What is IPL Photorejuvenation?

The primary goal of IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) is to make the skin tone or color more even. One of the signs of aging is irregular brown and sometimes red discoloration of the skin. These changes (called dyschromias) are due to sun damage, and are the usual reason women begin to wear foundation type makeup.

The light energy in IPL is absorbed by the colors that we don't like, causing the generation of heat that damages or destroys the structure that holds the color - the sun spot or dilated blood vessel. The body sees the structure as damaged and takes it away. This leaves the skin tone more even and homogeneous.

In addition, IPL brightens the skin and gives it a youthful glow. This is a remarkably consistent result of IPL. For many patients, this alone makes IPL worth the effort.

Another, but more subtle goal of IPL, is to add small amounts of collagen back into the skin near its surface. This will not reduce wrinkles, but it does have an effect on the texture of the skin.

So, a patient can expect 3 things from IPL:

1. It evens out skin color.
2. It brightens the skin and give it a youthful glow.
3. It adds back small amounts of collagen near the surface of the skin to give a slight improvement in texture.

As always, the results are operator dependent.

IPL, or intense pulse light, is a technology similar to laser. Instead of a single wavelength of light as with a laser, IPL uses a bright light in front of which filters are placed which filter out most wavelengths except those taken up by pigment and blood vessels, depending on the filter used. The light energy penetrates just below the skin's surface, damaging either the melanin (skin pigment) or blood vessels. The body's natural skin repair mechanisms then remove the damaged tissue and produce a smoother skin appearance. It will usually take 3-6 treatments to see a significant result and treatments can be spaced out every 3-4 weeks.

IPL is good for pigment (age spots) and small blood vessels (such as telangiectasias). It has been marketed for hair removal, though newer technologies seem to give better results. It does not work for wrinkles.

The advantage to IPL systems is that downtime is usually very minimal. Patients may experience slight darkening of pigment before they lighten. The procedure itself is usually described as feeling like a rubber band being popped on the skin.

IPL is an acronym for Intense Pulsed Light. Using specific light filters, the energy of the intense pulsed light can be focused on a specific target within the skin.

Although IPL is not exactly a laser, it can be used in a similar manner to lasers for safe and effective treatment of unwanted hair, skin pigmentation, and visible and broken capillaries and veins in the skin.

IPL treatments can rejuvenate aging skin, help patients with rosacea, and can also treat certain types of skin cancers. The popular Fotofacial (Photofacial) treatment is performed using an IPL device.

IPL should not be used for tattoo removal.

IPL treats sun spots on the surface of the skin. The spots that are gone will stay gone, but new sun spots may arise from continued time in the sun, as well as previous sun damage that has not shown up on the surface yet.

IPL is usually $350 per treatment.

I don't use IPL lasers because the improvement achieved is - to put it kindly - extremely subtle.

IPL treatments target colors that don’t match your natural skin tone and “zap away” extra pigment.