IPL Treatment After Accutane?

After a full course of Accutane, my recommendation is to wait 6 months before undergoing a chemical or laser/light peel procedure. For a low-dose, incomplete course of Accutane, it really is up to the practitioner to make a judgement call. If you have a tendency to scar, I would wait longer (perhaps 3 months); if not, then 1 month may be adequate for your skin to recover. Good luck.

Accutane and IPL are excellent dermatologic therapeutics. Yet their concomitant or proximal use is questionable and not recommended. Early studies of using light technologies around the time (within few months) of using Accutane demonstrated some few dangerous side effects (prolonged healing and scarring). However, more recently, several small studies with various hair removal lasers have indicated safety with Accutane. Therefore, until the rise of new satisfactory studies that guide the... more