Light energy can be an effective means to stimulate healthy skin growth. At the same time, concentrated light energy can be used to purposely damage certain tissues while leaving other tissue unaffected. Intense pulsed light, or IPL, is used by dermatologists to target imperfections in the skin and to stimulate healthy growth of new skin cells. Today, IPL therapy is one of the most popular skin rejuvenation treatments.
The device used is similar to a laser but emits a variety of wavelengths. This frequency mix can be calibrated in such a manner as to pass right through the epidermis without heating it up. You might want to consider IPL therapy as an alternative to laser resurfacing because IPL treatments don’t involve skin ablation. Below, we offer some detailed information about how this procedure smoothes the skin and diminishes the appearance of certain types of hyperpigmentation.
Common Skin Problems
IPL therapy is most commonly performed on the facial skin. Common problems include fine wrinkles, areas of dullness or brittleness, subsurface blemishes such as age spots, freckles, and injury scars, and more. This type of light therapy can address every one of these problems.
Other skin rejuvenation procedures may help smooth the skin and make it look more radiant, but they generally don’t address the problem of hyperpigmentation. A series of IPL treatments can improve most all forms of hyperpigmentation without the risk of bleaching the skin or causing unwanted damage to the epidermis itself.
How Does It Work?
When we consult with you, we look at your skin tone and skin thickness. If the problem is scarring or age spots, we look at the depth of these imperfections. We calibrate the IPL device to deliver a mix of light frequencies that will pass through the epidermis without heating it up. The idea is to target tissues with darker tone.
The device is pressed against the skin and flashed in what is known as an ultrapulse. It lasts only about two milliseconds. The light energy passes through the epidermis and is absorbed by darker, pigmented cells that make up the freckle, age spot, or other blemish. This damages the blemish and causes it to degrade. Eventually, it’s flushed away as waste material. At the same time, the lower dermal layers absorb some of the energy. This stimulates collagen production and also constricts capillaries in the subsurface blemishes or scars.
We generally schedule a small series of treatment sessions over a period of about a month. The end result is smoother, taut skin with fewer areas of regional discoloration.
A Non-Invasive Alternative
Laser treatments actually ablate the epidermis. Dermabrasion can cause unwanted areas of dull or bleached skin. On the other hand, IPL therapy is non-invasive and doesn’t cause the skin to bleach or lose its moisture. The never devices can be finely calibrated to account for dark skin with lots of melanin.
Get In Touch with Us for More Information
Consider IPL therapy for correcting facial skin problems and to stimulate healthy skin growth. To learn more, we warmly invite you to reach out and make an appointment with Soza Clinic. At our convenient locations in Richardson, Bedford, and Winnsboro, our caring and dedicated team of professionals will be pleased to explain this option to you in full and answer any questions you may have. Contact us today to set up your consultation – we look forward to speaking with you!