I keep hearing that I should write and share more about about skincare.
(Kind of like “Shut up about fitness and fashion already!” maybe?)
Most people, women, can related to skincare issues. I’ve had so many problems from a young age that, as I’ve posted in my Bio before: If it’s something that is natural (mostly) and has a reasonable likelihood of improving things, I’VE PROBABLY TRIED IT.
Take IPL’s.
Otherwise known as photo facials (fotofacials), lunchtime facials, photo rejuvenation, etc.
When the technology first came out, it was crazy expensive. We did it anyway.
Touted as being able to reverse skin pigmentation/sun damage, reduce broken capillaries and improve overall skin texture, it seems like every cosmetic and medical professional offers it.
It is also used to reduce, if not eliminate, unwanted hair (aka, laser hair removal).
(Does it seem weird to you that the same device that is supposed freshen my skin, can also be used on, say, your arm pits to remove dark, coarse hair?! But I digress. Actually, let me not digress to say, I’m a pretty hairy girl with a lot of “peach fuzz” that IPLs did not reduce.)
It is very similar to Laser treatments in that it uses the principles of “light” or phototherapy to generate results – usually in the visible frequency range of 500 to 1200nm. (That’s… a big range!) What separates IPL from traditional Lasers is it is non-coherent light, so it spreads out.
I have had some good IPLs which resulted in an overall “flushed” appearance and some lessening (they darken and the slough off) of dark spots.
But it’s STILL expensive for what it is. Even with a Groupon…which are plentiful.
It’s never caused a sufficient lessening of broken capillaries either.
Several times, the treatments did zip, zilch, nada – a big waste of money AND my time. And in fact, I’ve been “burned” twice with resulting scars.
(And I’ll add that in the case of the adverse events, they were not Groupon-related and both of the practitioners were licensed medical professionals.)
I’m not ruling out using “light” therapies in the future, but I would probably go the route of a more traditional Laser. Yet, with those there is downtime that must be considered, which you don’t have with IPLs. I will probably revisit using chemical peels and therapies plus the newer radio frequency treatments.
By the way, I have done a series of (dedicated) Laser hair removal sessions- didn’t work.
I regularly do Infrared (red or blue light) and feel it helps but nothing helps as much as topical products, IMHO.
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Any questions?
