What is IPL and is it right for you?
Intense Pulsed Light (IPL), also known as photofacial or photorejuvenation is a beautiful multi-beneficial treatment that helps improve the texture and tone of the skin. This treatment is the perfect option if you want to improve and reduce the appearance of sun damage, redness and rosacea, fine lines and wrinkles, as well as refining pores. IPL is most commonly used to treat the face but we can also treat neck, chest, hands, arms, and any spots on the body.
IPL uses light energy to target reds and browns in the skin, as well as using heat, we are able to stimulate collagen to soften fine lines and refine pores and texture. IPL is also an excellent option for acne.
It’s always best to see an experienced practitioner for your IPL treatment and have a consultation prior to be sure it’s the right treatment for you. IPL may not be the best option for patients who have a present tan on their skin or recent UV exposure, who are a darker skin type, who are pregnant, who are taking a sun sensitizing medication, or who might have skin cancer.
Expectations and Risks of IPL:
It is normal to experience warmth in the skin immediately after treatment, similar to that of a mild sunburn. Redness and mild swelling may also occur. This typically resolves within a couple of hours. Any brown spots will become darker within the first 24 hours after treatment, before they get lighter. Sometimes those treated brown spots may look a bit crusty, like coffee grounds on the skin and will slough off on their own.
There are risks of burning, blistering, crusting, scaring, hypo or hyper-pigmentation. Your experienced treatment provider will always be sure of no recent UV exposure as well as using safe settings, to avoid these risks.
What happens during your IPL treatment?
During treatment, your skin is perfectly cleansed prior and a gel is placed on the skin to prepare for treatment and dark goggles are worn to protect the eyes. The treatment is quite tolerable but may feel similar to a snap of an elastic band on the skin. Each treatment typically takes about 20-30 minutes.
How many treatments will you need?
IPL treatments are always recommended to be done in a series of about 3-5 sessions, coming in once a month for best results. The use of proper skincare and sunscreen along with your treatments is going to yield better results and allow the skin to tolerate the treatment better, heal faster, and maintain results.
What kind of results can you expect to see?
We can usually see an excellent reduction of reds and vessels, as well as sun damage and brown spots with 3-5 treatments. Some spots may never 100% go away. Some spots could return and new spots could pop up as well. So that’s where our maintenance treatments come in to be sure we hold on to our results and keep any new reds or browns at bay. Summertime can be difficult with the sun and heat, so making sure we are using our sunscreen, wearing hats, and staying in the shade as much as possible to protect our skin.
We can’t stop the aging process but there are certain things we can do to help slow it down and be preventative such as the IPL treatment.