Reveal Smoother, Brighter, Even-Toned Skin

IPL is commonly used to improve the appearance of:

• Sun damage and age spots

• Rosacea-related redness

• Freckles and brown pigmentation

• Broken capillaries and spider veins on the face

• Uneven skin tone

• Mild skin discoloration

• Facial redness

• Overall skin brightness and clarity

One of the most proven and versatile treatments in skin rejuvenation. New aesthetic technologies appear every year; some become popular and disappear almost as quickly. IPL has endured for decades. IPL, or Intense Pulsed Light, is one of the true workhorses of non-surgical skin rejuvenation. Also commonly called an IPL photofacial, it can address many of the changes we associate with sun exposure and aging, including brown spots, uneven pigmentation, redness, visible blood vessels and uneven skin tone.

At Allure Medical, we think IPL deserves another distinction: it isn’t only a treatment for damaged skin. It can also be an important part of maintaining healthy, youthful-looking skin over time. That’s why we often think about an IPL photofacial in two ways: correct, and maintain.

Although IPL is frequently called a laser treatment, IPL isn’t actually a laser. A laser typically delivers a specific wavelength of light, while IPL produces a broader spectrum that can be filtered and adjusted to target different structures within the skin. That versatility allows us to address several concerns during the same treatment program.

Depending on your skin and treatment settings, an IPL photofacial can target:

• Brown spots, sun spots and uneven pigmentation

• Facial redness, blotchy skin and small visible blood vessels

• Signs of sun damage and overall photodamage

• Uneven skin tone and enlarged-appearing pores

• Certain acne concerns

Instead of treating only one aspect of aging skin, IPL can help improve the overall quality and uniformity of the skin.

One of the best-known uses of IPL is the treatment of unwanted pigmentation. Years of sun exposure can lead to sun spots, age spots, freckling, mottled pigmentation and uneven skin tone. IPL energy can be absorbed by pigment within these areas, allowing selected pigmented lesions to gradually become less noticeable.

Patients often describe their complexion afterward as brighter, clearer and more even. For people who have accumulated years of sun exposure, reducing these scattered areas of pigmentation can make a surprisingly significant difference in the overall appearance of the face.

IPL isn’t limited to brown pigment. It can also target hemoglobin within superficial blood vessels, making it useful for selected vascular concerns. We commonly consider IPL for patients bothered by diffuse facial redness, blotchy red coloration, small visible facial vessels, certain signs associated with rosacea, and uneven red and brown discoloration occurring together.

This ability to address both red and brown is one of the reasons IPL is such a versatile skin-rejuvenation treatment. Many patients don’t have just one problem; they have accumulated pigment and redness. IPL allows us to approach both.

The term photofacial describes something broader than removing a few brown spots. The objective is photorejuvenation, improving the overall appearance and quality of sun-damaged skin using light. Clinical research on IPL photorejuvenation has reported improvements in pigmentation, redness, visible vessels, skin texture, pores and other signs associated with photoaging. This is why we don’t think of IPL simply as a brown spot treatment: we think of it as a skin-quality treatment.

Unlike aggressive resurfacing, IPL delivers light energy while leaving the skin surface largely intact. Its effects on collagen have been investigated for years, with research suggesting potential improvements in measures such as texture and elasticity, although studies measuring collagen directly have produced varying results. We use IPL as part of a broader strategy designed to improve and maintain skin quality over time.

This is where we believe IPL is frequently underestimated. Aesthetic medicine doesn’t have to be about waiting until significant damage develops and then trying to reverse it. There is another strategy: maintenance. Think about maintaining your teeth, your fitness or your cardiovascular health; you don’t wait for everything to deteriorate before taking care of it. Skin can be approached the same way.

Sun exposure and aging don’t stop after you’ve completed a treatment. Pigmentation, vascular changes and other signs of photoaging gradually continue to develop. Periodic IPL treatments can be incorporated into a long-term skin-care strategy intended to address emerging photodamage and maintain a clearer, more even complexion. We think of this as preventive aesthetics: treating what’s visible today while maintaining the quality of your skin for tomorrow.

IPL may also improve the appearance of enlarged pores and uneven texture. Pore size is influenced by age, genetics, oil production, sun exposure and skin elasticity. IPL isn’t going to eliminate pores, and no treatment should promise to, but clinical studies of photorejuvenation have reported improvement in the appearance of pores and skin texture following a series of treatments.

IPL has also been studied for acne and inflammatory skin conditions. Light-based treatments can influence some of the biological processes associated with acne, and clinical research supports IPL as an option for selected patients with acne vulgaris. We don’t consider IPL a replacement for a comprehensive acne program, but it can be incorporated into an individualized plan when appropriate.

IPL devices are sometimes marketed for hair reduction. That’s not how we prefer to use IPL. Dedicated hair-removal lasers deliver wavelengths specifically selected to target hair follicles, and in our practice we prefer true laser technology when permanent hair reduction is the objective. For hair reduction, we prefer laser hair removal; for photorejuvenation, redness, pigmentation and overall skin maintenance, IPL is one of our favorite tools.

IPL and laser resurfacing aren’t competing treatments either. For more significant photodamage, wrinkles or texture changes we may recommend erbium or fractional laser resurfacing, then use IPL to refine residual redness, pigmentation and uneven skin tone. The goal isn’t to decide which technology is best; it’s to use the right technology for each component of aging skin.

IPL generally works best as a series rather than a one-time treatment. Published photorejuvenation studies commonly evaluate multiple sessions, and a systematic review of IPL skin-rejuvenation research found an average of approximately four treatments. The appropriate number for you depends on the degree of pigmentation, redness, sun damage and your long-term goals.

After completing an initial series, periodic maintenance treatments may be recommended as part of an ongoing skin-rejuvenation plan.

IPL has been used in aesthetic medicine for decades because it addresses something that never goes out of style: clearer, healthier-looking, more even skin. It is versatile, non-surgical, addresses multiple aspects of photodamage, requires relatively little downtime, and fits particularly well into a long-term skin-maintenance program.

Whether you’re trying to correct years of sun damage, reduce redness and brown spots, improve your complexion, or establish a long-term maintenance program, an IPL photofacial may be an excellent place to start. At Allure Medical, our approach isn’t simply to treat what you see today. Treat the damage. Maintain the improvement. Keep your skin looking like your skin, only better.