How rough is recovery going to be?
It’s the question patients ask most often, and usually the last one they ask before booking. Not will this work — the results speak for themselves. What people actually want to know is how many days they’ll spend red, tight, and avoiding the mirror.
That question deserves a real answer, and there’s research worth understanding here.
The study
A 2022 paper in Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology looked at whether conditioning the skin before and after an energy-based procedure changes how it heals. Patients being treated for acne scarring used a TriHex peptide serum — the technology in Alastin Regenerating Skin Nectar — on one side of the face, with the other side following a standard post-procedure routine.
The researchers didn’t rely on how the skin looked in photos alone. They measured barrier function, tracked redness over time, scored the scars, and took skin biopsies.
What they found
Barrier recovery was faster. Transepidermal water loss — a direct measure of how well the skin barrier is holding together — was significantly lower on the conditioned side at day 4. That’s the window when skin feels tightest and most uncomfortable.
Redness resolved sooner and stayed lower. The treated side showed less erythema from day 4 all the way through day 90.
Scar scores were better at every single timepoint. Not just at the end. At every point measured.
Elastin regeneration was confirmed on biopsy. This is the finding that matters most. Rather than the skin simply looking calmer, tissue samples showed measurable new elastin. Something structural changed.
What this means for our patients — and what it doesn’t
Being straightforward about the limits here is important.
The study used a hybrid fractional laser. That is not a treatment we offer at WellSight. So this is not a study of Morpheus8, and we won’t present it as one.
What the study demonstrates is a principle: skin that has been conditioned before and after a controlled micro-injury heals differently than skin that hasn’t. Morpheus8 and Lumecca work by creating controlled micro-injury and letting the body’s own repair response do the rest. The healing pathway is the same one the study measured — which is why we recommend Regenerating Skin Nectar around both treatments.
Two other honest caveats. The study was small, with ten patients. And several authors were affiliated with the company that makes the product. Neither fact invalidates biopsy-confirmed results, but you should know both when you read the numbers.
How we use this
Every patient who books an energy-based treatment with us leaves with a protocol written for their skin — not a generic handout.
Your doctor will give you a protocol for using Regenerating Skin Nectar before your treatment as well as after — how far in advance to start, how to use it through your treatment series, and what to layer with it during recovery. For patients doing a multi-session series, that typically means staying on it continuously so your skin is conditioned going into each subsequent session.
The specifics depend on your skin, your treatment plan, and what else is already in your routine. That is the part we think matters most — not the product itself, which is available in a lot of places, but having the doctor who treated your skin tell you exactly what to do with it next.
Ready to talk about your skin?
Book a consultation at wellsight.vision or call our Murrieta office. New patients currently receive 20% off their first treatment.
Reference: Widgerow AD, et al. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2022;15:2763–2774.
This article is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Individual results vary. Ask your doctor which products and treatments are right for your skin.