Intense pulsed light (IPL) treatment is a cosmetic skin procedure that can remove unwanted hair, diminish spots, and even improve your complexion. This treatment can also reduce the appearance of spider veins and scars.
Intense Pulsed Light Therapy, or IPL Photofacials, can help to treat facial rosacea by decreasing symptoms associated with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) and tear film abnormalities.
Acne
Intense pulsed light therapy for dry eyes Lower Sackville treatment, photo rejuvenation, or flashlamp therapy uses a broad spectrum of wavelengths to target unwanted pigmentation or vascular lesions. IPL energy is absorbed by the pigment in the lesion or the blood vessels in a vascular condition and destroys them without damaging surrounding tissue.
Studies of IPL therapy for acne have shown that it effectively reduces active acne breakouts and the size of inflammatory papules and pustules. IPL therapy has also been found to reduce the appearance of scars caused by acne.
Unlike laser treatments, IPL releases many different wavelengths of light in one pulse, making it much less likely to cause damage to the top layer of skin (epidermis) and the lower layer of fat cells beneath it. This is why IPL can be used on patients who are unable to receive laser resurfacing (such as pregnant women).
Rosacea
Rosacea is a skin condition that causes redness and swollen blood vessels. It also causes papules (little red bumps) and telangiectasias (little dilated blood vessels that look like thin red streaks). It affects men and women but tends to appear in fair-skinned people.
IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) is an excellent treatment for rosacea because it targets the blood vessels that cause the vascular component of this skin condition. While it does not cure rosacea, it significantly reduces the symptoms associated with it.
IPL is also effective for the eye irritation seen in rosacea patients. When used with MGX, IPL has been shown to improve meibomian gland dysfunction and dry eye symptoms in patients with ocular rosacea. This is because it eliminates the inflammatory factors responsible for these symptoms.
Age Spots
Age spots are flat patches of light brown, black, or gray pigment that develop on sun-exposed skin. They can appear independently or in clusters, usually on the face, hands, or neck. They are often confused with freckles but differ in size and color.
They are caused by years of sun exposure that cause melanocytes to over-produce pigment in the skin. This causes the spots to darken and resemble freckles or other types of hyperpigmentation. Age spots can also resemble cancerous or pre-cancerous growths, so it’s essential to get them checked by a dermatologist.
Treatment options for age spots include lightening creams like hydroquinone and laser resurfacing. These treatments remove the skin’s upper layers, allowing fresh cells to grow and fade the scars. They may be accompanied by chemical peels, which are more effective on more profound sun damage. IPL (intense pulsed light) is another treatment that works well for age spots. It emits light that targets the melanin in the skin and breaks up or destroys the areas with no damage to the top layer of the skin.
Sun Damage
Sun damage and broken blood vessels can affect the appearance of the skin on the face, hands, and chest. Fortunately, IPL treatment is an excellent option to help minimize the effects of long-term sun exposure and can reduce redness due to sun-damaged skin.
IPL is a non-invasive treatment that uses multiple wavelengths of light to target pigment and blood cells in the skin. The light energy heats the pigment and destroys it, causing the spots to disappear. It also treats the tiny veins on the skin’s surface and helps to break down rosacea redness.
After hours of soaking up the sun, your complexion can show signs of aging and damaged skin, even with SPF-slathered skin. Intense pulsed light, or IPL, is an excellent treatment that can reverse this damage, improve skin tone and texture, and remove freckles, scars, age spots, and broken blood vessels. Also called photo facials, IPL light therapy is safe for all skin types and requires no downtime.
