Key takeaways
- Skin is red, raw and sunburn-like at first, then dries and peels on days 5 to 7.
- Cleveland Clinic gives fractional CO2 one full week of recovery and traditional CO2 up to 2 weeks.
- Avoid activities that cause flushing for 2 weeks, and tretinoin or glycolic acid for 4 weeks.
- Redness generally fades in 2 to 3 months but can take 6 months to a year.
- Skin that looks worse as the days pass, not better, is a reason to contact your provider.
What happens on days 1 to 3?
Days 1 to 3 are the raw stage of CO2 laser resurfacing recovery.
Cleveland Clinic's day-by-day description starts with skin that is red, sensitive and sunburn-like; in these first days it may also be raw, ooze yellow fluid and blister.
That raw phase sits inside a longer arc — here is the published timeline, then the detail:
| When | What the published sources describe |
|---|---|
| Days 1 to 3 | Red, sensitive, sunburn-like skin that may be raw, ooze yellow fluid and blister; cool compresses for the first 24 to 48 hours; extra pillow for the first 4 days (Cleveland Clinic) |
| Days 5 to 7 | Skin becomes dry and peels; new skin appears pink (Cleveland Clinic). The AAD's stay-home window for ablative resurfacing is 5 to 7 days |
| By 1 week | Redness and swelling resolved by 1 week in a 25-patient study of fractional CO2 on the lower eyelids; Cleveland Clinic puts fractional recovery at one full week |
| By 2 weeks | Traditional CO2 recovery runs up to 2 weeks and the 2-week ban on flushing activities ends (Cleveland Clinic) |
| Within 2 weeks after healing | The AAD says tightening and fewer wrinkles appear within 2 weeks after healing, not after treatment |
| Months 2 to 3 | Redness generally fades and new skin lightens over 2 to 3 months (Cleveland Clinic) |
| Up to a year | Redness can take 6 months to a year to disappear, longer in people with blonde or red hair; skin may keep improving for up to a year (Cleveland Clinic) |
The first-days work is protecting the surface while it seals.
Cleveland Clinic advises cool compresses for the first 24 to 48 hours, sleeping on an extra pillow for the first 4 days to help reduce swelling, and petroleum jelly or a similar ointment until the skin heals.
Its instructions also say not to pick at crusts.
The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) describes the same stretch as hands-on care: healing takes 3 to 10 days depending on the depth of resurfacing and the type of laser, with daily soaks, ointment and re-dressing.
Why the clocks differ: traditional CO2 injures the whole treatment area uniformly, while fractional CO2 drills narrow columns into the skin and leaves the skin between them intact, in Cleveland Clinic's explanation.
The published figures sit alongside that difference: one full week for fractional against up to 2 weeks for traditional CO2. What the treatment is, and how it is cleared, is covered in our CO2 laser resurfacing guide.
Traditional CO2
- Injures the whole treatment area uniformly
- Recovery up to 2 weeks (Cleveland Clinic)
Fractional CO2
- Drills narrow columns and leaves the skin between them intact
- Recovery one full week (Cleveland Clinic)
Fractional healing has small-study numbers too: in a 25-patient study of ablative fractional CO2 on the lower eyelids, patients reported minor crusting and oozing that resolved within 48 to 72 hours.
ASDS ties healing time to the depth of resurfacing and the laser used, and Cleveland Clinic's ranges differ again. Treat the written aftercare from the provider who treated you, not any generic chart including this one, as the plan for your skin.
What happens during days 4 to 7 (peeling, bronzing)?
The change Cleveland Clinic dates in this window is the turn from raw to dry: on days 5 to 7 after laser resurfacing, the skin becomes dry and peels.
The skin that shows underneath is new, and the clinic describes it as pink at first.
It dates the stage after that too: the new skin should begin to lighten gradually over the next 2 to 3 months.
Healed and finished are different points on this timeline.
On bronzing, the day-by-day sources this page cites do not date a separate bronzing phase to specific days, so there is no sourced day count to give.
What the complication lists do name is hyperpigmentation — Cleveland Clinic counts it among resurfacing complications — so a brown cast that deepens rather than fades is one to raise with the provider who treated you.
The payoff the AAD describes sits on the far side of this window: it calls ablative laser resurfacing the most effective non-surgical procedure for tightening loose skin, and says tightening and fewer wrinkles appear within 2 weeks after healing.
The same source attaches the price: staying home for 5 to 7 days, and greater risk of side effects such as scarring.
Fractional CO2's shorter clock is still real downtime: the published recovery figure is one full week, against up to two weeks for traditional CO2. Trials show single fractional sessions have limited effect. Treat any 'no recovery needed' marketing as a claim, not a finding.
When does swelling go down?
Swelling is a first-days problem in the published aftercare.
Cleveland Clinic's instructions pair an extra pillow at night for the first 4 days, which it says is to help reduce the swelling, with cool compresses for the first 24 to 48 hours.
The clearest end date in the sources comes from fractional treatment near the eyes: in the 25-patient lower-eyelid study, the moderate redness and swelling patients noted after treatment resolved by the 1-week visit.
Swelling is also on Cleveland Clinic's complications list, so swelling that keeps building after it has started to settle is not part of the published course — that is a reason to contact the provider who treated you.
For a full-face traditional CO2 treatment, our sources give no separate day count for swelling.
ASDS ties healing time to the depth of resurfacing and the type of laser, so that number is a direct question for the provider who treated you.
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When can you wear makeup, exercise and go in the sun?
Makeup is tied to healing, not to a date.
Cleveland Clinic says makeup can be worn once the treated areas have healed, and suggests green-based, oil-free makeup because it helps hide the redness while it fades.
The fade is the long tail of this recovery: redness generally fades in 2 to 3 months, the clinic says, but can take 6 months to a year to disappear, and it lasts longer in people with blonde or red hair.
Exercise is answered sideways in the published aftercare: Cleveland Clinic says to avoid activities that cause flushing for 2 weeks, and its list does not name workouts separately.
Ask the provider who treated you when to restart training, and treat the 2-week flushing rule as the baseline the sources support.
Two more rules from the same list: no tretinoin or glycolic acid for 4 weeks, and no smoking.
On sun, the dated rule in the sources sits before treatment: Cleveland Clinic advises avoiding tanning and using broad-spectrum sunscreen for the 4 weeks beforehand.
Its aftercare list does not give a day count for going back into the sun, so that window is a question to put to your provider.
Aftercare windows (Cleveland Clinic)
| Rule | How long |
|---|---|
| Makeup | Once the treated areas have healed |
| Avoid activities that cause flushing | 2 weeks |
| No tretinoin or glycolic acid | 4 weeks |
| No tanning, broad-spectrum sunscreen | 4 weeks before treatment |
| Return to sun after treatment | No day count given; ask your provider |
What is normal vs a sign of a problem?
The normal course, in the published description: red, sensitive, sunburn-like skin that may ooze and blister in the first days, dryness and peeling on days 5 to 7, pink new skin that lightens over 2 to 3 months, and redness that fades over months.
Cleveland Clinic adds that skin may keep improving for up to a year after resurfacing.
The complications list draws the other column.
Cleveland Clinic names milia, which it says can appear up to a month after treatment; hyperpigmentation and, rarely, hypopigmentation; reactivation of herpes cold sores, especially after treatment around the mouth; bacterial infection; swelling; and, very rarely, scarring.
The clinic notes antivirals are often started before treatment.
Normal course
- Red, sensitive, sunburn-like skin that may ooze and blister at first
- Dryness and peeling on days 5 to 7
- Pink new skin that lightens over 2 to 3 months
On the complications list
- Milia, up to a month after treatment
- Hyperpigmentation; rarely hypopigmentation
- Cold sore reactivation, especially around the mouth
- Bacterial infection, swelling and, very rarely, scarring
Apart from milia, which the clinic says can appear up to a month after treatment, none of these comes with a published day count, so the useful test is direction.
Healing that moves the way the description runs — raw to dry to peeling to pink — is the course the sources describe.
Skin that looks worse as the days pass rather than better is what contacting the provider is for.
Cleveland Clinic lists bacterial infection and, very rarely, scarring among resurfacing complications. A 2026 review of 13 studies covering 2,010 facial laser cases found ablative lasers such as CO2 carry the highest risks of scarring and infection, with post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation the most common complication, particularly in Fitzpatrick skin types IV to VI. Raise any of these signs with the provider who treated you rather than waiting out the timeline.
Frequently asked questions
What does day 1 after fractional CO2 laser look like?
Cleveland Clinic's day-by-day course starts the same way for resurfacing generally: skin that is red, sensitive and sunburn-like, and that may be raw, ooze yellow fluid or blister.
In a 25-patient study of fractional CO2 on the lower eyelids, patients reported minor crusting and oozing that resolved within 48 to 72 hours.
Day 1 on your face depends on the depth and laser used, so follow the instructions from the provider who treated you.
Do fractional CO2 lasers have less downtime than traditional CO2?
By the published figures, yes: Cleveland Clinic gives fractional resurfacing a recovery of one full week and traditional CO2 up to two weeks.
The two descriptions sit side by side in the same source: fractional drills narrow columns and leaves surrounding skin intact, while traditional CO2 injures the whole area.
Fractional's shorter clock is still one full week, and trials show a single fractional session has limited effect.
Can I wear makeup 5 days after CO2 laser?
The rule is tied to healing, not to a day: Cleveland Clinic says makeup can go on once the treated areas have healed.
Day 5 sits inside the days-5-to-7 window when skin becomes dry and peels, and the clinic's guidance does not call that point healed.
Ask your provider when your skin is ready; the clinic suggests green-based, oil-free makeup because it helps hide redness.
When can I exercise after CO2 laser resurfacing?
The published aftercare gives a flushing rule, not an exercise rule: Cleveland Clinic says to avoid activities that cause flushing for 2 weeks after resurfacing, and its list does not name workouts separately.
Ask the provider who treated you when to restart training, and expect the 2-week flushing window to be the baseline they work from.
Sources
Every number on this page comes from one of these sources and was checked against it.
- Laser Skin Resurfacing: Lasers Types, Skin Conditions, What to Expect · Cleveland Clinic
- Skin Experts · asds.net
- Many ways to firm sagging skin · American Academy of Dermatology
- Facial laser complications (A Five Year Review) · Zhorov et al., Lasers Med Sci, 2026
- Treatment of lower eyelid rhytids and laxity with ablative fractionated carbon-dioxide laser resurfacing: Case series and review of the literature · Tierney et al., J Am Acad Dermatol, 2011
Medical disclaimer. MedSpaStandard is for education only and is not medical advice. Talk to a licensed provider about your own health, and check any provider's license with your state board.