Energy and light / TREATMENT GUIDE
IPL and broadband light (photofacial)
Flashes of filtered broad-spectrum light, not a laser, absorbed by brown pigment and red vessels to clear sun spots and flushing.
- Appointment
- 20 to 30 minutes
- Typical social recovery
- A few days
- When results may appear
- 1 to 2 weeks per session
- How long they may last
- 1 to 2 years with sun protection
- Typical course
- 2 to 4, a month apart
- Relative cost
- $ · Moderate relative cost
Ranges vary by person, product, area and technique. Cost symbols are editorial comparisons—not quotes. Ask for the full course and follow-up cost.
How it works
Pigment and haemoglobin absorb the light and heat up. Spots darken and flake off over a week; small vessels close. Filters tune the light for each target.
Four illustrative steps. Select a step to highlight it; the optional anatomy view explains the same mechanism.
Recovery, in practical terms
Spots look darker for a week; mild redness for a day.
What it can feel like: Mild. Like a snapped rubber band.
What people discuss
Freckling and sun spots, rosacea flushing, redness on lighter skin.
Reasons to pause
Tanned or darker skin (burn risk), melasma (can worsen), photosensitising medicines.
This list is not exhaustive. A clinician must assess your health, medications, skin and goals.
Risks worth understanding
- Burns or blisters
- Pigment change
- Melasma flare
Ask your clinician
- Is IPL safe for my skin type, and is this melasma?
- How do you cool the skin?
Sources, approval context & editorial limits
Authorization is specific to the device and intended use.
Sources support regulatory and safety context; not every efficacy claim or range has been independently verified.
Educational information, not medical advice or a personal recommendation. Independent clinical review is pending. A qualified clinician must assess individual suitability. Timings, relative costs and visuals are illustrative, not guarantees.
Read the editorial policyCompare different approaches
Related catalogue tags, not recommendations.
- Injectables
Exosomes and regenerative serums
Products marketed as containing cell-derived particles or regenerative ingredients.
No FDA-approved exosome products
A few days recovery - Energy and light
Fractional laser resurfacing
A laser treats the skin in thousands of tiny columns and leaves untouched skin between them to heal quickly.
About a week recovery - Energy and light
Vascular lasers (PDL, KTP, Nd:YAG)
Lasers tuned to a wavelength that blood absorbs, used to close facial spider veins, rosacea redness, red scars and leg veins too small to inject.
A few days recovery