IPL Reviews
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302 Reviews
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Average IPL Cost: $550

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“A Rough Start....but Ended Up Well - San Diego, CA”

Worth It
Spent: $500 in San Diego, CA

Comments (2)

Posted 21 Sep 2011

I had IPL to deal with a lot of sun damage and discoloration I had.

I had a pretty extreme response - lots of swelling and the amount of pigmentation that came to the surface made it impossible for me to leave the house! It took about 10 days before I was healed enough that I could cover with makeup and not get a lot of sideways glances.

14 days post procedure, I am thrilled with the results. My sun damage is gone and my skin is smooth with invisible pores. I would definitely do it again, however I was completely unprepared by the amount of downtime I experienced. I would just caution anyone considering IPL to be prepared for that possibility.

There are also a lot of horror stories out there - I would only do this with a medical doctor who has a lot of experience working with IPL.

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

Helpful review?

Darrell W. Gonzales, MD

My Doctor: Darrell W. Gonzales, MD

My rating:

Called to check on me several times to make sure I was healing appropriately - had me come in for a follow up to ease my mind since my healing was slow. Definitely recommend him.

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Comments (2)

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BrittB 19 Oct 2011

Hi Nate, 

I'm glad this worked out so well for you, but often wish patients would get a bit more warning of downtime so it does not catch them off guard like it did you. But your review is good so those researching will know about downtime, so thanks for that. :) How long had you been considering having this procedure done? 

Thank you for the post,

-Britt

NateTheGreat 21 Oct 2011
I had not considered it long - I saw my dermatologist a couple of months previously for my regular annual check and he talked to me about it then. I didn't do as much research as I probably should have. I have good communication with this doctor and I tend to trust what he tells me on face value probably more than I should. :) I saw him last week for a follow up and he is recommending one more treatment, but I am going to wait for a little bit. This time I will schedule it intending to have more downtime that the "typical" response. Thanks!

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