IPL Treatment for Age Spots

What Is IPL?

IPL stands for Intense Pulsed Light. This popular treatment is also known as a photofacial or photorejuvenation. IPL sessions are great for people who want to correct pigmentation concerns and redness and even out their skin tone.

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Intense Pulsed Light treatments utilize a broad spectrum of multiple light wavelengths, whereas a laser delivers a single wavelength. When applied to your skin, safe and effective IPL technology can dramatically improve red and brown pigmentation problems. This treatment excels at surface color correction.

IPL Can Treat Common Skin Issues like:

Hyperpigmentation

Diffused redness

Small red blood vessels known as telangiectasias

Broken capillaries

Age spots

Sun spots and sun damage

How Does IPL Work?

Fine facial “peach fuzz” is one of the two types of hair that everyone has. It’s called vellous hair and is the fine translucent hair that you can see if you look closely on women’s face, chest and back. The other type of hair is terminal hair, which is the coarser hair you see on the head, under the arms, in the pubic area, brows, and on the lower face in men. Because Vellous hair is so fine and different from terminal hair, cutting it does not make it grow in thicker or feel stubbly afterwards.

IPL treatments work best on light skin tones because there is a higher contrast between the pigmentation concerns and the rest of the complexion than with darker skin tones. IPL devices pick up on pigmentation differences, so they require a certain level of contrast.

Ideal Candidates for IPL:

Don’t have a tan

Can avoid sun exposure before a treatment

Won’t apply self-tan before a session

Have a light skin tone (type 1-4

Don’t have a dark skin tone (type 5 or 6)

What To Expect From Your IPL Session

You will likely need 1-3 treatment sessions spaced one month apart. You may require fewer sessions if a more aggressive treatment setting is appropriate for your case. However, it’s generally safe to plan on three appointments.

The procedure is quick, and most treatments only last 45 to 60 minutes. We will not apply a topical numbing cream when you come in. That’s because those creams can make blood vessels shrink and prevent them from absorbing the beneficial light energy.

There is no downtime; you can walk out of the office right after your session. Immediately after the treatment, your skin may be slightly red and swollen. Thankfully, post-treatment irritation fades within a few hours. You can apply makeup immediately after your IPL treatment.

Do not pick at your skin, especially as it begins to flake. Most importantly, protect your skin from the sun. In about 7 days pigmentation issues will start to fade, revealing a more even, flawless skin tone.