IPL LASER TREATMENT

*This is a sponsored post. I received products and treatments in exchange for my honest review.

Like many of you, I long for the day when I can leave the house with NO makeup on and feel confident that my skin looks clear and bright. Thankfully, the Medical Day Spa of Chapel Hill has gotten me started on my journey to smooth and healthy skin! First step: IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) treatment to rejuvenate skin from the inside out. Best of all, this treatment has been shown to correct my primary skin concerns for YEARS to come!

What is IPL?

Intense Pulsed Light Treatment is designed to treat and correct:

• Fine lines
• Rosacea
• Scarring
• Sun damage
• Freckles
• Broken capillaries
• Age spots
• Acne

IPL has also been proven to:

• Boost Collagen – Collagen is a huge anti-aging buzzword right now and we’re all trying to get it in any form we can. But of course the greatest way to get collagen is to produce it ourselves! The IPL light stimulates collagen production from within leading to a reduction in fine lines & wrinkles and improved skin texture overall.
• Repair DNA – Many studies have found that the pulsed light actually targets skin on a molecular level to repair damaged DNA. So, rather than using smoke and mirrors to create the look of younger skin, this treatment is actually restoring your DNA back to a time when it was able to turn over and regenerate itself more rapidly meaning that your skin will actually behave the way that it did when you were younger. Mind blown.

PROBLEMS – Targeting reds and browns

• Rosacea – My biggest concern at the moment is redness on my cheeks and nose caused by vascular rosacea. My rosacea is mild, in fact, it’s so mild that I didn’t even realize I had it until I sat down for my consultation with the medical team at the Med Spa! When I think of rosacea, I think of the worst-case, flared up images I’ve seen in the past and thought “that’s not me!” My redness isn’t extreme, but it’s enough to make me feel like I need to even my skin tone with makeup whenever I leave my house. The great news is, the photothermal energy from the light will eliminate the small blood vessels that are causing my redness!
• Sun Damage – The IPL treatment also has a huge impact on brown spots caused by sun damage. My brown spots aren’t horrible, but there are definitely quite a few peppered across my face. The IPL will reduce the excess melanin in these areas to correct all of that visible damage.

PREPARATION – Pre-conditioning skin

• Avoid sun exposure – The first crucial step in preparing for IPL is to stay out of the sun! Avoid extended sun exposure and if you must be in the sun, be sure your face is covered with a wide brimmed hat and you’re using an SPF of 50 or above.
• Pre-conditioning – The primary goal of the Medical Day Spa of Chapel Hill is to improve the health of your skin every step of the way. This means pre-conditioning prior to laser procedures so that your skin is fully prepared and as healthy as possible. This also gives the docs and nurses a clean slate for understanding what products you’ve been using and how you have reacted. Your pre-conditioning program will be hand selected for you by the medical team during your initial consultation. They will take images of your skin and work with you to understand your concerns and how best to pre-treat them. Under the guidance of the Med Spa team, I completely stopped using my previous skincare products and have been exclusively using the ZO Skin Health “Getting Skin Ready” program for 4 weeks to ensure that my face is primed for treatment. The ZO line, created by the world-renowned dermatologist Dr. Zein Obagi, offers medical-grade skincare products including the Getting Skin Ready line, which is a back to basics way of balancing all skin types. It’s like hitting the re-set button before bringing out the big guns.

PROCEDURE – The laser show!

Ok, so it’s not an actual LASER per se, but that’s the generally accepted term for this process of pulsing light. Here are my overall takeaways from my 30 minute treatment:

• Prep – I laid on my back on a table a lot like a massage table. I came in wearing SPF, so my nurse, Stephanie used a warm towel and cleanser to clean my face. She covered my eyes with dark light blockers (yes, like the tanning bed goggles) and tied my hair back with a headband.
• Music – Stephanie was so kind and asked what kind of music I liked so that I could enjoy it while she performed the procedure. She was all about keeping me comfortable and happy. Alexa, play Keith Urban!
• Slow start – Stephanie, eased me in by giving me a couple of test pulses under my chin to be sure that I was comfortable and that my skin was reacting properly before diving in to the full face. Once she was able to gauge my pain tolerance, she adjusted the filter setting to the appropriate treatment level. Steph checked in with me frequently to make sure I was feeling ok and she watched closely to be sure that my skin was responding properly to the light pulses.
• Two passes – Stephanie described that she would be going over my face twice with two passes of the laser. She used the analogy of a priming layer followed by a paint layer. The first pass, the “warming pass,” prepares the skin and the second pass, the “performance pass” actually treats it!
• Relatively painless – As I mentioned, Stephanie made treatment choices based on my pain tolerance with a goal of maximizing effectiveness while keeping my pain to a minimum (between 1-3 out of 10).
• Zap sensation – Some have described the IPL feeling as having a rubber band popped against your skin and I would say that’s pretty accurate. It’s not like a Botox needle it’s more like a little zap in each targeted area. Stephanie used about 40 pulse zaps on each pass, and each pulse spot stung for about 20 seconds after.
• Visible Light – Powerful lights are the heart of this treatment, so even though your eyes are closed and covered, you can still “see” the light during the process. Think dentist chair lights. My eyes are really light sensitive, so I was totally aware of the light but it wasn’t so bright that it made me uncomfortable.
• Jumpy – While I didn’t experience much pain, what I did feel was a lot of startle reflex! Even though I knew exactly when each pulse was about to happen, my body’s natural reaction was to JUMP at each flash of light! It wasn’t uncomfortable and I almost felt silly, but Stephanie reassured me that it’s completely natural and she sees that reaction all the time!

POST-TREATMENT – No downtime

• No pain or redness – I should, of course, mention that everyone handles skincare treatments differently, but I personally did not experience any redness or discomfort at all on my skin after the IPL. I have had friends tell me that it feels like sunburn for a few hours after but that feeling was gone by the next morning. Ice packs can help ease the heat and redness following the treatment though again, this was not necessary for me.
• Dark spots – The IPL will cause your brown sun spots to get darker and I’m definitely seeing that. My nurse, Stephanie, explained that the lights will cause the cells with excess pigment to rise to the surface and eventually flake off. This will take 5-7 days, so until that happens, my dark spots will appear darker than normal, almost like having specks of dirt on on my face.
• Mild headache – I developed a very mild headache after I got home, which I suspect may have been caused by the light flashes. It was dull and it passed without me needing to take any headache pain killers.
• Avoid heat – Stephanie urged me to avoid doing anything that can make me over heated and explained that the IPL caused my blood vessels to constrict and shrink and we want to keep them that way! So no hot showers, strenuous exercise or hot tubs for at least 48 hours after treatment. Alcohol can also contradict the constriction of the blood vessels and should also be avoided for a couple of days.
• Skin care – Following the IPL treatment, you will likely be asked not to exfoliate and suspend the use of any acid or retinol products on your face until your dark areas have flaked off. You must handle the treated skin delicately! Wash with a gentle cleanser and be sure not to rub or scratch at the affected areas.
• Avoid sun exposure – Just as you have before the treatment, you’ll need to avoid extended sun exposure for a week after as well. If you must be in the sun, be sure your face is covered with a wide brimmed hat and you’re using an SPF of 50 or above
• Don’t pick or scratch – Like any scab or bug bite, you’ll need to let the skin heal without interruption.
• Future damage – Always use SPF, no matter what. The areas that have been previously damaged by the sun, even if that spot has flaked off, will always be more susceptible to future sun damage. Protect them!

I am so honored to be working with Medical Day Spa of Chapel Hill and sharing their state of the art skincare techniques, medical-grade products and overall wellness philosophy. If you want to understand how IPL can work for you, or if you’re in need of a facial, gold standard products, laser hair removal, microdermabrasion, injectables or laser treatments, call to set up a consultation. It’s finally time to treat yourself!