Intense pulsed light (IPL) is a technology used by cosmetic and medical practitioners to perform different skin treatments for aesthetic and therapeutic purposes like hair removal, photorejuvenation (e.g. the treatment of skin pigmentation, sun damage, and thread veins), and to alleviate dermatologic diseases.
IPL shares similarities with laser treatments in that they both use light to heat and destroy their targets. Unlike lasers that use a single wavelength (color) of light that can only treat one condition, IPL uses a broad spectrum. When specifically filtered, this enables it to treat several skin conditions.
The treatment uses a bright light with filters placed in front of it to censor out certain wavelengths not consumed by pigment and blood vessels. The light energy penetrates just below the skin’s surface, damaging either the melanin (skin pigment) or blood vessels.
The body’s natural skin repair mechanisms then remove the damaged tissue to produce a smoother skin appearance. It usually takes three to six treatments to see significant results and treatments can be spaced out every three to four weeks.
IPL is good for removing pigment, like age spots, and small blood vessels, such as telangiectasias. In some cases it can also help with fine lines by lifting and tightening the skin, but that’s never guaranteed. It has also been marketed for hair removal, although newer technologies seem to provide better results.
The advantage to IPL systems is that downtime is usually very minimal – although patients may experience a slight darkening of pigment before it eventually lightens.
Why some treatments go wrong
Every person is different, and what works for 90% of the population may not work for the remaining 10%. Skin sensitivity, skin care products, pain tolerance, lifestyle habits such as sun exposure, smoking, drug use; all these factors affect a patient’s potential for successful skincare treatment.
I recently heard about a 30-something Los Angeles woman who purchased six sessions of laser hair removal treatments at a med spa in the Valley. The treatments were deeply discounted on Living Social, so she was more apt to experiment and try the full leg hair removal procedures.
Though the sessions slowed its growth, her leg hair was never fully removed. She later learned from one of the nurses that women on birth control may not find the treatments as effective as those who are not. Though frustrated with the results, she noted that if she found another discount offer, she would try the treatment once again.
Similarly, I know of a 40-something Chicago woman who unsuccessfully tried various ointments and topical treatments to get rid of brown spots that were developing on her skin. She purchased a $1,000 laser treatment from a dermatologist to remove the spots. After 48 hours of her skin “burning” from the treatment, she was extremely disappointed to see no change whatsoever in the pigment she so desperately hoped would return to its original coloring. The experience turned her off from trusting professionals and trying any more laser treatments as a solution to her problem.
According to Hochstedt, some “practitioners don’t always understand the treatments they’re doing – which can put patients at risk.” At Cook’s practice, “he knows every treatment that every one of his patients has had in the past,” says Hochstedt. “Many med spas are not run this way. Sometimes doctors hang their certificates on the wall, but aren’t actually there to ensure that patients are receiving adequate treatments.”
At a professional plastic surgeon’s office there is always a nurse practitioner available if the doctor is in surgery. Clients may pay more but “don’t mind because they feel protected and safe,” notes Hochstedt. I know it made a difference with my own successful IPL experience.
