Fotofacial While Breastfeeding?

The one thing to consider here is that during breastfeeding, your hormones have not yet stabilized.  Skin pigmentation changes under the effect of those hormones and therefore may not represent your true skin tone.  I recommend waiting until about a month or so after you finish breastfeeding to get a photofacial.  The hormonal effect on your pigmentation should be significantly less at that point.

There is no physiologic or medical reason why you cannot have IPL while you breast feed. Instead, the question is whether it is a good idea psychologically to have cosmetic treatments during this time. For some women, the added benefit of feeling better about their appearance is a great idea, for others less so. Discuss your concerns with your Doctor for the best timing and best results.

While injectables including fillers and Botox or Dysport are not advisable during breastfeeding because of uncertainty of systemic absorption and transference to baby via breastmilk, there is no strong empirical or clinical reason in recommending the use of IPL or photofacial laser treatment for breastfeeding women. IPL helps to minimize redness and pigmentation and typically takes a series of 3-5 treatment sessions to see the full benefit.

While there is no evidence to show that there are any potential risks of having IPL treatments while breastfeeding, we do not recommend it. We advise against women that are pregnant or breastfeeding having any cosmetic treatments. This is just a personal preference for our practice and does not have to do with perceived risks.

Photofacial or Intense Pulsed LIght (IPL) treatments are used to remove red and brown (age) spots. The light itself is "broadband" meaning it is not laser light and as long as it is not applied to the breast itself (where it could cause swelling or inflammation), there are any effects of the light itself on breast milk. Topical numbing gel like lidocaine is often used over the skin before the treatment. Some of this is systemically absorbed so it would be wise to pump and... more