Wave Goodbye to Sun Damage with Intense Pulsed Light
Sometimes we spend too much time in the sun, and on lazy summer days at the beach or on the boat, it’s easy to forget or skip the sunscreen. And over time, our skin shows us the consequences. Now you’re thinking the temporary tan wasn’t worth the trade off of permanent sun damage, is there anything I can do?! The answer is YES!
IPL is the perfect treatment for skin that has Sun damage, age spots, redness and broken capillaries, skin that feels dull or uneven, or anyone who wants youthful, more radiant skin. IPL (or intense pulsed light) targets the damage in your skin that causes pigmentation and aging and focuses the IPL energy into the damaged skin. Over the next few days, the damage is brought up to the skins surface where it is exfoliated off to reveal the new, healthy skin below. It can take several treatments to achieve optimal results, but there are usually visible results even from your very first treatment! though some of the less damaged skin can take longer and more treatments to see the best effects.
3-5 treatments is a good starting guideline to follow, and we can asses how long we should wait in between treatments during your consultation, test patch, and subsequent appointments. The IPL photo facial is a quick treatment that has very little downtime to make it easy to get fast and effective results. For the first couple of hours, it is normal to feel as though you have spent the day in the sun, with a warm feeling on the area that was treated. You can use cool cloths at home to help combat the feeling and it is usually gone within a few hours. The following day you will feel back to normal, you can put your makeup on again, and go about your day. You will watch your skin start to glow and look fresher and clearer.
Use a good moisturizer after your treatment to keep your skin hydrated, you can apply the moisturizer as often as you would like if your skin is feeling a bit drier than normal, and a good exfoliator, (we always recommend the zo skin health skin polish, it is our favourite. It uses ultra fine magnesium crystals and vitamin c which is the perfect recipe for glowing skin), to help remove any leftover top treated layer of skin, one week after treatment.
There are a few things to keep in mind when you are going through your IPL journey, we want to make sure you keep your skin safe as you’re going through the process so you get the absolute best results. Your skin will be more sensitive to the sun and you will need to keep your SPF on daily to protect it through your treatments. IPL is not the choice for skin that already has a tan, as this increases your chances to have any adverse effects. We will assess and treat your skin at every appointment to ensure we will get the results we are looking for without complications. We often get asked how painful photo facials are, and most people will tell us that it feels like a slight rubber band snap to your skin, which can sting slightly for the split second the light energy passes through, but nothing that is too strong or uncomfortable to handle and doesn’t last for long. We always use the cooling tip of the IPL hand piece and cold ultrasound gel to keep your skin nice and cool as we go through the process, and cold towels afterward to take any excess warmth left over. Book in your consultation and test patch to see if IPL is just the treatment you’ve been looking for. It doesn’t take long and you will be glad you did!
