How Often Can I Do IPL?

IPL treatments can be done every 3-4 weeks.  I would highly recommend that you see a provider who has good experience with using IPL on patients.  It is also very important to not be tan at the time of the treatment.

While enticing, the concept of one device or modality, such as IPL, being capable of treating a whole variety of skin problems equally well (such as acne, acne scars, dyspigmentation and hyperpigmentation and spider veins on the legs) may not be entirely realistic or appropriate.

Unfortunately, I have been less than impressed with the overall  results from many of the overly hyped and marketed energy- and light-based devices. I have been in practice long enough to have seen so many of "latest and the best" of these come and go and be replaced many times over by other sets of devices that make the same claims.

By contrast, I have consistently found that individually addressing specific problems with treatments that have stood the test of time, rather than trying to shot gun them with one device that may not be optimal for all is a far better and more cost effective approach in the long run.

There are certainly many prescription treatments for controlling active acne with proven efficacy. There are numerous approaches to acne scar improvement, including medical microneedling, punch-excision, manual dermasanding, and subcision, to name a few, which may be used either alone or in combination depending upon the kind(s) and extent of the acne scars present.

Likewise, hyperpigmenation and dyspigmentation can be dealt with via the appropriate use of topical prescription and OTC products, either alone or in combination with a series of inexpensive mild superficial peels, such as glycolic acid, Jessner's solution, low concentration TCA, or salicylic acid (all of which have proven effectiveness against acne, as well). 

Finally, the gold standard for spider veins on the legs continues to be sclerotherapy, the injection of a solution to irritate the lining of these tiny, unwanted vessels (which serve no purpose in either providing nutrition or oxygenation to the skin) and close them off permanently. 

In summary, consultation with a board certified aesthetic dermatologist versed and experienced with all these different treatment options would be preferable in my estimation to reliance on one single modality, such as IPL, that may not provide the results desired to the extent desired for treating all these problems.