IPL

IPL – Intense Pulsed Light 

Looking for IPL treatment on the gold coast? we can help…

Are you tired of treating your skin from sun damage?

Do you want it gone in only few days?

Are you experiencing annoying skin conditions such as freckles, pigment marks, broken capillaries, Redness, Flushing, and Rosacea?

Just 1-2 treatments with our powerful IPL machine can help remove the signs of ageing, freckles, pigmentation and sun-damage!

IPL Treatment at Envisage Clinic is the best solution to remove the above mentioned skin conditions. IPL was first introduced in Australia in the year 1996.

Dr Leat has been providing outstanding IPL services for the last 18 years.

In those 18 years of service, thousands of satisfied clients have experienced excellent results to give a clearer complexion, smoother skin, and restore the natural colour and clarity of the skin.

Some areas such as the hands, and neck can be also treated by IPL, while being gentle enough to be effective and bearable in those sensitive areas.

This technology has a method of flashing a bright light into the skin.

Just like a dark car exposed under the sun absorbs more sunlight and it can easily be heated compared to that of a lighter car, so all of the dark pigments and blood vessels will easily absorb the IPL light heating them up and removing them from the treatment area.

IPL when performed correctly is a very safe procedure with little to no downtime

Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is a fantastic treatment for some skin problems, but like all treatments it is not the right therapy for everyone

WHAT DOES IPL TREAT

IPL is very effective at treating freckles and most sun-damage, spider veins, redness, flushing, rosacea, some vascular birth marks. It is also an effective permanent or semi-permanent hair removal treatment, working in the same way as laser.

HOW DOES IPL WORK

IPL uses light energy to heat and disrupt dark things in the skin. In the same way that a black car heats up more than a white car in the sun, pigment, hairs and blood vessels heat up more than the skin itself. This heat breaks up the pigment and shrinks or seals the vessels.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IPL AND LASER?

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 laser, each designed to treat a different problem, tattoos, hair, pigment, blood vessels, and some to “ablate” or burn the skin.

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

DOES IPL DAMAGE THE SKIN?

Generally IPL is very beneficial for the skin and does not damage it. In fact there is 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.

WHAT IS IPL TREATMENT LIKE

Being a medical clinic we usually use a powerful anaesthetic cream before treatment.

This generally makes the treatments very comfortable with only a slight heat or sting sensation for most. Most treatments take 5-15 minutes depending on the size.

Afterwards there may be some redness like sunburn and sometimes some swelling which it usually mild. Very rarely there is more significant swelling.

Redness and swelling last only 1-4 days. Freckles and pigment 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 at all.

HOW MANY TREATMENTS WILL I NEED

At Envisage Clinic we have a latest generation medical grade IPL (Lumenis M22).

Because of this and our over 24 years of experience with IPL we generally find that most freckle type pigment can be treated in only 1-2 sessions, although results vary individually.

Redness, flushing and Rosacea usually need 2-6 treatments and hair removal 4-6 treatments.

WHAT DOESN’T IPL TREAT

IPL will not treat moles or lesions that are raised (even slightly) above the skins surface.

Larger freckle like lentigines (“age” or “liver” spots”) and “café au lait” birthmarks will often only lighten with IPL.

Neither IPL nor most lasers are very effective at treating hormonal pigment (“melasma”) which is usually treated with prescription based skin care.

Although IPL is effective at hair 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 treat leg veins as well as sclerotherapy.

SHOULD I WAIT FOR WINTER TO HAVE IPL

Generally no, 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 2-3 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.

I HAVE DARK SKIN – CAN I HAVE IPL

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 need to use a prescription skin “lightening” treatment to prepare their skins beforehand.

Very dark skins (African, Islander, Aboriginal etc.) are often best treated with other therapies.

WHY IS IPL AT ENVISAGE CLINIC DIFFERENT

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 that we can 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 of treating pigment problems and Rosacea and often combines IPL with other medical grade skin care and therapies.

Benefits of IPL

• Stimulates collagen & elastin
• Slows the aging process
• Decreases skin inflammation
• Minimal down-time

Conditions

• Acne
• Acne Rosacea
• Broken Capillaries
• Facial flushing and redness
• Freckles and age spots
• Pigmentation
• Spider angiomas (bright red spots)
• Sun damage
• Unwanted hair

IPL and photo-dynamic therapy (IPL+PDT)

Photo-Dynamic therapy is a treatment for serious Acne or sun-damage. Basically, 5-ALA (a special solution) is used prior to IPL treatment this kind of solution is responsible to look for abnormal or damaged cells such as acne infection.

The solution is then activated by the IPL light in order to eliminate abnormal cells. IPL was added by PDT (Photodynamic therapy) in order for us to treat severe sun spots such as Actinic keratosis, and some skin cancers.

This combination also enables IPL treatment to be stronger and more ideal for skin conditions cause by the harsh Australian sun.

“Before and after pictures – Envisage Clinic patients, all after a single treatment. Individual results may vary”

Dr Christopher Leat – Medical Director Envisage Skin Clinic Founder and Director. Dr Christopher Leat has 33 years’ experience in Medicine and is a member of The Royal College of Physicians of London. Dr Leat has devoted the last 18 years to Cosmetic Medicine and is recognized throughout Australia as one of the most experienced doctors in the field of Cosmetic Medicine.