I decided to try IPL after being frustrated with my discoloration after years of being careless with skin care and sun exposure. I have always had freckles but the large and dark sunspots really bothered me! I also have a little rosacea/redness in face which adds to my overall discoloration. I researched for awhile and decided to book an appointment to receive IPL. I was very nervous as I have read HORROR stories and my biggest concern was getting burned really bad. However I felt like I booked my appointment in the right hands. Appointment day consisted of receiving a numbing gel all over my face that sat for about 30-45 minutes. The gel was AWESOME. I didn't feel ANYTHING except when it did "long pulses" on the right side of my face. After 30-45 minutes of numbing the tech then added a cooling gel to my face and tapped my eyes. The doctor came in and talked to me before getting the machine ready. The procedure itself took 15 minutes or so and there was nothing to it. The doctor told me where he was going each time. He did a round of "short pulses" and then another round of "long pulses". My face was incredibly numb so I didn't really feel anything EXCEPT for when he did "long pulses" on the right side of my face. For whatever reason that side was very sensitive. It wasn't too bad but definitely could feel it. I couldn't imagine getting this done without numbing!!! Afterwards my face felt pretty hot. I was provided a cool wipe and the tech applied several things to my face. At the end, she applied sunscreen. She also gave me an aftercare kit of the "image" brand to use. It has a morning and night care for my face No lie, when I looked in the mirror I was a bit horrified at my skin. It was REALLY red and dark!! Like the worst sunburn ever. My skin is still red and dark but not as bad as it was right after. I'll try to keep this updated so others can see my experience. I am hoping I have a good experience. But as with every procedure there's a big risk. I'll keep you posted. Updated on 27 Oct 2019: The redness in my face significantly went down last night. However my spots have gotten significantly darker which was expected! The area under my eye that he zapped a few times is a little tender but not too bad. I hope the spot goes flakes off completely. I'm a little worried as one of my spots flaked prematurely which I'm guessing was from the way I slept. It's a very tiny spot so I'm putting aquaphor on it to keep it moist. I'll defintely baby that part of my face. I don't want a scar! The tech said no exercising yesterday but today (next day) would be ok. I think I'm going to hold off until tomorrow. My face gets red/irritated when I sweat so I don't want to irritate my face right now. I can't wait to see what happens this week.. I hope my trouble spots faded away. Updated on 29 Oct 2019: 3 days post procedure and not really digging this. My skin is incredibly flaky (particularly under my left eye) and it looks very dirty. I also have a very tiny blister which I hope doesn't cause ANOTHER spot. I'm hoping things start to flake off sooner/fast. It's so hard not to pick the skin off... Updated on 2 Nov 2019: Well after 7 days the majority of my flaking is over! However I still have a little bit left. My skin definitely looks better than before and I'm hoping the spot on my cheek continues to flake off but I think I'll need another treatment. Overall my texture is glowy!! I really like it! Especially now the flaking isn't as much. So far my thoughts: -if you have significant amount of freckles and/or sun damage then prepare to have incredibly flaky skin for at least a week!! The first few days the flake was rather bad. It was hard to cover with makeup. I'm sure others noticed, but no one said anything. - I had a spot treated under my eye and my eyelids swelled up for a few days. Today is the first day they have gone back to normal (which unfortunately is still dark and puffy). - use aquaphor day and night! It keeps your skin moist when it's trying to heal. It's also very smoothing. - I was warned I'd have breakouts. I did have some around my chin which is my problem area (mostly hormonal) - I did get a blister on my cheek where a scab feel off too soon. I babied it constantly. It's still pink and I'm hoping it continues to heal and blend into my skin. Overall I'm content. I can't wait to see it continue to get better over the next week. I was told it could take 2 weeks so hopefully the rest flakes off soon! Updated on 3 Nov 2019: 8 days post! All flaking is dine except a few tiny spots! I have to say this treatment took out just about ALL my discoloration!! But it left my skin very white/pinkish.. like brand new skin, but it looks very weird.. especially when I had a very discolored face not even a week ago. Unsure if I like it. Its such a huge change. Also I dont think the treatment caused skin texture issues but it definitely makes it more noticeable. I had skin texture issues before and now it's more noticeable. Updated on 7 Nov 2019: A week ago vs today. Same lighting, same makeup. I'm glad I got this done! Very happy with my results. I may do spot treatment on my 2 spots that faded but didn't disappear and maybe my chest as well. Updated on 8 Dec 2019: 7 weeks post I also had some filler under my eyes. Overall I'm happy I did IPL and will do it again on my face and my chest. I'd say I had a big improvement. If I could, I'd tell my younger self to NOT tan because the damage will appear much sooner than you think !!!
