page on our practice site. If you are not sure which you had, it is on your treatment record — or ask the clinical team. See all lasers and light treatments ↗
BEFORE YOUR LASER
Recovery does not start at the appointment. Bioadaptive Stress Repair goes on for the two weeks leading up to treatment, and your actives come off a week before. What you do in this fortnight is the part most people skip.
PREP
The nightly biostimulator, run for the two weeks before you go in.
DR. PIAZZA’S NOTE
Stop BSR on the day of your laser. It does not go back on until your ECM period is over — roughly four to seven days after.
Price: $228.00 30 ml
CLEANSE
Takes off mineral sunscreen in one pass without stripping the barrier.
Price: $64.00 148 ml
PROTECT
100% mineral SPF 30 PA++++, transparent on every skin tone.
Price: $148.00 30 ml
The prep routine $440.00
Timing is set at your pre-treatment visit. Depth varies, and so does the run-up.
THE SEQUENCE
Three overlapping phases: the skin closes, then collagen rebuilds, then it organises. The result you paid for is not the healing — it is the rebuilding underneath.
2 WEEKS BEFORE
BSR runs daily for the fortnight before treatment and continues right up to the day. Retinoids, acids, vitamin C and exfoliation come off five to seven days out.
ON THE SKIN BSR on. Everything active, off.
DAY 0 ONWARD
Re-epithelialisation. ECM Restore replaces BSR and goes on by itself — no actives, no layering, no experimenting. Roughly 7 to 10 days of visible downtime after a moderate treatment; up to two weeks after an aggressive one.
ON THE SKIN ECM Restore, and nothing else.
DAY 2
After Moxi, Halo or BBL, day two is usually the right time for Spaoxy Gel. After fully ablative CO₂, ContourTRL or deep Erbium YAG, ask your provider before you start it.
ON THE SKIN Dr. Medion Spaoxy Gel.
DAY 3 ONWARD
Mineral sunscreen from day three. Sun exposure through the months of remodelling is the main driver of post-inflammatory pigmentation.
ON THE SKIN Dynamic Age Defense SPF 30. A tint helps camouflage redness.
DAY 4–7
Once the majority of healing is done, BSR resumes and exosomes and the wider routine come back with it. How long the ECM period runs depends on how much healing you needed.
ON THE SKIN BSR resumes. EXO H-SERUM joins.
WEEKS 1–4, THEN MONTHS
Collagen rebuilds through weeks one to four — the phase that decides your result — then organises and tightens over one to six months. Actives return on your care team's timeline, not a general one.
Phases and downtime figures are from Dr. Piazza's own write-up of ContourTRL, ProFractional and HALO recovery, published September 2026. Read the full article (opens in a new tab)
AFTER YOUR LASER
Four things, each entering on its own day. The order is the protocol — running them together is not a shortcut.
Result shown is from HALO laser treatment at The Piazza Center. The protocol below supports how that skin heals — it does not produce the result. Individual results vary.
DAY 0
Supports the matrix while it rebuilds, in the days straight after resurfacing.
DR. PIAZZA’S NOTE
On its own. No actives, no layering, no experimenting.
Price: $278.00 30 ml
DAY 2
Carboxy therapy to cool and calm the treated skin.
DR. PIAZZA’S NOTE
From day 2 after Moxi, Halo and BBL. After CO₂ or ContourTRL, ask your provider before you start it.
Price: $66.00
Currently unavailable
DAY 3
Mineral SPF 30 joins the routine and stays in it.
DR. PIAZZA’S NOTE
The least negotiable item on the list.
Price: $148.00 30 ml
DAY 4–7
Exosome-powered hyaluronic acid to deeply hydrate healing skin.
DR. PIAZZA’S NOTE
After your ECM period, not during it.
Price: $189.00
All four, bought separately $615.00
Pavise documents 2X faster tissue repair after CO₂ and Erbium YAG treatment, and ECM Restore is the subject of a registered trial as the primary occlusive treatment following ablative resurfacing.
LASER RECOVERY FAQ
BSR runs for the two weeks before treatment and right up to the day, then stops. ECM Restore takes its place for roughly four to seven days, and BSR resumes once the majority of healing is done.
No. After Moxi, Halo and BBL, day two is usually the right time. After fully ablative CO₂, ContourTRL or deep Erbium YAG, ask your provider before you start it — depth changes the answer.
Roughly 7 to 10 days of visible downtime after a moderate treatment, and up to two weeks after a more aggressive one, with redness lasting longer than that.
No. Silicone scar gels are designed for surgical incisions after they have healed. They are not laser aftercare.
Well after the skin has closed, on your care team's timeline rather than a general one. Restarting actives early is one of the more common ways patients set their own recovery back.
Once the skin has fully closed and your provider has approved it — not before.
Redness that worsens instead of gradually improving is a reason to contact your provider rather than wait it out.
Begin with a medical-grade cleanser to remove impurities and prepare skin for treatment.
Apply a potent serum with growth factors and peptides to penetrate deeply and activate regeneration.
Lock in benefits with a nourishing moisturizer to support barrier function and cellular repair.
Sun protection is essential to preventing premature aging. Medical-grade SPFs hand-selected by Dr. Piazza.
