Laser Skin Rejuvenation

Laser Skin Rejuvenation treatments or IPL Photofacials are the non-surgical anti-aging skin care treatment of choice for benign facial skin pigmentation, age spots, brown spots and broken blood vessels, the small red spots called telangiectasia, and rosacea on the face, hands, neck and Décolletage. IPL Photofacial treatments are now preferred over laser treatments for these specific pigment and vascular lesions.

IPL Photofacials  treatments use a bright flash of visible light, like the light of a camera flash to remove pigment and blood vessels non-surgically from the skin. This pulsed or flashed light is very different from a laser as it is a broad-spectrum that can affect multiple skin conditions at once.

Laser skin rejuvenation works by passing a flash of bright light through a filter that only allows a specific color of light in the flash to pass through the filter and hit the skin.

The IPL Photofacial light is selectively absorbed or taken up by the brown pigment in an age spot or the dark reddish brown color of blood in a blood vessel. When the Photofacial light energy is absorbed by the pigment or blood vessel, the heat from the Photofacial or IPL light destroys the pigment or blood vessel by heating it.

This process is called Target Specific Photothermolysis. A specific target, that is a color, is heated (thermo) with a light (photo) beam and dissolved or destroyed (lysis). Using color filters placed in front of the Photofacial light beam, a wide variety of colors can be allowed through to treat many different skin conditions including hair removal (Red), acne (Violet), age spots (yellow) and rosacea (green).

What Will My Skin Look Like Immediately After a Photofacial Skin Care Treatment?

Unlike lasers, which can cause the skin to peel and possibly leave scars, the IPL Photofacial treatments are very gentle on the skin. The pigment in the brown spot or age spot will darken very slightly, and the treated blood vessel will also darken a bit. However the skin will be intact. The treated areas may also be slightly pink for a few hours. The contact cooling window of the handpiece give a safe less painful treatment. 

Does A Photofacial Skin Care Treatment Hurt?

There is minimal discomfort during a Photofacial skin care treatment. Anaesthesia or numbing medicine is not required. When the Photofacial or IPL flash hits the skin you will feel a small snap or sting, but this is easily tolerated by all of my clients.

How Many Photofacial Skin care treatments will I Need?

Usually 4 Photofacial skin care treatments are required spaced 4 weeks apart for the best results. Photofacial are designed to remove pigment and blood vessels painlessly and with no trace or scar left behind. You may need 2-4 treatments 4-6 weeks apart.

How Soon after My Photofacial Skin Care Treatment Will I See a Result?

Generally you will see the results of your Photofacial skin care treatment at 4-5 weeks. The brown spot will be lighter or gone and the red spot or blood vessel will be much smaller. Some patients with thin skin and very light pigment or small broken blood vessels will see complete removal after one treatment. However most people see definite improvement 5 weeks after the Photofacial IPL treatment and may require 3 more treatments for complete removal.