Recurring Brown Spots After Photofacial Treatments

I had Photofacial treatment done last month. First, all the brown spots were gone, nice and clean, and I was very happy about it. Then, 3 weeks later, the brown spots come back, so I went and have it done again last week. My face is nice and clean, but the brown spots keep coming back, and becomes darker and larger. Why does it keep coming back despite these treatments? What can I do about it? Thank you.

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3 Doctor Answers | Asked by lina4560 in Gatineau Canada

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Recurring brown spots

Be diligent with decreasing sun exposure and using a sunscreen on the areas after IPL/photofacial treatments. This will help to minimize recurrence of the brown spots.

Sam Naficy, MD

80 reviews

Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.seattleface.com

Brown spots will always recur without sufficient sun protection.

Lina, I don't know if your physician has explained clearly to you that the brown spots are always likely to recur because the cells in that area are "permanently" damaged and will always have the tendency to turn the skin brown in those spots. Once you have had a successful session of IPL or laser, maintain a diligent, major routine of sun protection ALL THE TIME, and the spots will recur more slowly or not at all. In addition, as other answers have stated, make... more

Recurrent brown spots despite photofacial

The photofacial treatment that you are utilizing has not used enough power thus far to fully remove the discoloration. Most IPL and BBL systems have a number of parameters like intensity, pulse width, and skin cooling that can be changed to allow more aggressive treatments while maintaining a safe treatment window. If your overall settings are getting aggressive, than a different treatment modality like ablative laser resurfacing or spot chemical peels may be advantageous. Darker pigmented... more