What is an IPL treatment? An IPL therapy is utilized to treat wrinkles, sun damage and stretch marks. IPL is sometimes referred to as photofacial and is usually offered in doctors offices and medical spas. Many treatments are offered to patients with both mild and deep facial wrinkles and sun damaged skin, which include but are not limited to: resurfacing, dermabrasion, laser resurfacing and fractional laser resurfacing. IPL treatments are performed at various med spas and cosmetic doctors offices and are used to fade mild sun damage, freckles, uneven pigmentation on the face or neck, age spots or age brown spots.
As mentioned above, the main objectives of an IPL therapy are to fade age spots and/or deep facial wrinkles. The secondary objectives are to increase firmness and elasticity of the skin, improve texture and appearance of the skin, and decrease scarring and sun damage. Since IPLs contain high intensity light, they have been shown in clinical trials to reduce wrinkles by as much as 40%, diminish age spots by as much as 25% and eliminate freckles. Although these results are extraordinary, one must consider that the skin is constantly exposed to damaging UV radiation from the sun, which is often at levels much higher than is considered safe by manufacturers.
Any type of surgery carries some risks and there is always a risk of side effects. However, when using IPL procedures there is absolutely no possibility of any side effects because the procedures are designed to do their work without any contact with the skin. The lasers used in most IPL therapies are well within the safe range of usage as compared to other forms of laser technology. The only possible side effects would be burning of the area being treated, temporary skin sensitivity or slight discomfort. This is typically short lived and should subside within a few hours. All patients are subject to the post-procedure instructions provided by their cosmetic surgeon regarding the use and care of their IPL treatments.