IPL Fotofacial Commonly Asked Questions & Answers
Dallas IPL Fotofacial Treatments Before and After Photos
IPL FOTO-FACIAL Questions & Answers
Have you ever wondered how to get rid of those pesky sun spots or stubborn redness? IPL Foto-Facials do just that- Below are some of the most commonly asked questions and their answers for IPL treatments.
What is IPL Fotofacial?
IPL stands for “Intense Pulsed Light.” Also known as a IPL "Photo-facial" . The IPL Fotofacial treatment uses broadband light to treat common signs of skin photoaging . IPL Fotofacial repairs sun damaged skin for a youthful and healthy appearance. IPL improves the following skin aging signs most significantly:
Facial redness,
Sun Induced Brown spots
Appearance of pore size
Skin tone and texture
Fine lines
IPL delivers high intensity pulses of broadband light to the skin which is absorbed into the middle layer of skin (dermis) leaving the surface of skin (epidermis) intact. IPL is a “non-ablative” skin treatment, which means that is does not “ablate” or remove the surface of the skin unlike the ablative skin lasers. Used to resurface skin. At Naila Malik MD Dallas skincare clinic, all IPL Fotofacial treatments are done by well trained and experienced medical aestheticians under physician supervision. Dr. Malik reviews every patient's treatment and provides personal consultation for any concerns.
What can IPL Fotofacial do for you?
IPL Fotofacial can significantly reduce red facial capillaries, broken blood vessels & flushing which makes it an excellent treatment option for rosacea. IPL fotofacial can also improve cystic acne resistant to conventional treatments.
IPL fotofacial is very effective for removal of sun induced pigmentation, dark sun spots and freckles but not for melasma or post-inflammatory pigmentation.
IPL fotofacial improves skin texture, reduces appearance of large pores and fine lines for an overall youthful, rejuvenated appearance
Are you a good candidate for IPL?
If you have photo-damage, brown sun spots, freckles, facial redness, broken capillaries, poor skin texture, inflammatory acne resistant to medical treatments or rosacea you may be a good candidate for IPL fotofacial.
Who is NOT a good candidate for IPL?
If you have darker skin, tanned skin, spray tan, hormonal skin pigmentation, melasma, post-inflammatory hyper-pigmentation (dark pigmentation following inflammatory skin conditions like acne, eczema, or other scars) you are probably not a good candidate for the IPL fotofacial treatment.
What areas can be treated with the IPL Fotofacial?
IPL can be used to treat photo-damage of any area of your body. At our Dallas cosmetic skincare practice some of the most commonly requested areas for IPL treatments are face, neck, decolletage and hands.
How many treatments will I need?
The number of IPL treatments needed to get the desired results depends on your skin type, severity of the skin condition being treated and your response to the treatment. Typically most individuals need between three to four sessions for mild to moderate sun spots and four to six sessions for rosacea.
Treatments are scheduled every 2-3 weeks. Each treatment session takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the area being treated.
What does a treatment involve?
During your treatment, a cool gel is applied to the treatment area. The IPL hand piece emits intense pulse of light which feels like a snap of a rubber band. We do not apply a local anesthetic for the treatment because most individuals tolerate the treatment well. Immediately after the treatment you may experience mild redness and sensation of a sunburn for the rest of the day. You can apply sunscreen and makeup right after the IPL treatment and go back to your work or social engagement, There is no downtime!
How quickly will I see results?
Most of our patients see smoother skin texture, more even skin tone in just two treatments. After three to four treatments you will see significant reduction in sunspots and appearance of pores. Fine lines and wrinkles start to be less noticeable after three to four treatments as well and continue to improve after finishing your last session in the subsequent weeks. These improvements are subtle and progressive with each treatment. Patient with rosacea and redness will see a reduction in facial redness after each treatment.
What possible side effects can occur?
Mild discomfort and sunburn like sensation with mild redness lasting one to two days following the treatment are the most common side effects.
More than mild skin burn can occur and can result in post inflammatory hyper-pigmentation (darkening of the burnt skin). This is more common in dark skin and sun exposed or tanned skin. We recommend avoiding direct sun exposure one to two weeks before and during your IPL treatments. We also recommend wearing minimum SPF 15 daily before and during your treatments.
At our Dallas skincare clinic, our clinical aesthetician will do a skin evaluation before starting your treatment and will start conservatively to assess YOUR skin's response as skin response varies from one person to another and cannot be predicted entirely from your skin's appearance. We then progressively increase the IPL settings to get the desired results safely and comfortably.
Not using the local anesthetic helps us minimize skin burns and any undesirable side effects.
What can you do to reduce the side effects from the IPL Fotofacial treatment?
We recommend the following measures to reduce the incidence of burns, scars and brown pigmentation from the IPL fotofacial:
- Avoid direct sun exposure one to two weeks before and during your IPL treatments.
- Wear minimum SPF 15 daily before and during your treatments.
- Topical preparations like Retin-A, alpha hydroxy acids (glycolic acid) or beta hydroxy acids (Salicylic acid) cause photo-sensitivity and increase the risk of burns from IPL and laser skin treatments. We strongly recommend stopping application of all of the above agents for at least one week before starting your IPL treatments. Please let our aesthetcian know if you are using any of the above topical agents.
- Certain medications, prescription or over the counter, can induce photo-sensitivity and increase your risk of burning from the IPL treatments. We strongly recommend telling the aesthetician about ANY medications you might be taking at the time of your treatment.
What is the cost per session?
Each session for the face is $300 .
Please call our office 888-210-9693 for treatment cost of any particular area or for package treatments.
We frequently have “specials”on IPL treatments. Visit and like our facebook page or sign up on our email list to receive notifications on our specials
