What Are Those Black Specks on the Skin After IPL?

When the IPL gets attracted to the sun damaged spots, it brings up the pigment to the surface of the skin. It kind of cooks the pigment which looks like black specks, resembling ground coffee or black pepper. It can take up to a week for the pigmentation to exfoliate or flake off the skin. This reaction occurs only after the first or second treatment and you should expect great results if it happens.

It is very normal to have a darkening of some areas of the skin after an IPL treatment. You can think of the light generated by an IPL device as a huge controlled light bulb. When it flashes, the darker areas of the skin, freckles, sun damage and any other dark areas will absorb most of the energy. This is similar to a black sweater absorbing the heat from the sun on a bright and sunny day. When the pigment (freckles, sun spots, etc.) in the skin absorbs this light energy from the IPL it... more

The specks are the signs of success. They are the accumulated brown pigment from sun damage that have absorbed the light emitted by the light source and heated to the point of separating from the rest of the skin. This is a 2-3 day event of discoloration and will wash off after a few days.

Patients are constantly amazed at how much sun-induced pigment they have developed over the years---and this pigment becomes very obvious right after an IPL treatment--the dark spots that you will see within a few days after the treatment will peel off and fade away, leaving you with much clearer skin.

I agree with the other doctors who have responded. The black specks are damaged pigment that is being sloughed off by your skin. As the skin proceeds through its normal cycle of exfoliation and replacement, those black specks will come off and your skin should be left with a more even appearance. Congratulations!

The black specks are pigment that has been targeted and brought to the surface. This is usually a great sign that you'll have a great result. It can take up to 8-14 days for the spots on the face to fade and up to 3 weeks if you treat the chest, arms or legs. This treatment is a great way to "clean up" sun damaged skin!

Thanks for your question. I think you are totally right. IPL targets pigment (lentigos, freckles) and will cause them to turn brown and flake off. Usually, patients see the bigger, noticeable lentigos flake off, but yes, there is scattered tiny pigment throughout photodamaged skin that will speckle and flake off as well. If you see this, I would consider your laser treatment a great success and continue to use it to remove the remaining pigment.