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IPL Cost ≈ $700 average cost

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“DO NOT Get an IPL - Evansville, IN”

hoosieraj 5 posts

Comments (23)
Updated 9 Jun 2009
Posted 8 Jun 2009

Not Worth It

Spent: $1,400 in Evansville, IN

It was really free, yah, because I originally had a micro laser peel in early December 2008. After the procedure (several weeks), I looked like I was ran over by a tire leaving a pattern on my face from the tools used. To make it worse, I am a model and now I am completely insecure about my face and have lost money (work).

So my IPL treatments have been free due to the center destroying my face. It is now June 2009, I have had 7 IPL treatments and if anything, my face is worse. I still have the square patterns on both cheeks, my skin is a lot more oily (I was always normal), with hypopigmentation that looks like scarring. To look somewhat normal, I have to wear tons of makeup. The make up makes me even more insecure knowing I have way too much on.

The nurse keeps saying, "Oh, we just need to do another IPL and make adjustments on the setting." It is painful for the first hour, or it has been several hours when the nurse decides to do each area twice in one setting. I look like a monster for about 6-8 days and I am unable to work during this time of healing. I do not know what to do. I am going back in a few days for another nurse at the office to look at it. I am getting a second opinion and am thinking of a law suit.

Has anyone else had this similar experience? If so, did it ever get better and how? I really think it is permanent and if anything could fix it, it would be a very severe process like grafting which is scary and expensive.

HELP!!!!! My advice, do NOT do it!!!!!!

This review is the subjective opinion of a RealSelf member and not of RealSelf, Inc.

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Vote: 36 members found this review helpful

Comments (23)

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alyssek (3 posts) 11 Jun 2009

we look about the same age and i have had ipl facials about 3 or 4 times (i stopped because it didn't seem to make a difference). my experiences were very different then yours, my ipl treatments took about 12 minutes each time for my entire face (obviously there may be different types of ipl). i am very surprised to see your provider is doctor because i can't imagine from my experiences that a doctor or even an aesthetician would recommend further treatments if your skin is responding like this. i wouldn't do another treatment unless you got a credible second or third opinion saying it would help. good luck.

Gitterdunn (1 post) 12 Jun 2009

I have had about 7 IPL treatments in combination with mini Green Peels and had pretty good results (this was 10 years ago). I was contemplating some more IPL treatments soon. However, I did have one incidence where the technician was too aggressive on my temple area and it resulted in hypopigmentation. It has resolved on it's own but it took a bit over a year to heal entirely. It seems like they had the IPL settings much too strong for your skin and it burned it. The discoloration on your skin will take time to heal. The hyperpigmentation is quite severe from what I see in the pic. You can speed the process up by using Obagi Nuderm Skincare line. It's a bit costly but it works and would be cheaper than skin grafting (which I don't think you need). Try to be conservative with your approach rather than being too radical/hasty due to your desperation to "fix" your face. I know it's difficult, and you wanted the issue resolved yesterday. But your skin needs time to heal. I've had the Feather Touch laser done to my nose for a single scar that bugged me and it takes over 6 months for my treated skin to normalize. Good luck!

missecho (1 post) 13 Jun 2009

Used to have a chin, before IPL--amazingly, my skin started seriously sagging after treatments for rosacea. I would NOT recommend this treatment.

hoosieraj (5 posts) 15 Jun 2009

I cancelled my appointment after getting legal advice. I found out that the pattern on my face can me common from a micro laser peel simply because people do not know how to do it. Glad I know now :( I have to completely keep my face out of the sun to avoid hyperpigmentation and cannot start the process of fixing it until the Fall. My face has been like this for 7 months, so I think I have been quite patient. Especially when I am a professional model and my face is my career. The pic was taken a few days after an IPL treatment. It does not look that severe now, but that is the pattern on my face still. The IPL treatments were a quick process, a total of maybe 10 minutes to do. I am only 28 years old and for a year of my young adult life, my face is a nightmare. The mistake is that they had the setting too high or too many IPL treatments. I am dark complected and that may have something to do with it as well. Thanks for your comments! I appreciate more:)

xcvbvcvb (12 posts) 1 Oct 2010

the only thing that could help now to diminish the hipopigmentation is a 50% AHA peeling, the inconvenient is that you will have a downtime about 2 weeks for each treatment, and looking your skin (lighter than IV types) you won't have problems of Hiperpigmentation with peelings. One treatment for month and i 6 months you will have successfully removed hipopigmentation. (avoiding sun is extremely imperative). I recomend a glicolic acid with Citric acid (prevents hiperpigmentation),so recovery will be faster.(no more than 45-50%) Source: Experience, i had laser burns in legs, and i solved this issue in about a year of treatment. By the way, if you consider to do this, you can forget to have a sun tan (in face) in about 2 years, to prevent hiperpigmentation and extremely dry skin. By peelings you force to rapidly heal the skin, and you need to give all the necessary nutrients, so you will need to take vitamin E, and i recomend a vaseline product with copper peptides for fast regeneration after peelings (ask to dermatologyst) Regards. I hope this help , I really understand your pain. Jose Duguet Chile

Rae (unregistered guest) 24 Jun 2009

Try to find a place that offers microderm abraison. over a course of treatments it will greatly reduce or remove your damaged tissue. I own a spa and use microderm along with green light therapy and have had incredible results. I also do IPL but was educated never to use it on dark pigmentation of any kind,all of my results have been very good. Good Luck.

awalk (338 posts) 3 Aug 2009

hoosieraj You need to talk to your doctor about a course of Aldara... It helps scarring but it's not pretty at first... It's an immune modifer that causes your body to attack a typical cells and replace them with healthy ones.... You need to get pics that show how deep the damage is and research PRP portrait rich plasma therapy to help healing from the inside and The Aldara on the surface.... Talk to your Doctor don't wait... find a burn center or wound healing center... If you need more info contact me Those burns look like they are deep and will leave indentions and may cause fat loss... You need to see a specialist in wound healing..I send you a message but in my experience they go to junk mail so check it...

tvd (unregistered guest) 2 Sep 2009

I am confused, did you get this scarring from the IPL, or from the peel??

hoosieraj (5 posts) 17 Mar 2011

My initial treatment that ruined my face was IPL. I wish I did chemical peels in the first place, much cheaper and no down time, just slight peeling for a few days.

yaz1969 (1 post) 4 Oct 2009

i hap i.p.l laser done on me face she totaly burned it my skin peeled of now its left me with dark marks all on me face i am fairly brown but me face is in patches anybody had similiar case how do u get rid of the dark marks on face

Waffle Face (4 posts) 13 Oct 2009

How long ago did you have your procedure? I had treatment on Saturday and my face looks like I was badly burned with a waffle iron! I'm mortified. I am getting more and more nervous as I read posts. I sure hope I'm not going to look like this for long... I can't even leave the house right now.

lorilu2009 (unregistered guest) 22 Nov 2009

I am so sorry this happened to you,It sounds like they had the settings to high,I also have the same experience I have Hypo-pigmented areas on both sides of my face.I am praying that time will heal and mortified at the thought of doing any further treatment which was suggested to "even" things out.Keep yourself protected with sunscreen,I hear positive feed back with co2 laser but again I would be VERY conservative.At least I am..Take Care.

lorilu2009 (unregistered guest) 22 Nov 2009

It has been suggested by the person who treated me to do yet another "heavier" peel because I should have apparently peeled after the laser rejuv and the light chemical peel that was done.

I was burned (10 posts) 19 Jul 2010

It has been 2 years since I was severly burned with an IPL Laser. If anyone has had experience with a treatment that was able to correct the scarred area, I would love to know. My entire chest has white rectangle scars on it!

maemae (1 post) 21 Aug 2010

i had 3 treatment of ipl laser. it was the most painful experience. not to mention the cost; almost $1,000. my last treatment 3 weeks ago...the result is devastating. it worst than before. i now have darker pigments on both side of my face. before the laser, my melasma was barley noticeable under make-up..now i cant even cover with make-up..im so embarrassed and self conscious abt,i havent been to the gym or other social gathering...only to work..i cry every time i look in the mirror...any idea fixing this??

kotlow (1 post) 25 Sep 2010

I just had my 3 ipl treatment and now my whole face is burned it looks horrible. Was wondering if yours has gotten any better and any thing that you did to get to that point......I am so disappointed!!!!

I was burned (10 posts) 5 Oct 2010

I have been working on this for over 2 years - peels, micro dermabrasion, melanage peels, etc etc etc and still you can see the scars. I have had some improvement, but still have people look at me like I have some sort of disease! The scary thing is the tech who burned me actually TEACHES the procedure here locally!

terry77 (2 posts) 17 Mar 2011

IPL will make things worse! I would consult a dermatologist. You will probably need a period of time to let your face heal. Treatments that may work would be Obaji Nu Derm System. Eventual laser resurfacing or chemical peel. You will have to use sunscreen religiously. IPL is making things worse- I hate IPL. It typically administered by people who have no business using the technology. I was burned by IPL-- it is has taken years for this to fade. It has never completely resolved, but is better after letting the body heal itself and with the assistance of the treatments I mentioned.

hoosieraj (5 posts) 17 Mar 2011

Thanks guys! It's been a few years now and my face is about 80% better thanks to a new office I go to in Louisville, KY.

Here is what has helped: I use the Obagi Nu Derm system and its wonderful. Def worth the money. And yes, I use sun screen all the time, no tanning my face.

I was doing chemical peels every 4 weeks with microdermabrasion in between. I did this cycle for about 6 months. Then I did chemical peels only about every 6-8 weeks. Recently I had the new Obagi Radiance Peel, I love it!!!! It's $150 per visit compared to $100 for the chemical peel, but well worth it. I'm going to get a package of 6 and do it every 4 weeks and I still use the Nu Derm system.

Sunscreen is crucial, because the lines come back if not. I hate that my face stays pale since I'm olive and dark complected, but a good bronzer helps. I will never do laser treatment again.

I hope this helps :)

citygirl87 (1 post) 13 Jul 2011

What doctor did you find that helped your condition? Im in same boat! thx

cveroleyva (125 posts) 14 Apr 2011

Wow!!!
What chemical peels are you using? I found a great esthetician who will be doing my microderm, but also have a natural brown skin so don't know what chemical peels to learn more about.

cveroleyva (125 posts) 14 Apr 2011

Oh yeah, and I'm also an ipl vicitm....never ever ever again..lol

WHAT TO DO (2 posts) 7 Dec 2011

I have undergone 2 total IPL treatments. The treatments (1 and 2 )were 7 weeks apart.
I have a 3rd one scheduled for this week. That will make it 4 weeks from my most recent treatment. They say to make each IPL tx 4-6 weeks apart. I have not had any issues thus far...fingers crossed. I did have a reaction after my 2nd treatment...this was not r/t the IPL tho. My doctor said I could resume my ziana (helps acne) and that was a big mistake. I developed red,raised, itchy areas all over my r side of my face. My dermatologist said this was because Ziana is a retinoid and it causes sun sensitivity. I should have waited at least 1 week to start using it again. Presently the reaction has diminished. I do feel really dry though. Not sure if this is IPL related or just residual from the ZIANA.BTW...I am receiving IPL for a brown birthmark on my cheek. Curious to know, those of you who have had negative responses to IPL...did you go to a doctor certified or a spa???? Did you space out the IPL treatments as directed??? Also, it seems that a lot of those with negative responses have darker skin. I have read that IPL is not rec for those with darker skin. My heart aches when I read these horror stories. I wish the best to you all. Any feed back would be appreciated. Thanks!

	“So Far...So Good!” 1 comment
	“IPL Eye Sensative”
	“Didn't Do Much” 1 comment
	“Severe Burns from Ipl” 1 comment

“DO NOT Get an IPL - Evansville, IN”

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