Not Just for Pimples: Why IPL Acne Treatments Can Help With Old Scars

Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) treat­ments are becom­ing widely rec­og­nized as an effec­tive solu­tion for those suf­fer­ing from mild to mod­er­ate inflam­ma­tory acne. Besides clear­ing up pus­tules and active inflam­ma­tion, IPL has the added ben­e­fit of improv­ing the appear­ance of facial scar­ring, which is an unfor­tu­nate but com­mon out­come of chronic acne. Read on to dis­cover whether Intense Pulsed Light treat­ments may be right for you.

How IPL Treat­ments Work

Dur­ing IPL treat­ments, short pulses of intense light are emit­ted from an appli­ca­tor onto your skin. To treat acne, spe­cific wave­lengths of light tar­get bac­te­ria in the skin, as well as inflamed seba­ceous glands that con­tribute to break­outs. IPL energy at var­i­ous wave­lengths is also used to selec­tively destroy pig­ment cells, blood-filled cap­il­lary veins, or hair, depend­ing on the intended nature of your treatment.
When your skin absorbs the light energy, it heats up and you will expe­ri­ence a brief, pin­prick sen­sa­tion. A layer of chilled gel applied before treat­ment helps to ease the dis­com­fort, and as each indi­vid­ual pulse of light can treat a gen­er­ous area of skin, IPL treat­ments are gen­er­ally quite short. A typ­i­cal ses­sion ranges from 20 to 30 min­utes, and most patients require between four and six ses­sions to achieve the desired results.

The Ben­e­fits of IPL for Acne Scars

Acne scar­ring can affect both the color and tex­ture of the skin. Scars may appear as small dents in the skin’s sur­face or as raised scar tis­sue. In either case, scar­ring often cre­ates uneven pig­men­ta­tion in the form of red­ness or dark spots. Because Intense Pulsed Light can tar­get pig­ment cells specif­i­cally, IPL treat­ments are effec­tive for evening out dis­col­oration, which dra­mat­i­cally reduces the vis­i­bil­ity of acne scars and gives the appear­ance of a more uni­form skin sur­face. IPLdoes not smooth out raised scars or decrease the depth of indented scars.

Why Choose IPL Treatments

Intense Pulsed Light treat­ments are a non-invasive, non-abrasive option for any­one who wishes to reduce the vis­i­bil­ity of acne scars. The min­i­mal dis­com­fort involved in the pro­ce­dure means that no anes­the­sia is required beyond a mild cool­ing gel. Side effects are rare, with red­ness in the treated area typ­i­cally short-lived and a nor­mal appear­ance restored within hours of the treatment.

Who Should Use IPL

Intense Pulsed Light treat­ments are rec­om­mended for any­one other than darker skinned indi­vid­u­als, as these peo­ple may expe­ri­ence hyper­pig­men­ta­tion from IPL, and peo­ple cur­rently or recently treated with the med­ica­tion Accu­tane. Preg­nant women and pho­to­sen­si­tive indi­vid­u­als should con­sult their physi­cian before com­menc­ing treat­ment. For those who wish to improve the tex­ture as well as the pig­men­ta­tion of acne scars, IPL can be com­bined with a more inten­sive pro­ce­dure, such as a gly­colic acid peel, in order to achieve the desired outcome.
Whether you suf­fer from active inflam­ma­tory acne or only lin­ger­ing scars, IPL treat­ment is a safe, non-surgical method for sig­nif­i­cantly improv­ing the con­di­tion of your skin. If acne break­outs and scars are trou­bling you, treat­ment with Intense Pulsed Light could allow you to face the world with full con­fi­dence again.
Learn more about our IPL Acne treat­ment products.