Home Using Your Mask What Skincare Products Can I Use Before and After a Session?

What Skincare Products Can I Use Before and After a Session?

Last updated on May 27, 2026

What Skincare Products Can I Use Before and After a Session?

What you apply to your skin before and after each session has a direct impact on how effective your treatment is. The short version: keep it clean before, load up after.

Before your session

Start with a clean, product-free face.

Most skincare products create a film on the surface of your skin that blocks LED light from penetrating effectively. Moisturizers, oils, SPF, serums, foundations, and actives like retinol, vitamin C, or AHAs/BHAs should all be applied after your session, not before.

The one exception is our Pre-Treatment Concentrate.

The RegenaLight Pre-Treatment Concentrate is specifically formulated to work with the mask, not against it. Apply a small amount to clean skin 2-3 minutes before starting your session. The LED wavelengths amplify absorption of the active ingredients, making the concentrate significantly more effective when used before treatment. Do not wait longer than 10 minutes before starting your session after applying it.

Summary of what to do before your session:

  • Cleanse your face
  • Apply Pre-Treatment Concentrate (optional but recommended)
  • That is it

After your session

This is the best time to apply everything else in your routine.

LED therapy temporarily increases your skin's permeability, meaning active ingredients absorb more deeply and effectively immediately after a session. Your post-session skincare routine will work better than if you applied it at any other time of day.

Apply in this order after your session:

  • Serums (vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, peptides)
  • Retinol or tretinoin (these are best used after, not before)
  • Moisturizer
  • SPF if using in the morning

Retinol specifically: Many customers wonder whether retinol is safe to use alongside LED therapy. It is — just apply it after your session, not before. Using retinol before a session can increase photosensitivity and reduce the treatment's effectiveness. Applied after, retinol works well alongside the collagen-stimulating effects of red light.

Quick reference

| Product | Before session | After session | |---|---|---| | Pre-Treatment Concentrate | Yes | No | | Retinol / Tretinoin | No | Yes | | Vitamin C serum | No | Yes | | Moisturizer | No | Yes | | SPF | No | Yes | | AHAs / BHAs | No | Yes | | Foundation / Makeup | No | Yes |