I am scheduled for IPL next week by my dermatologist. I am using retinol cream 1% 2 times per week. Is this contraindicated?

In my opinion, one should discontinue retinol cream 7 to 10 days prior to IPL treatment. This will allow the top layer of the skin to be normalized and allow a more even treatment.

My opinion would be to stop the use of any Retinol cream or topical products containing tretinoin 7-10 days prior to your IPL appointment and until your skin has completely healed from the laser. 

All topical retinols should be stopped a week ahead of laser and IPL treatments. You can resume them when your skin is recovered from the treatment. This can be variable, depending on the treatment.