The following are some pre-treatment guidelines that will help with the success of your IPL treatments.
1. NO sun exposure and/or tanning bed exposure for 4-6 weeks prior to and following your IPL treatment. If you have had exposure to the sun, please notify your practitioner as we may reschedule your appointment.
2. Please inform your practitioner of any changes in any prescriptions and /or Certain medications can increase photo-sensitivity which may affect the outcome of your treatment.
3. Discontinue use of Retinal (ex. Retin A) products at least 5-7 days prior to your IPL treatments.
4. If you have a history of cold sores, please inform your practitioner. We will prescribe an antiviral to begin 2 days prior to your IPL treatment and three days following to decrease the risk of an outbreak.
5. Discomfort is usually mild to moderate. In some cases we may recommend a topical anesthetic to decrease discomfort during the IPL treatment. We try to limit the use of topical anesthetics, if possible, as they increase photo-sensitivity. If a topical anesthetic is required, we can make adjustments to the IPL settings.
6. Pigment changes- the treated areas will probably heal without any pigment changes. However, there is always a chance the hyper-pigmentation (darker) or hypo-pigmentation (lighter) areas may occur. These are temporary and will fade within 1-6 months. Sun exposure must be avoided as it may intensify hyper-pigmentation. It is rare that a change is permanent.
7. Scarring is very rare and it is important to follow all post-treatment instructions carefully.
Please do not hesitate to call our office at 855.383.7546 if you have any questions or concerns about your treatments. If you have a situation that you feel cannot wait until the next business day please call our office and follow the prompts to our after-hours message to page the 24 hr/day on-call nurse.