Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Treatment Combats Skin Problems

If you’re considering non-invasive procedures to combat superficial skin problems like fine lines and age spots, one option is Intense Pulsed Light (IPL), also known as photorejuvenation or photofacial.

IPL is a treatment that applies gentle broad spectrum light to the skin in order to correct problems such as:

• Port wine stains
• Broken capillaries
• Rosacea
• Fine wrinkles
• Age spots
• Uneven pigmentation

A recent study published in Dermatology Surgery journal compared IPL treatments to non-ablative Q-switched laser treatments for skin rejuvenation in Asian patients and found that the IPL treatment was as effective as the non-ablative laser for improving several skin problems.

The study had twelve female patients who received five sessions of treatments, every two weeks. IPL was applied to the left side of the face and the non-ablative laser to the right.

The researchers found that significant skin rejuvenation was shown for all the assessments. Similar efficiency from both procedures was observed for improvement for skin texture, poor size and sebum secretion.

For lightening skin tone, IPL was initially more efficient than the laser after the first treatment, but there was no further improvement after three treatments. The laser gradually lightened the skin tone and was ultimately more efficient than the IPL after five treatments.

The study shows that there are many non-surgical techniques that cosmetic surgeons can use to improve various skin conditions. Your doctor can help you choose the best procedure to meet your needs.

IPL was performed about 429,700 times last year and laser skin resurfacing with a non-ablative laser was performed about 323,900 times, according to 2009 statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Dr. Branman offers several non-surgical skin rejuvenation procedures, including IPL, laser skin resurfacing and microdermabrasion.