Polynucleotides aftercare: the sheet to send every patient

Polynucleotide patients need clearer aftercare than most, because the immediate appearance of the treatment is at its worst just as they leave your clinic. Small blebs under the eyes or across the face look alarming to a patient who was not warned, and an unprepared patient becomes a worried phone call that evening. Written aftercare sets expectations, protects the result through a multi-session course, and gives you a timestamped record of exactly what the patient was told. The sheet below is complete and uncontroversial: copy it, adapt it to your own protocol and the manufacturer’s guidance for the specific product you use, and send it after every session in the course.

The aftercare sheet

Your polynucleotide treatment is done. The next few days are about letting the product settle and the skin recover, so please follow this guidance and contact your practitioner if anything is unclear.

What to expect

• Small raised bumps (blebs) at the injection points are normal and expected. They usually settle within 24 to 48 hours as the product disperses. Do not press, massage or try to smooth them out.
• Mild redness, swelling and tenderness in the treated area are common and fade over a few days.
• Small bruises can appear, particularly around the eyes, and may take up to a week or so to fade fully.
• There is little to see immediately. Results develop gradually over the weeks following your course as the skin responds, so judge the outcome after your final session, not after the first.

For the first 12 to 24 hours

• Avoid makeup on the treated area until the injection points have closed, ideally for 12 to 24 hours. When you restart, use clean brushes and a light touch.
• Keep the area clean. Cleanse gently with a mild product and avoid rubbing.
• Avoid touching the treated area with unwashed hands.

For the first 24 to 48 hours

• Avoid strenuous exercise. A gentle walk is fine; the gym, running and anything that raises your heart rate significantly are not.
• Avoid alcohol, which can increase swelling and bruising.
• Avoid saunas, steam rooms, hot yoga, sunbeds and very hot showers. Heat increases blood flow to the skin and can worsen swelling.
• Sleep on your back with your head slightly raised if the treated area is on your face, where practical.

For the first 2 weeks

• Avoid facials, facial massage, microneedling, peels, laser and any other treatment over the area for around 2 weeks, or as your practitioner advises.
• Apply a high-factor sunscreen (SPF 30 or above) daily and avoid deliberate sun exposure and sunbeds while the skin settles.
• Avoid strong skincare actives (retinoids, exfoliating acids) on the treated area for a few days, then reintroduce them gradually.

Your course

Polynucleotides work as a course, usually two to three sessions a few weeks apart. Keep your next appointment even if you cannot yet see a change; the result builds across the full course and is assessed after it finishes.

Normal versus not normal

Normal: blebs for up to 48 hours, mild redness, swelling, tenderness and small bruises that improve day by day.

Contact your practitioner promptly if you notice: increasing pain, heat, spreading redness or pus at any injection point (possible infection), a fever, a rash, itching or swelling of the lips or tongue (possible allergic reaction), or skin near the treated area that turns white, dusky, blue or grey, becomes blotchy, or is severely and unusually painful (possible vascular problem, which needs same-day assessment). These problems are uncommon, but they should always be assessed rather than waited out.

If anything worries you at any point, contact your practitioner; that is what we are here for.

When patients should contact you urgently

The escalation points worth briefing your team on: any suspected vascular compromise (pallor, dusky or mottled skin, disproportionate pain) needs same-day practitioner review, and signs of infection or allergic reaction need practitioner triage rather than a routine callback slot. Pair this sheet with a signed polynucleotide consent form so the warnings the patient acknowledged before treatment match the advice they take home after it, and keep the background detail in our polynucleotides guide handy for patient questions.

Make this automatic

A course of three sessions means three opportunities to forget to send the aftercare. AesthetiClinic emails this sheet automatically after every appointment and records that it was sent, branded to your clinic and timestamped on the patient record. See how it works on the features page.

General aftercare guidance for UK aesthetics practice. Your practitioner’s specific advice always takes precedence. Patients with urgent symptoms should contact their practitioner or seek medical care immediately.