Intense Pulsed Light Therapy – IPL Treatment

If you struggle with how your facial skin looks because of fine lines, sun damage, or dark spots, cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Marguerite Bernett can offer you a skin analysis at our Irvine, CA office to see if you qualify for intense pulsed light therapy (IPL) by Palomar Lux. An IPL photofacial is a skin rejuvenation treatment for adult men and women with hyperpigmentation and wrinkle issues on their face and neck. IPL may not be an invasive procedure, but it can be very effective and produce great results. Dr. Bernett uses Palomar Lux IPL technology to send intense wavelengths of light that heat the skin just enough to ignite the natural regeneration process and boost collagen production. Over time, you should see healthier skin with a more even tone and fewer dark spots.

IPL works deep within the layers of your skin to improve many complexion concerns (especially sun spots and brown lesions) with little or no downtime. Candidates for IPL may have a combination of concerns with their skin, including sun damage, rosacea, hyperpigmentation (brown spots), wrinkles, rough texture, large pores, flushing, freckles, melasma, age and sun spots, or broken capillaries. Dr. Bernett will assess your skin to see if you are a candidate for IPL at your private consultation.

IPL is performed inside our Irvine, CA office in about 20 – 30 minutes in our minor procedures room if performed alone. To start the procedure, we will clean and dry the skin to be treated before covering your eyes with special laser shields. The IPL is administered using a handheld device that passes over the skin while emitting pulses of laser energy. While most patients will feel some discomfort during the IPL, it is generally tolerable for the short treatment time.

There is no downtime associated with an IPL, but you will leave your appointment with your skin a little pink and swollen. This will decrease on its own as the day continues — it can be concealed with makeup if you want. Dr. Bernett advises patients keep an ointment on the skin’s surface to decrease irritation and speed healing. It also helps to take an anti-inflammatory medication to help reduce swelling. Over the course of several days, the sun damage and other irregularities that rested under the skin will come to the surface and then begin to flake off. It’s very important to keep your skin protected from the sun at all times after an IPL and to not pick at your skin. While you should see some visible results after the first session, your skin will attain the best results after several IPL sessions. Dr. Bernett recommends approximately 3 – 6 treatments performed about once a month.

You probably didn’t worry too much about your skin when you were a child, but now that environmental damage like sun spots, wrinkles, and other blemishes are appearing, you may be interested in how to improve your complexion. We invite you to learn more about IPL laser treatments by calling our Irvine, CA office and scheduling a skin consultation with Dr. Bernett. With IPL laser treatments by Palomar Lux, we can go deep within the layers of your skin to help bring back a bright glow and a clear complexion.