beautique

Easiest Hair Removal - Port Orange, FL

That really comes down to your choice and what the actual size is. The short answer is no, you don't have to treat your entire face - just the spot.

But, this also comes down to how close the spot is to the eye and whether your spot is raised or is underneath the skin. You really don't want to treat anywhere within 1cm of the eye with a laser modality that deeply penetrates the skin as the laser energy can be harmful to it. So, again this depends if the age spot is raised or is freckle-like. If it is raised, then the distance from the eye doesn't matter as it will be treated by an ablative laser, which does not penetrate deep into the skin. A freckle requires deeper penetration to be treated and I wouldn't recommend using a laser to treat it very close to the eye.

Other thoughts on it - If it is a larger pigmented lesion then I would say to only have them treat that area. If it is a smaller lesion, let's say in the average size of a freckle range then I may suggest having that combined with another laser treatment for cost purposes. You could easily combine that with facial rejuvenation as long as they are working with an Nd:YAG 1064 laser, which will allow both of these procedures to be done simultaneously. Also, this will depend who you're treating with. If it is a family practitioner or other clinician that you are familiar with they may cut you a break if it is a very small sun spot.

Do you know what kind of machine they are using? And how far were your 2 treatments spaced apart? Typically, even after 1 treatment you should be seeing some sort of a result. When you are getting treated are the hairs singing and does it smell like burnt hair? If this isn't the case, the clinician may need to use a higher energy mode for you to see some sort of a result.

The Nd:YAG laser is the proper laser for darker skin types and I would not recommend that you attempt hair removal with any other light modality for risk of burning or pigmentary changes. The reason that laser hair treatments are spaced apart is due to the hair's growth cycle. Having each treatment spaced every 3-4 weeks raises the chance that the hair follicles will be in the Anagen (growth) phase, when the melanin is most pronounced and will be able to be destroyed most effectively. It has been shown that laser treatments are primarily effective in the Anagen phase. Not all hairs will be in the same stage, which is why treatments need to be spaced apart in order to have the desired outcome.

It needs to be understood that you will not see complete hair removal after 1 or 2 treatments, but if you have not seen any improvement whatsoever you need to talk to your treatment provider to find out what the problem is. Otherwise, I would suggest finding a new provider who may have more experience with your skin type or just lasers in general.

Like Dr. Steinsaper had said, the Aerolase laser is a yag laser - of which is attracted to melanin, hemoglobin and water. What you're looking for in a photofacial is clearance of any uneven skin tone, sun or age spots, and a skin tightening effect as a result of new collagen growth. It is a great all-around procedure for facial rejuvenation.
IPL can be a decent modality to treat light skin for freckles and spots, but will not be effective in evening reddened areas or filling out the skin. The main problem with IPL devices is that they can be very dangerous to use on tan or dark skin as they can result in burning or hyper/hypopigmentation. Also, you're going to have to be lathered in gel during your treatment, which can be quite lengthy. Hope you found this information helpful! Best.