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WHAT IS IPL?
IPL stands for Intense Pulsed Light, also known as photo-facial,
fotofacials, and photo rejuvenation. It is a state of the art system
and the latest technique in photofacial therapy. This treatment
is perfect for those whose skin reflects early signs of aging and
who cannot afford the recovery time associated with other procedures.
The IPL system delivers high intensity, smooth and powerful pulses
of light (not lasers) that enhance your results of skin rejuvenation.
Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is an extremely successful method of
treating skin blemishes. These include sun damaged skin (age spots
or sun spots), facial blood vessels (broken capillaries) that are
close to the surface of the skin, uneven pigmentation, dull skin,
fine lines, wrinkling and facial redness due to rosacea. It is also
a wonderful treatment for flushing the redness that people often
experience after eating spicy food, heat, drinking alcohol or after
a stressful or emotional event.
IPL treatments leave a rejuvenated, soft, smooth and
even-toned appearance without a lengthy healing time. IPL does not
have the side effects of past laser treatments such as scarring,
downtime, pain or oozing. IPL is one of the most popular treatments
because of the improvements it provides.
Approximately 3-6 treatments are needed to achieve
the desired results.
Most patients are extremely happy with the cosmetic results.
How does it work?
Each treatment takes about 20 - 30 minutes. The skin is pre-treated
with a cool gel. Then, a hand-held device emits small intense bursts
of light to the skin. The targeted areas such as blood vessels,
brown discoloration, port wine stains, hyperpigmentation, age spots,
sunspots, freckles, flat pigmented birthmarks or redness absorb
the light wave, heat up and then are broken down. The penetration
depth and degree of heat is highly controlled to minimize complications.
The procedure is continued until all of the abnormal skin has received
the small pulses of light.
An additional bonus is that the treatment
causes inflammation of tiny blood vessels in the skin which stimulate
the production of new collagen.
It is possible to shrink sebaceous glands (oil glands), and pore
size, with repeated treatments. The number of treatments necessary
to achieve these
result vary from patient to patient.
Other areas that can be treated effectively are:
mild acne scars, acne, facial and leg veins, selectively targeting
hair follicles and angioma.
How is the IPL Photo rejuvenation treatment different from CO2 or
Erbium Laser Resurfacing?
IPL photo rejuvenation is a noninvasive, safe method to improve
the look and feel of the skin without undergoing
the pain and downtime associated with deep laser resurfacing. Deep
laser resurfacing removes the entire epidermis
leaving the skin vulnerable to infection and requires 3-4 weeks
of patient downtime and an even longer time to complete healing.
Does IPL Hurt?
There is a slight discomfort associated with the treatment. Each
pulse of the IPL feels like an elastic band snapping against the
skin.
Numbing creams such as EMLA and Maxilene can be used prior to treatment,
but are generally not required.
When will you notice an improvement?
You will notice results after one or two treatments, depending on
the nature of the problem. Some skin problems will require
several treatments before you will see any difference.
What areas of the body can be treated?
Any area can be treated. These may include the face, neck, chest,
back, hands, arms, legs and feet.
How many treatments should I have?
We recommend a series of 3-6 treatments for most skin types and
body areas. Treatments are usually done 3-4 weeks apart.
Your technician will determine the number of treatments that your
specific skin type and condition will require at the time of
your consultation and treatment. We like to combine your photofacial
treatment with a Microdermabrasion treatment
immediately prior to IPL. This is an ideal treatment for anyone
looking for improved skin conditions.
Who is a good candidate?
IPL is an excellent choice for women and men of all ages considering
treatment for various skin problems including:
Brown spot, age spots and sun spots
Fine lines and wrinkles
Hyperpigmentation
Pregnancy mask
Acne
Rosacea
Broken capillaries
Facial spider veins
Leg veins
Enlarged pores
Enlarged oil glands (sebaceous hyperplasia)
Mild acne scars
Unwanted hair
Abnormal skin pigmentation
Dull skin
Port wine stains
Angioma
We do NOT recommend IPL Photofacial treatments
if you have any of the following conditions:
Lupus
Tendency to form keloids (thick raised scars)
A tendency to develop increased skin pigmentation when healing
A dark skin colour (South Asian, African)
A dark tan
Porphyia (a blood disorder that makes you sensitive to light)
Extreme sensitivity or allergy to light
What are the advantages of IPL treatments?
The treatment is gentle
There is no interruption of routine activities
There is often no recovery time required and no need to take time
off work
There are no stitches, cuts or bleeding to worry about
Improvement is subtle. That way your friends, family or spouse won't
have to know that you're having treatments,
unless you want them to know.
What are the risks?
Some mild swelling or bruising may occur. Swelling is more common
in patients with very red or pink toned skin
that are having treatments to reduce redness.
Bruising may occur if many large facial blood vessels are being
treated.
Although it's rare but blistering or slight bleeding is possible
as is hypo- or hyper-pigmentation (lightened or darkened areas of
skin).
If pigmentation problems occur, it may be anywhere from 3 to 12
months before normal skin tone returns.
This is especially so with hypo-pigmentation (lack of colour). Some
patients may experience permanent skin pigmentation changes.
Scarring - no case has ever been reported after an IPL treatment.
It is impossible to get permanent results?
Even though the skin may be "rejuvenated" for long periods,
the aging process continues.
The skin will usually improve with further treatment.
It might be impossible to remove a lesion forever or get permanent
results, even though a lesion may be diminished or "disappear"
for 3-6 months at a time, just remember, it might return in the
future. The fact that the lesion responded to treatment but recurred
usually
means that it will improve with further treatments.
Does it Hurt?
There is some discomfort associated with the treatment. Each pulse
of the IPL feels like an elastic band snapping against the skin.
Numbing creams such as EMLA and Maxilene can be used
prior to treatment, but are generally not required. To make the
treatment
more comfortable, we will cool the area with ice prior to your treatment.
When will you notice an improvement?
You will start to see results after one or two treatments, depending
on the nature of the problem. Some skin problems will require
several treatments before you will see any difference at all.
What areas can be treated?
Any area can be treated. This includes the face, neck, chest, back,
hands, arms, legs and feet.
How many treatments should you have?
A series of 3-6 treatments is usually recommended for most skin
types and body areas. Treatments are usually done 3-4 weeks apart.
We will determine the number of treatments that your specific skin
type and condition will require at the time of your consultation
or treatment.
What other treatments complement IPL Photo Rejuvenation?
Superficial chemical peels - AHA glycolic acid or salicylic acid
- can improve IPL results by about 15%.
Peels done a week before each IPL session strip off some superficial
skin cells, thus allow better IPL penetration.
How should you prepare your skin prior to an IPL treatment?
IPL treatments can NOT be done on TANNED skin.
Treating skin with a tan can produce white "striping"
which can take several months to fade.
Your skin MUST NOT and CAN NOT BE TANNED.
Stop the use of all Retin-A, Reversa, glycolic acid products
and toners a week before your treatment.
Please do not wear makeup when you come in to get this treatment
done.
We recommend that even though most people do not have a significant
down time after IPL.
We ask that you do not plan any major events for 2 to 3 days after
your fist IPL treatment.
This will give you a chance to see how your skin reacts and how
easily you can incorporate IPL treatments into your schedule.
What is the procedure for IPL-Intense Pulsed Light or photofacial
therapy?
1. At your first visit, we will provide a free consultation.
During the consultation, we will discuss the benefits of IPL therapy,
explain the procedure to you and answer any questions you may have.
Furthermore, we will explain how the procedure works
and how many treatments you will need, and provide you with a price
quote. We will ask you a series of questions to
determine if you are a good candidate for the procedure and will
determine your skin type and sensitivity.
2. If you decide to go ahead with a treatment, photographs
will be taken of the treatment area. These photographs are strictly
for your chart and will not be released or used without your permission.
Your privacy is of utmost importance to us.
3. IF you wear makeup, it will be removed.
4. Your skin will be cleansed and any remaining make-up will
be removed.
5. You may purchase a topical anesthetic cream to be applied
prior to the light exposure, but it's not necessary.
6. Your eyes will be covered with special goggles during
the treatment.
7. Prior to the treatment we will place a cold ice pack on
the area to be treated for about 5 minutes.
A cold, soothing gel will be applied as well before we place the
IPL hand piece over the gel and treatment area.
An intense flash of light, or pulse, is flashed through the prism
where it is directed at the area to be treated.
This initial treatment may not be as aggressive as your following
treatments so as not to possibly damage the skin and to
determine your skin's tolerance for further photo facial treatments.
8. You may need a spot test or patch test to make sure there
are no negative reactions.
9. During the treatment you may feel stinging, tingling,
prickling, or burning of the lesions, but this should go away after
the treatment.
10. After treatment with Intense Pulsed Light, the gel will
be washed off the skin.
11. You will be provided with a pamphlet of after-care instructions
and the technician will recommend specific products to take care
of
your skin after the treatment.
What should you expect after your treatment?
There will be redness, and occasionally even mild blistering or
bruising of the treated areas which can last anywhere from several
hours to 3-14 days.
The treated area might "crust", "flake", or
look like a "cat scratch." This will depend on the sensitivity
of your skin and the severity
of the problem being treated. Most people are completely healed
within 7 days.
There may be some mild swelling, crusting or bruising which will
go away after a few days. If it doesn't disappear, you should inform
your technician.
The dark areas or freckles may crust, turn black then "peel
off'. This is normal and should resolve within 7 to 10 days.
Your skin will be more sensitive anywhere from a few days up to
a couple weeks after your treatment.
There will be some discomfort, but there should not be significant
pain.
You can return to your normal activities.
What should a person do if they get significant redness, swelling,
or pain after a treatment?
1. Apply very cool or cold compresses to the face every 15
minute.
2. Take Tylenol for the discomfort.
3. Avoid the sun or bright lights as much as possible.
4. Call the office where you had your treatment done. The
technician will be happy to help you and answer your questions.
5. If you are concerned that you have had an abnormal reaction,
have a cold sore, or an infection - call the location immediately.
Precautions for the first seven days after your IPL treatment:
Avoid hot water on the treated area.
Keep the area moist and protected with Anthelios 60 sunscreen.
Stay out of the sun, avoid ultraviolet light and tanning beds, especially
for the next 48 hours to minimize the risk of getting increased
pigmentation in the skin. If sun is unavoidable, use Anthelios 60
sunscreen for at least 4 weeks after the treatment.
For the first 2 days wear a wide-brimmed hat or similar covering
of light-opaque material. Sun exposure may lead to the
production of blotchy dark pigmentation which may take several months
to fade.
Avoid any aggressive skin care products such as scrubs, exfoliants,
alpha or beta hydroxy acid products.
Avoid excessive heat exposure such as saunas, steam rooms, hot showers
or baths, and strenuous exercising for 24 hours.
This prevents the risk of blistering.
Keep clothing from rubbing against the treated area and avoid other
irritation to the area.
Do not get hairspray on the treated area.
In case of prolonged redness, excessive puffiness, or other unusual
side effects, please contact your IPL technician.
WHO does the IPL phot rejuvenation treatments?
Bozana, my laser technician is also a trained medical esthetician.
She's been servicing our clients for the last five years
and has gained our clients confidence over that period of time.
She does the IPL treatments at the spa as well as
microdermabrasion treatments.
Since my announcement in the last newsletter about our Hyaluronic
Acid injectable fillers to treat wrinkles
etc, we had a lot of inquiries about that service as well.
WHO does the fillers?
Adriana is a nurse and certified medical esthetician
and has been doing Hyaluronic Acid fillers for several years.
She also offers microdermabrasion and ultrasound treatments amongst
many other services we offer at the spa.
Call us to book your free consultation!
Be a Perfect "10"
Shanette & staff
905-827-2222
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your friends. We reward you for your referrals!
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