IPL 3 Days Ago - Now I Have Maybe 3-4 "Coffee Grind" Spots. Is This Normal?

IPL PhotoFacial treatments to reduce the appearance of brown discoloration may result in temporary darkening of these spots so they resemble coffee grounds. These will typically fall off in 2-3 weeks and reveal improved skin coloration.

To have dark spots, slightly red or blotchy skin, 'coffee grounds' or even slightly dirty looking skin 3 days after IPL is quite normal and generally a good sign.  The skin will generally become dry and the darkened spots will flake or peel off. We usually recommend patients not be treated for at least 3-4 weeks.  After only a week the skin may not have had a chance to peel/flake sufficiently or recover completely from the previous treatment so treating again so quickly may be a bit premature.

 

After IPL treatment, the skin may look red and blotchy for 1-3 days.   The brown spots darken right away, and may look red around the edges, then start to look crusty or scabby.  Many people call this "coffee grounds."  On the face it may take 7-10 days for these spots to fall off, and 14 days for the chest or arms.  Some patients do not notice the crusting or coffee grounds, but may still have an eventual lightening of the brown spots.  It may take several more weeks before you can assess how much improvement you got.  I would definitely not do anouther treatment until 4 weeks after your last treatment.  If you have not had much improvement, your doctor may consider using slightly stronger energies.  Usually one session does not treat all of the brown spots, and there may be some that are particularly resistant even after several treatments, that need to be treated with a different removal method.  Give it some more time and try a second treatment.

Don't do another IPL or Fotofacial for 30 days.  I usually recommend 5 monthly treatments.

These dark spots are damaged pigmented areas you didn't want in the first place.  They'll just fall off.  This kind of thing happens all the time and is to be expected as a normal result of the procedure.

When they do fall off, your skin color will be more uniform, youthful and attractive.  IPL or Fotofacial is one of those procedures that typically has a high satisfaction rate.