IPL for pigment, sun-damage, rosacea and redness

IPL and laser are both light based treatments. Each laser uses only one or two wavelengths of light, whilst IPL uses a broader band of wavelengths – which can be varied with filters. There are many types of lasers, each designed to treat a different problem – such as tattoo and hair removal, pigment issues, blood vessel problems. Some are implemented to “ablate” or burn the skin.

There is no one treatment that is ideal for every problem in every patient. However, I find that IPL is the most versatile, treating a variety of skin concerns with usually little or no downtime.

Generally, IPL is very beneficial for the skin and does not damage it. In fact, it can result in some increase in collagen production and an improvement in texture and fine lines. It is safe to perform multiple IPL treatments, and many patients like to do 1 or 2 a year for maintenance.

If IPL is performed too strongly, it can cause blisters and burns. Like all light and heat-based treatments, IPL can cause darker skin types to make more pigment – termed post-inflammatory pigmentation. For this reason, IPL should be performed very carefully, usually after prescription skin care is applied for preparation purposes.

At our medical clinic, we usually use a powerful anaesthetic cream before treatment. This generally makes the process very comfortable, with only a slight heat or stinging sensation for most patients. Most treatments take between 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the size. Afterwards there may be some redness like sunburn and sometimes some swelling, which is usually mild.

Very rarely, there is more significant swelling. Redness and swelling should last only between 1 and 4 days. Freckles and pigments usually darken before fading or flaking away after 7 days on the face, 2-3 weeks on other areas. You can put on makeup from the next day and most do not find that their everyday activities are limited to any significant extent.

At Envisage Clinic, we have a latest generation medical grade IPL (Lumenis M22) at our disposal. Because of this and our more than 24 years’ experience with IPL, we generally find that most freckle type pigment can be treated in only 1 to 2 sessions, although results vary individually. Redness, flushing, and rosacea usually need 2 to 6 treatments. Hair removal requires 4 to 6 treatments.

IPL will not treat moles or lesions that are raised (even slightly) above the skin surface. Larger freckle like lentigines (age or “liver spots) and “café au lait” birthmarks will often only lighten with IPL. Neither IPL nor most laser treatments are very effective at treating hormonal pigment (melasma) which is usually treated with prescription-based skin care.

Although IPL is effective for the removal of dark hairs, it is not very effective at treating very blonde, grey, or downy hair. IPL does not remove tattoos well and neither IPL nor laser treatments address leg veins as well as sclerotherapy (injection treatment) does.

Generally, you don’t have to. On the face, you will have to look after your skin with sun screen and sun sense for a couple of weeks after whatever time of year you do it by limiting sun exposure. I wouldn’t suggest most do IPL just before a beach holiday, for example. You will probably want to look after your skin better for longer anyway. IPL on the neck, chest and body does take 2 to 3 weeks to settle and look good afterwards, so you may want to treat these areas in the cooler months when you can wear higher neck lines and long sleeves, etc.

We do treat most skin colours with IPL. Light skin colours are certainly the easiest to treat. Darker skins (Asian, South American, Mediterranean, etc.) can react differently and usually require a prescription skin “lightening” treatment to prepare it beforehand. Very dark skins (African, Islander, Aboriginal, etc.) are often best treated with other therapies.

At Envisage clinic, Dr Leat has used IPL for probably longer than anyone in Australia – since about 1994. We have a medical grade IPL (Lumenis M22) and we also use a prescription medical anaesthetic cream. Combined, this means we usually provide particularly effective yet relatively painless treatments.

For example, we usually only perform 1 or 2 treatments for freckle and sun damage pigment, whilst other clinics often insist on a series of 6 or more sessions. Many patients have been surprised at how good the results of a single IPL treatment can be after having little effect from multiple treatments elsewhere.

Dr Leat has years of experience in treating pigment problems and Rosacea. He often combines IPL with other medical grade skin care and therapies.