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POSTED UNDER IPL Reviews REVIEWS

scarred from alma ipl

ORIGINAL POST

2 months ago I had the Alma Harmony XL Pro IPL to...

Nu06June 1, 2017
2 months ago I had the Alma Harmony XL Pro IPL to treat sunspots on my arm. It was a demo and the settings clearly were WAY too strong and left me with white rectangular box shape burns. I am not sure if the Alma representative put incorrect settings or the device was defective and gave incorrect automated settings- either way it looks like I'm permanently scarred.
After the initial welts subsides (a few days) the rectangles were scabbed for about 2 weeks. Once the scabs fell off it left me with white rectangles on my arm...I am constantly wearing long sleeves to cover up the marks because of embarrassment and I get depressed looking at them :(
The Alma website says "The treatments are specially designed for patient comfort and are safe and effective for all skin types, including dark skin." The scary part is this happened because the settings were wrong and this was put in by an ALMA TRAINED REPRESENTATIVE...how can you be so negligent? Not sure how this happened to me but i will NEVER do an IPL treatment again!!

Replies (8)

chila
June 5, 2017
I'm sorry this happened to you, and thank you for sharing. I do think it's possible that the white rectangles will become more pigmented over time. Stories like these are why I don't trust lasers....it seems too risky even if you have the best pratitioner. Of course, the doctors on this site won't admit to this.
laserjen
June 7, 2017
Hello. There is a way to get pigmentation back. you have to put Latisse on the spots. Because Latisse is a growth hormone, it wil cause the pigmentation to return. The down side is that it will promote hair growth. (Then you have to trust a certified laser tech to remove the hair.
jjahoo
June 14, 2017
I don't recommend that.....
adkdreamer
June 9, 2017
I had this happen to me too. The white rectangles did finally get the pigment back but it took about 6 months to completely go away.
mariadpm
September 1, 2017
Did you get purple scabs that peeled off?
adkdreamer
September 1, 2017
Yes. I didn't like that! But now I can't tell it even happened.
jjahoo
June 14, 2017
Unfortunately you weren't properly advised or treated. IPL is great for patients with skin types I-II and sometimes III. Never dark or tanned skin. I'm sorry that you were treated by someone with no experience. However, the marks may not be permanent and can possibly be corrected. Let me know if you would like to discuss further. Willing to help.....jjahoo
nyc77
January 6, 2018
Did the pigment ever return ? They look like the pigment was lost . Excimer laser might help , it's not like the other lasers , it's usually covered by insurance and uses for vitiligo but regardless of the cause , unless truly depigmented , it may help . Someone mentioned that an inexperienced person misled you , same tired excuse . I went to one of the most well known derm in the country here in Manhattan and I'm fitz IV and she suggested bbl/ipl. I'm now riddled with hypo on my face ! I didn't burn , it just started a week after and by week five , it's nearly stark white squares and also weird texture changes , squiggly lines , holes . The 2nd derm
I went to for assessment asked if I had CO2! He said the squares were readily apparent and indeed hypo, the treating derm denied any of it existed . They will always lie and always deny , they will not help you . You should have been put on biafine emulsion and probably petroleum jelly on top. I'm really sorry . We all have the same story but I guess we are all imagining it .
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