We all want to improve our skin tone, texture and discoloration. But many of us don’t want to go to the extremes of laser skin resurfacing or other deep, invasive chemical peels. Intense Pulsed Light therapy is a great solution. An IPL treatment improves the appearance of photo-aged skin, removes age spots (sun-induced freckles), most benign brown pigments, and redness caused by broken capillaries through a process called photo rejuvenation for face and body. The process is ideal for patients with active lifestyles because the procedure requires no downtime and has a low risk of side effects. The gentle, non-ablative treatments use broad spectrum light to treat the face, chest, neck and hands, virtually anywhere that sun damage shows.
How it works:
A broad spectrum of light is transmitted through a small, smooth, transparent hand piece which is gently placed over the skin. Cut-off filters in the hand piece change the wavelength range allowing it to be optimized for different applications and skin types. The light penetrates the tissue and is absorbed by either the blood when treating vascular lesions or the melanin when treating pigmented lesions damaging them. The body’s natural processes then remove the injured tissue giving the skin a more even and youthful appearance. The light energy stimulates the production of collagen, helps to refine pore size, works to remove brown spots/sun damage, reduces flushing and broken capillaries, and evens skin tone. It can also help to reduce redness and flushing of rosacea by 80 to 90 percent.
PL Skin Treatments using Photo rejuvenation often consist of full-face treatment or treatment of body areas like the hands or chest. The treatment regimen typically consists of four to six treatments administered at three week intervals. Most patients describe the sensation of IPL to be like the snap of a rubber band on the skin. There is little to no discomfort post treatment. IPL Skin Treatments using Photo rejuvenation produce few side effects and requires little to no alteration in the patient’s normal routine. Makeup can be applied immediately after your treatment. We typically see you back one week post treatment to administer a chemical peel to the treated area. This assists us in delivering a more complete treatment by exfoliating the superficial layers of skin to reveal a fresher, more radiant, you.
-Jennifer Davis
Medical Aesthetician
Williamson Cosmetic Center
