IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) Treatment
Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Treatment is a technique used for various aesthetic procedures, but it’s especially commonly used for photorejuvenation. IPL treatment can treat skin pigmentation, sun damage, age marks, and thread veins.
What does it treat?
- Hair removal
- Rosacea and other forms of skin discoloration
- Wrinkles
- Varicose veins
- Sun damage and sun spots
- Freckles and moles
- Birthmarks
Who is a great candidate?
IPL treatment is not as effective for people with dark skin tones, or for people who tend to get thick keloid scar growth. Eczema or inflammatory acne could affect your recovery afterwards, but shouldn’t change whether or not you’re eligible for the treatment. For hair removal, IPL treatment is much more effective on dark, thick hair than on light, fine hair like the peach fuzz that is found on the face.
What is it?
IPL is also commonly called “photorejuvenation.” IPL stands for Intense Pulsed Light. During this procedure, we use large amounts of light waves, which are absorbed by either hemoglobin (for redness and vessels) or the melanin (in the case of dark spots) or roots of hair follicles in order to eliminate them and create smoother, clearer skin. IPL treatment can also stimulate collagen production in the face, which means that you’ll see less wrinkles and more healthy-looking volume in the skin.
What should I expect from the treatment?
Some patients report slight discomfort from the light pulses, which can seem like subtle but sharp taps on your skin. For the most part, however, this procedure is relatively simple and comfortable, with little to no recovery time afterwards.
Treatment time will depend on the treatment area, but it can range from 30 minutes to over an hour. Expect several appointments (3-5 visits) in order to get the job done. After treatment, you might experience more redness around the skin treated. If you had brown spots targeted and treated, you might find that they look darker for a few days afterwards. However, after a few days you’ll notice that your skin starts to clear and becomes smoother and clearer than before.
What’s the difference between IPL and laster treatment?
We have several cosmetic lasers that we use in our office, but IPL isn’t quite the same thing. Lasers use more focused light at just one wavelength at a time, whereas IPL releases many different wavelengths of light pulses at the same time, usually those pulses of light are more scattered. However, they work similarly, penetrating beneath the top layer of your skin to the tissue beneath. This allows us to target discoloration, unsightly veins, and even hair follicles at the root.
You’ll find that laser treatments are more expensive, but also get more done in less time and treatments. Laser treatments are better for darker pigmentation. However, for most people IPL treatment is a great option to get rid of discoloration and unsightly spots in various areas of your skin.
