Have you noticed changes in facial skin tone, inflammation or overactive blood vessels?

Intense Pulsed Light Therapy Your skin tone and texture may have changed due to sun damage, aging, acne scarring and certain conditions, such as rosacea.

You may have noticed overactive blood vessels, pigmentation, discoloration, age spots/sunspots, broken capillaries, unwanted hair, fine lines or inflammation.

When medications or topical treatments aren’t helping your skin texture and tone, facial light therapy may be a good treatment option.

What is intense pulsed light treatment?

Intense pulsed light (IPL) treatments target blood vessels below the skin’s surface and within the deep layers of the skin. Pulses of light stimulate production of collagen and elastic fibers while cauterizing overactive capillaries.

Laser treatments usually target a specific area and depth, while IPL covers a wide area of skin and a deeper range of skin depth, allowing many issues to be treated at once.

Conditions treated by IPL

Uneven skin texture, including fine lines
Uneven skin tone, such as sunspots, overactive capillaries and pigmentation
Unwanted facial hair
Chalazions and styes
Dry eyes and ocular surface disease
Ocular/facial rosacea and dry eye (blepharitis) caused by overactive blood vessels
Demodex mites (microscopic bugs that live on the eyelashes)

As ophthalmologists, we’re experts in administering these treatments while protecting the health and safety of your eyes. Treatment can target your entire face, but also the eyelids and the orbital area surrounding the eye.

Learn more about how IPL can treat conditions such as dry eye and rosacea

IPL for facial rejuvenation

Facial treatment includes ResurFX™ lasering, photorejuvenation and photofractional treatments. ResurFX™ treatments use a nonablative laser attachment for IPL technology that targets skin texture. (Nonablative lasers resurface skin texture without harming skin structure.) Photorejuvenation treatment uses IPL technology to target skin tone. Photofractional treatment refers to the use of sequential treatment of IPL and ResurFX™.

ResurFX™ treatment can visibly improve:

Fine lines
Skin texture
Overall skin appearance

Photorejuvenation can visibly improve:

Pigmentation
Age/sunspots
Broken capillaries
Overall skin appearance

Photofractional combines ResurFX and IPL technology to visibly improve:

Fine lines
Skin texture
Pigmentation
Age/sunspots
Broken capillaries
Overall skin appearance

How IPL works for facial rejuvenation

Both IPL and ResurFX™ technologies can be used in the same treatment session. Stellar M22™ IPL technology removes both unwanted pigmentation and blood vessels from the skin, while the ResurFX™ fractional laser stimulates the production of new collagen and elastic fibers in the deeper layers of the skin.

To ensure utmost comfort, your physician typically applies a topical numbing cream before treatment and uses air cooling during treatment. Depending on your specific concern, you can expect the session to last between 15 and 30 minutes. You may experience a warm or prickling sensation as the laser is applied to the skin, but the treatment is gentle and shouldn’t feel uncomfortable or painful.

Results of IPL facial treatment

Typically, about three sessions are needed to have visible improvement in the skin texture and fine lines. Optimal results are achieved after three to five sessions in two-to-six-week intervals.

What to expect before and after your facial treatment

How to prepare for your facial treatment

Inform your doctor if you have a history of fever blisters, cold sores, or cosmetic facial tattoos (including permanent or semi-permanent makeup).

Avoid sun exposure without sunscreen, self-tanning treatments, Botox™ injections, and filler injections for four to six weeks prior. Discontinue use of exfoliant products and products containing retinol or tretinoin one week prior. Avoid use of Accutane® or isotretinoin products six months prior. Stop using doxycycline or minocycline antibiotics three days prior.

For your first treatment only, stop using prescription eye drops one week prior and don’t use generic artificial tears the day of treatment.
What to know about recovery after facial treatment
You may experience a mild sunburn or burning sensation following treatment, which usually goes away within four to six hours.

Your facial skin will be considered fragile for two to three days. Your doctor will give you these instructions and restrictions after treatment:
- Moisturize your face daily
- Don’t wear makeup for two to three days
- Use gentle facial cleansers
- Don’t rub the skin on your face, and avoid hot water
- Don’t exfoliate
- Don’t use any retinoids, tretinoins, alpha or beta hydroxy products, vitamin C products, or have facial chemical peels for one week
- Avoid direct sunlight and use sunscreen
- Avoid excessive heat or friction to the treated facial area (including strenuous exercise, saunas, etc.)

How IPL works for facial hair removal

IPL hair removal treatment is a non-invasive treatment that permanently reduces facial hair growth, resulting in smooth skin.

Highly controlled pulses of light are applied on the treated area and are selectively absorbed by the hair follicles beneath the skin surface. The absorbed light heats the hair follicles, which damages the regrowth potential of the follicle — all without damaging the surrounding tissue.

Results of IPL for hair removal

The Stellar M22™ IPL hair removal treatment is generally administered in a series of four to six sessions, but your doctor can tell if you might require additional treatments.

Multiple treatments are required in order to target the hair follicles in every stage of growth.

You should start to notice a reduction in unwanted facial hair after the first treatment.

How to prepare for your treatment

One day before treatment, you should shave the affected area. Don’t wax, tweeze, epilate, or perform electrolysis on the treatment area.

On the day of treatment, your clinician will apply a clear, cold gel to the treatment area immediately prior to IPL. As the pulses of light are applied to your skin, you may feel a slight stinging or warm sensation. When the gel is removed, much of the hair is wiped off with it. The remaining hair in the treated area sheds over the next week or two.
What to expect after treatment

Immediately after treatment, you may experience some slight redness or swelling of the treated area. This is actually a good sign indicating that the hair follicles are responding to the treatment.

You should be able to resume normal activities immediately.

Your doctor will likely recommend you stay out of direct sun for a few weeks following the treatment and to apply sunscreen.

Does insurance cover IPL treatments?

As treatment for a cosmetic condition, IPL is typically not covered by accepted insurance, although there are some exceptions. Please check with your physician or insurance provider for details.

Why choose the Ohio State Oculoplastic Team

Our oculoplastic physicians are the only specialized experts in the care, diagnosis, treatment, and surgery for facial eye plastics at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Every member of our Oculoplastic Team is board certified and has completed a two-year fellowship in eye plastics from the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS). There are only 750 physicians in the world with this comprehensive training (data as of January 2023).

Intense Pulsed Light Therapy

Our team uses intense pulsed light therapy to achieve your aesthetic goals for facial rejuvenation or unwanted facial hair.