IPL Laser Acne Scars Treatment

Hi, thanks for your question. The answer to your questions depends on the type of acne scars/symptoms you’re trying to treat. I agree with the other answers in this thread in that IPL/BBL can be used to treat 2 things primarily: 1) Redness and 2) Discoloration. While IPL/BBL treatments do stimulate some dermal collagen production, it takes several treatments and is not dramatic enough to correct “rolling” or “ice-pick” acne scars or indentations. Other treatments options for these type of texture issues may include HALO hybrid fractional laser, TRL (total resurfacing laser), or subscisions with or without dermal fillers.

IPL will help for the discoloration from the scars. If the scars look brown or red they will lighten and look less noticeable after the IPL. However, IPL won’t help with the indented scars and won’t improve the texture of the skin. In that case Fraxel laser will be a better option for the acne scars. Most patients need to do 5 treatments every 6 weeks for the best results.

Not everyone wants to undergo invasive acne surgery. IPL is an excellent option for some acne scars as it improves the following:


Redness

Discoloration


I use the IPL treatment alongside the MelaPeel chemical peel.

Thank you for your message! IPL is a great tool to help with discoloration and red tones. If you have red marks the IPL may help relieve some of that though multiple treatments are typically needed. If you have more textural scarring, microneedling may be a better option for you. I would recommend a consultation with a provider in your area for further evaluation! 

Thank you for your question! IPLor Intense Pulsed Light is a treatment that can help in managing certain skinissues such as brown or red skin discoloration, hair removal, and adult acne.However, it also has its limitations. Although IPL may be used to resolve adultacne, acne scars may be a different story altogether. IPL can help insmoothening out rough skin only to a small degree. It cannot yet aid insmoothing out acne scars per se. It cannot even be helpful in reducing thedepth of the scar. To some degree, it can only help in making the acne scarsless visible since it will resolve the discoloration on the scars. You may wantto resort to other treatments like microneedling for resolving acne scars.
To know better about the possibleoptions that you have for your acne scars case, you may want to visit a boardcertified plastic surgeon who will assess your skin and skin issue as well asoffer you the best possible treatments that will aid you in achieving yourdesired result.

IPL is best for treating brown spots and red spots. If you have some hyperpigmentation or redness in your acne scars then IPL can help diminish that. If you are looking to reverse the divets in your skin that we see after years of battling acne, Infini has been shown to give the best results. Infini combines microneedling and RF, and is safe on any skin type. 

IPL may marginally reduce scar redness, but does not work in improving texture or in actually lifting the scars. 

Thank you for your question.
IPL treatment is not effective for acne scars. IPL is a superficial treatment that targets blood vessels and pigment, but will do nothing to raise, erase, or diminish acne scars. In order to improve acne scars with a laser, you will need a resurfacing laser. In regards to the best resurfacing lasers for acne scars, fractional ablative lasers such as the CO2 and Erbium laser are excellent choices, while Fraxel and other fractional nonablative lasers are also good options.
Hope this helps!

IPL only helps acne scars by evening out the discoloration. It is not smoothing out the scar or decreasing its depth, only making it less visible.

IPL is only minimally effective treatment for acne scars. The gold standard for acne scar treatment remains CO2 blation therapy. Howeever, less and less physicians, even some very experienced laser physicians are using this treatment due to the aggrevation over post-treatment care and potential liability concerns.
Fractionaled laser treatment ( Fraxel, SmartXide Dot, etc.) have become increasingly popular. Fraxel Repair is a CO2 fractiionated laser and hence goes a bit deeper and is more effective than Fraxel ReStore. I would hop around this site to see what its contributing physicians and patient members think of any of these devices used for acne scars.
However, all acne scars ( such as the ice-pick scars) are not eliminated with any laser treatment.