A Recent Peel, a Crusted Lip and a Shared Mascara Wand

Threading: postpone at least 7 days, ideally 10–14 days. A superficial glycolic peel leaves the stratum corneum thinner and the skin more permeable for roughly a week; the pink, stinging cheeks confirm the barrier is still recovering. Threading is mechanical trauma - the thread drags and snaps hair at the follicle and lifts surface skin, so on peel-fresh skin it can cause grazing, burns-like redness, folliculitis and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. The upper lip is the thinnest, most reactive area she has named, so it is the highest-risk site.

Today: no threading on the cheeks/lip area. If her brows are clear of the pink area and the skin there is intact and not stinging, a very gentle brow tidy (tweezers, one hair at a time) is acceptable with her consent - but not if she reports stinging there too. Soothing compress, barrier moisturiser, SPF.

Before the wedding: explain that brows can be threaded 3–4 days out only if the skin has settled and a patch test is done, and that the lip should be left alone or tidied with a razor by her, not waxed or threaded. Waxing is absolutely out on retinoid or peel-treated skin.

The lip patch first. A tingling, blistery patch that has crusted is consistent with herpes simplex (cold sore). Do not apply make-up over it, do not touch it and then touch products, and do not share anything that has contacted it. Advise her to see a doctor or pharmacist - antiviral treatment works best in the first 48 hours - and warn that a fresh cold sore on the wedding day is a real risk with the stress and the trial. Nothing used on that area can be returned to the kit; a lip brush or sponge that touched it must be discarded or, if a tool, cleaned and disinfected.

Kit corrections:

• Mascara: the same wand in the tube across three clients is a direct route for staphylococcal and conjunctivitis transfer. Use a fresh disposable wand per client, never re-dip, and keep tester tubes marked 'tester' with single-use wands.
• Lipstick bullet: slice the top layer off with a spatula, or scoop product onto a clean palette and apply with a disposable applicator. No fingers from pot to face.
• Brushes: wash and dry, or use a spot disinfectant and a fresh set for each client - a week-old brush is not acceptable for face work.
• Testers/gloss: decant with a spatula; no double-dipping.

Service: proceed with base, eyes and blush using clean tools; leave the lip area until last and only if the lesion is fully crusted and she agrees - otherwise plan the lip for the wedding day with a fresh applicator.

Record entry (client card, dated, signed): skin condition noted - post-glycolic-peel erythema and stinging on both cheeks, crusted lesion on lower lip reported as blistering two days ago; declined threading on cheeks/upper lip, advised to wait 7–14 days; advised to seek medical advice for the lip lesion; make-up done with disposable wands, decanted product and freshly cleaned brushes; no product applied to the lesion; aftercare and cold-sore risk explained; client consented to the modified service and declined/postponed threading. Therapist initials and client signature.

Conversation: "Your peel is only four days old - your cheeks are still pink and stinging, so threading now could leave you with grazes or dark marks in your wedding photos. Same with that patch on your lip: it looks like a cold sore and I won't put make-up over it. So today we'll do the trial base and eyes with clean, single-use tools, plan the lip for the morning of the wedding if it's fully healed, and book your brows for three days before - that gives the skin time to settle and the redness to fade before the day."

Confirm the brow appointment in writing so the timeline is hers, not yours, and note that she should call if the lip is still crusted 48 hours before the wedding.