Intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy

IPL is especially useful for brown spots, freckles, sun damage, facial redness, and visible small blood vessels. It can improve overall skin tone by targeting both melanin and hemoglobin in the skin.

This is often a normal part of the healing process. Targeted pigmentation may darken before gradually becoming dry, flaking, and fading over the following days.

IPL needs to be used very carefully on darker or recently tanned skin. Proper skin assessment and settings are important.

Use gentle skincare while your skin settles and avoid picking or exfoliating darkened spots. SPF is especially important, along with minimizing direct sun exposure, to protect healing skin and reduce the chance of pigmentation returning.

• Brown spots, also called liver or age spots
• Dark spots from hormonal changes

It works best if you have pale or light brown skin.

IPL isn’t a good idea if you:

• Have recently tanned your skin using sunlight, tanning beds, or tanning creams
• Have a skin resurfacing disorder

• Wash your face the evening of your treatment with a gentle cleanser
• A mild sunburn sensation, redness is normal
• Recommended by your provider twice a day to keep the skin hydrated
• Immediately after the procedure, the treated area may look red or pink. This tends to last for between 4 and 8 hours.

People may also notice a stinging sensation in the 4 to 6 hours after IPL. This feeling may resemble that of having a mild sunburn. A moist cloth or cool pack can help ease the stinging.

Swelling is also common, usually lasting for several days after the procedure.

During the recovery period, people should avoid putting makeup or lotion on the treated area for 24 hours after the procedure or until all the swelling has gone. After this time, individuals should moisturize the treated area at least twice a day for a minimum of 3 months.