IPL Vs. Photo Facial: What's the Difference?

IPL is a light based device - Intense Pulsed Light, whereas "photofacial" is a treatment. Normally photofacials are performed with IPL devices which is why the confusion over the terms. It is significant to note that the term "photofacial" is very generic because it can refer to treating facial redness, sun damage or wrinkles.

Thanks for your question. Yes, IPL, which stands for "Intense Pulsed Light," and Photofacials (or Fotofacials and other spelling variants) are all the same treatment. Different companies like to use catchy names for the treatments, but it is the same technology.

The term "photofacial" is a marketing term used to describe the use of any light source (laser or IPL/BBL) to improve facial color, tone, or texture. If you are looking for results from a specific type of device (laser vs. IPL, brown spots vs. redness vs. pore shrinkage) it is important to inquire further with the dermatologist or plastic surgeon offering this service, to find out what devices they use and what the specific benefits are.

"Photofacial" is a marketing term for use of Intense Pulse Light (IPL) on the face. However, it is important to understand that skin tightening and wrinkle reduction with IPL are very, very subtle. IPL is best at removal of brown spots and broken blood vessels; it does so with minimal if any downtime. Mild skin tightening occurs after repetitive treatment dueto collagen remodelling, but not enough to get your hopes up.

IPL (Intense Photo Light) therapy is the same as BBL (Broad Band Light) therapy. These encompass a group of potential treatments which preferentially use different colored lights for different applications (from clearing acne, to getting rid discolorations and sun spots, getting rid of small vessels and spots of redness to getting rid of hair). Photofacial or photorejuvenation refers to a SUBSET of IPL / BBL treatments which aim to correct sun related damage - sun spots / freckles and... more

This term means nothing really except it is easy to say and most people recognize it to be related to an IPL or light based treatment. "Photo" meaning "light" and facial pertaining to the face. So many practices can use this term interchangeably with different lasers etc. Just ask your doctor what are they using on your skin a laser or a light based treatment and this will help clarify what you are getting. The IPL or light based photofacials are great at treatment... more

Thank you for your question. In a VAST majority of cases, IPL and photofacial are the same. A photofacial aims to get rid of red vessels and dark spots, and these are the two primary goals of the IPL. However, some people use photofacial to describe the Vbeam laser for these uses, and even more recently, the term photofacial has been used to describe light facial resurfacing where the top layers are destroyed with a laser. For now, a photofacial generally refers to an IPL treatment for dark... more