Hypopigmentation after IPL? (Photo)

Question

I had IPL 2 weeks ago on my chest for hyperpigmentation. Directly after the treatment I had erythema and blisters. Now, 2 weeks later I have white spots. Is this hypopigmentation? My doctor gave me some cortisone cream today and told me to avoid the sun and use sunscreen. He also said, that we should treat the darker parts of my chest with ipl to lighten them up and get an even Skin tone. Is this a good idea? Will These spots go away? Is there anything else I can do? Thank you very much!

Rebecca Gelber, MD · Answer

Sorry you're going through this! It's hard to say from the pictures and this early in the procedure that what you have is true hypopigmentation. A more common situation is that the more aggressively treated areas give up all the unhealthy pigment and end up looking paler, even though what they truly are is completely without sundamage and paler than the surrounding skin which does still have sun damage. Your doctors recommendations are what generally works best - steroids, keeping it moist and strictly avoiding any sun, then coming back and treating the darker areas with residual sun damage. This usually results in an even result.

Kenneth Oleszek, MD · Answer

With IPL you can get some pigment variation after the first treatment, especially on the chest.  This usually evens out after 3 sessions.  This is why we recommend 3 sessions.  But if you really had blisters after the first treatment - the settings were too high and need to be adjusted down.
So, avoiding sun exposure and following-up for another treatment is what we would do.  Sometimes if the lighter areas persist -  a Halo laser treatment may blend the color.
Ken Oleszek, MDLa Fontaine AestheticsDenver, Colorado

Lisa Jenks, MD · Answer

Unfortunately, the loss of pigment is a risk with almost any laser procedure.  Sometimes, pigment will return naturally, especially if you are religious about protecting the area from sunscreen, as your doctor recommended.  However, many times the pigment does not return and the loss is permanent.  Your doctor is correct in suggesting that those areas will be less noticeable if the pigment surrounding them is decreased with additional treatments.  Since you blistered with the first treatment, I would suggest turning down the energy for subsequent treatments.  Be sure that you have not had recent sun exposure and have not used any self-tanning creams for 4 weeks prior to your treatments.  Best of luck to you.

Hypopigmentation after IPL? (Photo)

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Hypopigmentation after IPL? (Photo)

Answers (3)

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Everything you need to know about IPL

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.