What is IPL recovery like?

time to recover from IPL laser? any info about IPL post-treatment is very appreciated

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6 answers to “What is IPL recovery like?”

A: IPL recovery

William J. Hedden, MD

IPL can have little to no down time depending on the intensity of the laser. Face treatments up to two weeks of the treated area turning darker at first then slowly flaking off. Depending on the area of the body, the more aggressive the treatment, the more damage done to the top layers of skin, the more down... more

A: IPL Recovery Time

Arnold R. Oppenheim, MD

In most cases the recovery time is anywhere from a week and up to 3 weeks depending on the patient and what area of the body was treated.  The face usually takes 8-14 days to completely recover and the arms, chest or legs take closer to 3 weeks.  When you are finished with the treatment you will feel... more

A: IPL recovery is usually minimal

Philip Young, MD

The best thing about IPL is that the recovery is usually pretty minimal. Most of the time, you should be able to go back to the work immediately. Right after IPL, you may feel a slight buring sensation that lasts for about 1-2 hours and then you should have very little pain. Sometimes bruising can occur, but... more

A: IPL recovery can take up to 2 weeks

Gregory Turowski, MD, PhD

The downtime and recovery time depend on how aggressive the treatment was. Temporary discoloration will occur for 3-4 days after the procedure and will flake off slowly. Short term side effects are reddening of the skin, temporary bruising and edema. Rare reactions such as scabbing and blistering are possible... more

A: Recovery can take 2 weeks

Jordana S. Gilman, MD

I tell my patients to plan on the full recovery taking 2 weeks.  In some people it is less time, but better to be prepared.   IPL treats brown spots and discoloration-- the more brown you have the longer the recovery time.  Initially after treatment the area is itchy, red and swollen for a... more

A: IPL recovery depends on several things.

Robert Swanson, MD

The recovery from an IPL treatment depends on the patient and on the aggressiveness of the treatment. Some patients react to almost any stimulus with a blush or red response. These people can expect to be red - either mottled or diffused like a sunburn - for a few hours after a treatment. The red response goes... more

Gee Lewis
4 posts
28 Oct 2008

7 months ago I had a midline face lift and a deep phenol chemical peel. The chemical peel has left my face severely scarred around the mouth area because the peel was extremely deep to remove wrinkles. I have freckled, sun damaged skin and the new skin around my mouth is white and the old skin outside is a dark brown; no makeup will cover this. Would IPL treatment be recommended to treat the dark dividing line between the peel area and old areas. I am 58 yrs old and need help!

claudia Laframboise
1 post
1 Feb 2009

having my veins on my legs and was wondering will there be any scaring? Can you excerise with weights after treatment? Can you go in a hot tub after?

jcaschette
81 posts
1 Jan 2008

Intense Pulsed Light, also called IPL, BBL and Photo Facial, mainly helps to get rid of brown spots (age spots, liver spots) and red spots (small red spots, small veins). The “browns” get browner temporarily, then rise to the surface and fall off within about 10 days time. The reds may look a darker red or grey color after treatment. Often they are deeper down and are made of blood vessels, which are more complex structures than brown spots. They do not rise to the surface. Instead, they get reabsorbed by our bodies after IPL treatment over several weeks. I recommend applying sunblock (SPF 30 or higher) and moisturizer twice a day for the first week after treatment, and at least once a day the second week after treatment. This is even if you’re not out in the sun! Minimizing sun exposure after treatment is best- red and brown spots usually are caused by sun damage in the first place. If you have to be in the sun, use SPF 30+ sunblock, and reapply every 2 hours.

drhumes
24 posts
23 Oct 2007

Following IPL treatment, clients generally see 7-14 days of darkened sun spots, which can easily be covered with makeup.

blumenauer
33 posts
29 Mar 2009

I was DOWN for three days. The first two consisted of treating the zebra like welts made by the handtool and perhaps a higher intensity on the first side of my face. Seriously, this should not be thought of as a "no down time" procedure. In some cases, the swelling did not go away!

Jimmy
4 posts
10 Apr 2009

I had IPL done yesterday to remove my freckles. The next day my freckles are really dark and seems to cover my whole face. The freckles appear to have risen to the surface. How long will this last?

blumenauer
33 posts
11 Apr 2009

you are lucky that this is all you have. it sounds quite normal. i was swollen for three days and am losing that fat in my face. two weeks post treatment. wondering how long this will go on for? i already look like a skeleton!?

Jimmy
4 posts
17 Apr 2009

mine started comming off about 4 days later. i kinda rubbed and picked them off which you aren't supposed to do but i wanted them off asap. i used a lot of moisturizer on my face which i think helped speed up the process. its been a week now since my IPL and now my freckles are completly gone.

KindaFreake
1 post
20 May 2009

Hi - I'm wondering if my experience is typical or if I should be worried! I got a second, more aggressive & localized IPL treatment 10 days ago on some broken capillaries on my nose. Rather than turning dark brown and "coffee ground-like" as people have mentioned here and as I'd experienced when having a couple of angiomas zapped off before, the areas that were zapped are still very dark red. It looks pretty bad! I didn't blister, which I assume is a good thing. Is my experience within the range of normalcy, and does it sound likely to heal up well? I really hope these dark red marks aren't here to stay - I used to be able to not wear any cover-up or foundation at all! Thanks for sharing your knowlege & expereince everyone!!!

anto
1 post
17 Sep 2009

Jimmy. You had to do many treatments? I had IPL and the Pearl Treatment yesterday. I am mostly freaking out about all the freckles that have come out. I have been out of the sun for many years and this process just brought out more than I ever imagined. I am so concerned that I have really brought many to the surface that were buried in my face. Am I really going to have to do this multiple times?

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