Skin conditions affect millions in the United States, with 50 million Americans suffering from acne alone. Other common skin conditions include rosacea (16 million people) and psoriasis (7.5 million), and many people are not getting treatment.
There are many different treatment options for skin conditions, but laser treatment has quickly become a staple in managing many of these problems. One safe and effective way to manage skin problems is with intense pulsed light, or IPL therapy.
If you live near Yuma, Tucson, or Tempe, Arizona, and you’re looking for ways to treat your skin condition, you can find help with our experienced team at Peach Skin and Laser. We use the latest technology and cutting edge techniques, including IPL therapy, to give you the best results.
Let’s find out what separates this method from other laser treatments, and what conditions IPL therapy can treat.
What is IPL therapy?
IPL therapy is a skin treatment that uses multiple wavelengths of light energy to penetrate your skin. This causes pigment cells to absorb the energy and convert it to heat, which destroys damaged skin cells to clear up your skin.
IPL therapy uses a handheld device that applies the light and breaks down these unwanted cells, allowing your body to remove them naturally through your lymphatic system.
How is IPL therapy different from other laser treatments?
Most other forms of laser treatment use a single focused laser to perform many tasks. IPL therapy uses a laser that scatters the light, allowing it to penetrate deeper while doing less harm to multiple layers of skin.
This also means it can treat larger areas over a shorter period of time, allowing for you to get back to your daily activities that much sooner.
What does IPL therapy treat?
Here are eight conditions IPL therapy is used to minimize or remove:
Acne and acne scars
The most common skin condition in the United States for people of different ages is acne. IPL therapy can reduce both the appearance of acne on the skin and the scars that acne can cause (including atrophic, hypertrophic, and keloid acne scars).
Fine lines and wrinkles
You can use IPL therapy to reduce fine lines and wrinkles on your skin without damaging it. Multiple treatments may be necessary.
Melasma
This condition causes brown or grayish brown patches to appear on your skin (mainly on your face and in areas highly exposed to sunlight). It may not always require treatment, but IPL therapy can reduce the appearance of the patches on your skin.
Hyperpigmentation
This is a broad term for conditions like melasma or age spots where darker patches appear due to an increase of melanin. IPL treatment lightens the darker areas to help even out skin color.
Stretch marks
Whether you get them from pregnancy or gaining weight, stretch marks can look unseemly. This method will reduce the appearance of stretch marks to help even out your skin.
Sun damage
Overexposure to UV rays from the sun can damage your skin in many ways, including sunburn, pigment changes, moles, and precancerous skin changes. IPL therapy can reduce the appearance of sun damage.
Venous insufficiency
This is the medical term for varicose and spider veins, which are related conditions that can be caused by damaged veins. Spider veins are thinner and are often flat or slightly raised, while varicose veins are thicker and deeper. Using IPL therapy can lighten the appearance of these veins on your skin.
Rosacea
This chronic inflammatory skin condition often affects the face and can be confused for eczema or acne. IPL treatments can reduce the visible blood vessels and lighten areas of rosacea on your skin.
IPL therapy works on a variety of conditions and can be done on an outpatient basis over multiple treatments. If you’re ready for clearer skin using IPL therapy, make an appointment online or call one of our Peach Skin and Laser locations today.