How long does IPL recovery take?

Recovery time after IPL is highly variable but in general, most people will have very little "downtime" so to speak relative to other types of laser treatments.  When we are talking about recovery from IPL it comes in multiple forms and this will vary depending on the type of treatment, your underlying skin type and characteristics, and the agressiveness of the treatment. Some patients will experience significant redness and mild swelling which can last anywhere from 1-3 days. Others will have very little redness but experience significant worsening of the age spots and pigmentation for 1-2 weeks until they dminish.  I do not consider the temporary worsening of the brown spots and pigmentation as downtime. This is the normal progression of pigment in the skin after IPL as it flakes off and softens after the treatment.
IPL can be tailored to focus on pigmentation or redness, but there is significant overlap and often both can see improvement after a single treatment.  I will typically target both issues in patients that have them in a single treatment. This will lead to additional energy overall applied to the skin and therefore sometimes prolongs the downtime, but still, most people will notice their skin being near normal the next day.
One of the most important things to remember after IPL (and any laser for that matter) is avoidance of the sun. UV rays can cause complications after IPL therefore I always recommend that my patients use SPF30 at a minimum. Additional sun damage after IPL can certainly prolong recovery and puts you at increased risk of complications.
Hope this helps!

Hello and thank you for your question. Most patients experience redness from one to four days following an IPL treatment. The redness depends on the patients skin sensitivity and the intensity of the treatment. If you are experiencing extreme sensitivity, redness, or flakiness, please contact your laser technician and request an in-person follow up appointment, I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck.  

Post IPL treatment, redness and slight swelling may occur.  For brown spots, they may look darker for a short period a time and start to look like coffee grounds until they slough off in a few days.  Continuing an at home skin care regiment is key that includes a daily sunblock.