Is BBL safe on asian skin (Chinese) to remove freckles and sun spots?

Question

I am chinese and classified as between skin type III/IV. I've had a few different consultations at different skincare spas and they all said I can have IPL/BBL, but just with more caution. I'm worried about hyperpigmentation or more spots being brought up. If so, is that temporary and can be treated?

Rebecca Gelber, MD · Answer

Thank you so much for taking the care and doing your research. I love treating my Asian patients and have very specific protocols for doing it safely.First off, people should be scoring your FP +1. Even very fair Asian skin just acts like darker skin and needs to be treated that way. Long pulsewidths and especially a fantastic cooling system (which is where cheaper IPL's fail) are critical to safety.Next, I would only stick to BBL - it's the very best IPL system made and that means it has more finesse and safety controls to let providers adjust settings for safety. Also, the system costs way more than other IPL's, so you know that the office cares enough to invest in the best. Make sure the person doing your BBL has at least 1-2 years of regularly doing BBL on Asian skin.I pre and post treat all my Asian patients with combo's of HQ and Lytera for at least a month before. If we're being super careful, I then do a few patch tests out of the way. I then wait 6-8 weeks to be 99.9% sure that no hyperpigmentation or issues arrive - you really do have to wait that long. And THEN, if the patch tests do well, we know that with super careful sun avoidance pre and post, it is very unlikely that there will be issues.Finally, ClearSilk takes a series, but has no real risks of HP in Asian skin. I love it and can even use it in FPVI (African American) patients. Much like BBL, it can help browns, reds, collagen boosting and I'm even seeing nice texture improvement after a series of 6 no-downtime, easy, safe treatments. Halo and Profractional are other nice options for Asian skin.

Is BBL safe on asian skin (Chinese) to remove freckles and sun spots?

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Is BBL safe on asian skin (Chinese) to remove freckles and sun spots?

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Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about BroadBand Light (BBL)

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