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IPL Side Effects from Melasma Treatment

asked 3 years ago by Danai in mt laurel nj
Latest answer by Harold J. Kaplan, MD
Question viewed 11,783 times
Tags: discoloration, damage, side effects, stripes

I had a IPL treatment over a week ago.  Prior to this treatment, I had a treatment in April which was fine. I had mentioned to my Dr. that I had recently been in the sun. She said that it looked like I was getting the beginning stages of Melasma and we should be aggressive with the treatment and do IPL on my entire face so I trusted her treatment plan. I went for a follow up to this recent treatment because I now have on both cheeks a pattern which is much like a stripe effect on one cheek and a coffee spill on the other cheeks. I had no sign of discoloration in the areas that are now damaged. She told me to wait two weeks and come back and that she will treat again. I can't really cover this damage with makeup and I look like a scary creature. I am becoming increasingly worried that I will never have an even skin tone again. She assured me that there was no perm skin damage but I am not sure if I am being naive to believe her. Please help me.

9 answers to IPL Side Effects from Melasma Treatment

+4

You will get better if you stay out of the sun.

It sounds like this patient is prone to hyperpigmentation which is aggravated by the sun. With proper care it will improve. The problem is a complicated one. Melasma (also known as pregnancy mask) is a very common and difficult condition to deal with. It appears in some women with hormonal changes, in others with chronic sun damage. It frequently makes its debut during the second or third decades of life. Because it is a disorder of increased pigment it is almost always made worse by the... more
Robert Swanson, MD

Bay Area General Surgeon
+3

IPL is your worst choice for melasma

You have two different issues going on. The striping on one cheek sounds different from the coffee stain on the other. The striping sounds like hyperpigmentation (brown discoloration caused by the trauma of the treatment) and the coffee stain sounds like your Melasma is showing up more clearly. The IPL will only make your Melasma worse. We are not sure why your practitioner used an IPL for the treatment as it is not FDA approved and most if not all light based devices will make Melasma... more
Harold J. Kaplan, MD

Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon
+3

Stop IPL and Bleach your skin for quicker improvement.

The sun and IPL may contribute to hyperpigmentation with patient with a history of melasma. At this point, it is best to stop IPL's and get the pigment producing cells in your skin to calm down. This is best done by 'putting them to sleep', a bleaching cream may achieve this for you. Unfortunately, all of these types of creams will take much longer to work and the onset of the pigment marks. You should probably return to your doctor and get a prescription for a bleaching cream like... more
Michael J. Brown, MD

Leesburg Plastic Surgeon
+3

Prescription bleaching creams would be appropriate now.

Dear Danai, the hyperpigmentation after your procedure could be due to a few things. Regardless, it is probably not permanent and you should have treatment to hurry up the recovery. usually a bleaching cream combined with retin A and a cortisone cream resolves these tempory problems quite well. i like to do a few very light chemical peels to speed up the results as well. don't worry, these things happen to the best of us and are treatable sincerely, dr hansen
David Hansen, MD

Beverly Hills Dermatologic Surgeon
+2

Treatment of Melasma with IPL, topical treatments: Reduction in Pigment on Face

Hyperpigmentation of the facial skin requires the skills of an experienced skin expert. Melasma cannot be cured, but can only be treated. It is an ongoing process that will improve with laser, chemical peels, IPL, and topical creams. Ironically, all of the treatments, excluding topical creams, can actually worsen the hyperpigmentation that they were meant to correct. Conservative treatment is mandatory. Melasma and hyperpigmentation can occur from the following four factors: Sun... more
Raffy Karamanoukian, MD

Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon
+1

How are you doing 6 months after IPL?

I hope you're doing better now. Protecting your skin from the sun continues to be very important for you, especially as we're heading into spring. Since melasma is a chronic problem, follow-up with a board-certified dermatologist can be critical for obtaining long-term good results. What you use on your skin can make a big difference.
Margaret Weiss, MD

Baltimore Dermatologist
+1

Fraxel works better than IPL for melasma

IPL can leave discoloration and is not very effective on treating melasma.Darker skin people are not good candidates for IPL and often two weeks is not enough time for the tan to fades.Melasma can succesfully be treated mith Fraxel restore laser and pretreating the skin with hydroquinone, or bleaching cream improves the results.IPL seems to be working better for sundamaged skin or broken blood vessels on the face.
Gregory Turowski, MD, PhD

Chicago Plastic Surgeon
+1

IPL is not a great melasma treatment.

It is true that sun exposure can cause an unwanted response to IPL. The melanin is a chromophore for IPL meaning that it is a colored target that absorbs the light energy produced by the intense pulsed light. Too much chromophore and the skin can actually break down. The tiger stripping is due to the actual shape of the ILP crystal. The bad news is that a "no-down time" treatment suddenly has a lot of down time. However, these will often heal completely on their own. Certainly... more
Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD

Los Angeles Oculoplastic Surgeon
+1

Melasma

The IPL treatment may be aggravating the melasma. Sometimes, hydroquinone and retin A formulations can improve the melasma.   Steven Wallach, MD www.stevenwallachmd.com                      
Steven Wallach, MD

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

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