Just had my first IPL treatment
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free skin care · Wed Sep 01, 2010 6:20 pm

I am considering IPL also. My usual PS/ Spa had 3 treatments for $500 which seemed pretty good to me.

Good suggestion on the microderm, I think I would do that after the 2nd or 3rd treatment also.

Let us know how it's going.

free skin care · Wed Sep 01, 2010 7:35 pm

lorimcp wrote:

I am considering IPL also. My usual PS/ Spa had 3 treatments for $500 which seemed pretty good to me.

Good suggestion on the microderm, I think I would do that after the 2nd or 3rd treatment also.

Let us know how it's going.

Hi Lorimcp,
I think 3 treatments for $500 is an incredible deal!! My medical spa charges $300 for one!

free skin care · Thu Sep 02, 2010 3:17 am

Yes! You reminded me that my face looked dirty also and it kept getting worse, until the end, some of my freckles was gone.

free skin care · Thu Sep 02, 2010 9:37 am

wow, that is a good price! I paid $200 for the first cos they were having a special. But its normally $300 for one treatment.

I will definately be abit worried the next treatment, must make sure I have nothing planned for at least a week, I'm just hoping its not worse each time!eeek!!

One other point in case anyone is interested. I use a LED at home every second night (love it). I didn't use it for about 8-9 days after my IPL cos I was afraid it might make things worse. But I think it actually helped things settle down when I did finally start back on it?

free skin care · Fri Sep 03, 2010 4:35 am

Recently I ran into a lady I knew casually from my old gym. She is of Asian descent...anyway, she spent 2-3 months in the hospital after getting an IPL treatment. It literally ate the fat off her face and left her with only bone stucture. She had to have multiple grafts and treatments. I ran into her in a grocery story and she told me this story, which I only remember portions of. It scared the begeesus out of me, since I had one IPL treatment from the same lady. I don't know the "victims
name but if I run into her, I will ask her to post or I'll get more accurate info and details to post here.

free skin care · Sun Oct 03, 2010 5:35 am

damn just lost my whole post!! Mad

Just had my 3rd IPL treatment yesterday..

I am going to shorten this considerably!

It hurt like hell
She did my whole decollatage for the same price.
I am extremely swollen but after last time was expecting this. It is so bad even sunglasses don't help at all...eeekk!!
My decollatage is a mess, but in a good way, I think I am going to have a really good outcome.

I don't need any more treatments, all caps are gone, and I think when my swelling goes down I will be thrilled with the results. Doc said maintenance every 12 to 18 months should be fine.

Any questions feel free to ask, thanks

free skin care · Mon Oct 04, 2010 2:49 am

Bermie wrote:

damn just lost my whole post!! Mad

Just had my 3rd IPL treatment yesterday..

I am going to shorten this considerably!

It hurt like hell
She did my whole decollatage for the same price.
I am extremely swollen but after last time was expecting this. It is so bad even sunglasses don't help at all...eeekk!!
My decollatage is a mess, but in a good way, I think I am going to have a really good outcome.

I don't need any more treatments, all caps are gone, and I think when my swelling goes down I will be thrilled with the results. Doc said maintenance every 12 to 18 months should be fine.

Any questions feel free to ask, thanks

I'm glad everything turned out great for you! Thanks for sharing your experience!

free skin care · Fri Mar 02, 2012 7:07 am

Rather than start a new thread, thought I would bring up Bermie's old thread on her IPL treatments.
I had my first one done yesterday for 4 spots that are difficult for me to cover with concealor and always seem to pop out no matter what I do. 2 of these spots are brown pigment on my left and right upper cheek and 2 of these spots are red, one on the upper left bridge of my nose which I am guessing was about 3-4mm in diameter and the other a small speck to the left of my mouth near the NL.

It looks as though my first round of IPL was a success on the brown spots (they look darker and peppery), but as for the red spots, they look worse....especially the one on my nose. Just wondering if this is normal for red areas, to look worse before they get better? I though broken caps usually respond well to IPL and sometimes disappear after first treatment? I guess I just don't know what the process is with red marks versus the brown pigment.
After the IPL, that red spot on my nose was swollen for about 30 minutes and then went down. I wonder if it wasn't a broken cap after all...

free skin care · Fri Mar 02, 2012 7:51 am

Bren-my spots always look worse before better. I usually get brown spots and red patches, like pools of blood (which is what they actually are) before my skin reabsorbs them. I also have bruising areas left from the red spots being zapped. It always depends on how many caps and how bad, coupled along with how agressive the esthetician is, grrrr. I have also had some that barely zap it in FEAR of me swelling and then I have barely to no results. I like the happy medium!

free skin care · Fri Mar 02, 2012 8:05 am

Thanks Annie Very Happy

I can't remember what brand IPL device she used (I think it started with a P), but she said they had a "more agressive" device that they will sometimes use along with the IPL....she actually used both on that red spot on my nose, hence the reason it probably swelled up for a brief period. I hope that within the next week I see improvement on the red areas.

If all goes well, I am seriously considering having a full face IPL...being so pale, she said I was an excellent candidate for it. I have always been leery of IPL, but I feel much better about it having a test run with these 4 spots. I couldn't imagine my face freckle free, I've pretty much had them my whole life.

free skin care · Fri Mar 02, 2012 8:13 am

Maybe Photofacial, that's what I get. Then they will do a Vbeam or Yag sometimes on hard to zap spots or those that are deeper/more stubborn.
I love the results after I get them done. Just wish they were permanent!

free skin care · Sat Mar 03, 2012 1:47 am

It's funny this thread has been bumped...I have been thinking I would love another IPL treatment. It's been 18 months since my last treatment, my caps are still good. My neck and decollage area are excellent too. There is a tiny bit of pigmentation high on my cheekbones, really more just under my eye so it hard to treat.

It was money well spent and I would definitely recommend it when performed by a properly qualified professional.

free skin care · Sat Mar 03, 2012 4:13 am

I am looking forward to these dark peppery spots falling off in the coming days to see how everything looks underneath. So far so good...no adverse reactions. The red areas still look the same and have not lessened any.

I know the results aren't permanent but after your first round of IPL's, when you get to the point you're happy with results, what is the typical time frame for maintenance IPL's?

...Well Bermie, I thought I would not waste any space on here and give this thread a little bump Laughing

What was your experience with IPL and red areas? That spot on my nose actually looks worse and I am hoping that it's as Annie stated just a case of "Looking worse before better". Being center stage, the nose is a horrible place to have a blemish and I'm thinking that spot may take a few zaps to get rid of.

free skin care · Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:21 am

Yearly is the recommended maintenance time, but I haven't been in about 3 (and need to go). Timing is always the issue for me, bc of the bruising/swellling I somtimes have, it has to be timed just right. I will try and go soon, but I always rather have it done in the winter.
Bren21-I do have a place that even though it has had a few IPL's seems to be a bit stubborn! It diminishes but is always the first to return!

free skin care · Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:53 am

Well its been 18 months since my last IPL and I still look ok! I prefer to wait for winter as well, (Autumn just started here).

Regarding the red mark on your nose, I'm not sure to be honest, sometimes different types of IPL are used for red marks, brown marks, caps, etc so maybe it needs another zap?

free skin care · Sat Mar 03, 2012 6:49 pm

I'm thinking it may need another good zap too and hopefully it diminishes because I'd hate for it to stay the way it is now (which is worse than what I began with)...definitely don't want worse! Laughing

free skin care · Tue Mar 06, 2012 4:29 am

Update: The peppery spots are almost completely gone now. The 2 spots on my cheeks have diminished greatly, but still visible. The red dot left of my lips has diminished but not completely gone and the red spot on my nose still looks darker than before IPL. I am very pleased with the decrease in pigmentation of the other 3 spots as with makeup application they looks SO much better and are more easily covered. It's amazing what a difference it makes in my eyes having those 3 spots look almost invisible under makeup!

But I am concerned about this nose issue. I really don't know what this spot is and I'm not sure it is even a broken cap like I had previously thought. It was really the only spot that had a lot of swelling directly after my IPL treatment and it hasn't budged in intensity of color, in fact, it got worse.

I really don't know what this spot could be. There is no "threading" of it like you would think would be the case if it were a broken cap, it's just this red circular patch which is not raised in any way, just flush with the skin. It's really bothering me and is not covered easily with concealer Crying or Very sad

free skin care · Tue Mar 06, 2012 6:46 am

I do get the red spots as you described, its not like a bruise but a pooling of blood under the skin for me. It takes about 7-10 days but mine do go away. If it takes longer than that, you could call and get their opinion.

free skin care · Tue Mar 06, 2012 6:47 am

Maybe check with the person who performed the treatment? It sounds like the brown spots have improved, but the red marks not so much? I found that too, but the opposite with me. But the second treatment my doc concentrated on the brown ones.

Maybe your next treatment might concentrate on the red marks. I think different 'frequencies' are used on the different colours.

Sorry if I am not sounding very clear!

free skin care · Tue Mar 06, 2012 12:05 pm

I will be going back for a follow up in a few weeks and will address that spot with her then. Hopefully we can come to some sort of conclusion!

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