Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and Broad Band Light (BBL) light therapies are designed to rejuvenate and repair your skin, restoring that youthful glow and taking care of acne scarring, wrinkles, rosacea, hyper-pigmentation, age spots, and much more.
With IPL and BBL light therapy, the side effects are minimal and the recovery time lets you go back to your daily life with ease.
(Pricing: $55-$300)
What Conditions Can IPL/BBL Light Therapies Improve?
- Hair Removal: BBL light therapy destroys hair follicles where the hair growth starts from and can eliminate hair growth over as few as five treatments.
- Active Acne Treatment: Light therapy is an exciting new option for treating redness and acne breakouts, leaving skin looking smoother. Pulsed infrared light reduces the oil secretions that produce acne and is recommended in conjunction with other acne treatments.
- Rosacea and Vascular Redness: By heating and destroying unsightly vessels via pulsed light, we are able to reduce overall redness and decrease the effects of rosacea.
- Aging and Sun Damaged Skin: Our Skin TYTE procedure takes advantage of pulsed infrared light to heat the collagen in your skin, which causes it to regenerate, realign, and contract for a tighter, more youthful look.
- Age Spots, Scarring, Rough Skin Texture: By using a dual lamp technology, our Forever Young BBL light therapy can offer more rapid results than traditional treatments meant to rejuvenate or smooth skin.
- Sun Damage, Hyper-Pigmentation, Enlarged Pore Size: For long-lasting effects, we use BBL light therapy to help reduce pore size, counter hyper-pigmentation, and treat sun damaged skin.
This is far from an exhaustive list of conditions that our IPL and BBL light therapies can improve. To learn more, contact our office.
What Happens During the Procedure?
While your specific experience will depend on which of our IPL or BBL light therapy procedures you choose, we approach each one in a similar way to ensure that they are all non-invasive, safe, and gentle, and we can treat any area of the body.
During the procedure, we will protect your eyes with glasses or safety shields, and depending on the procedure and the area of the body, it could take anywhere from just a few minutes to half an hour. The only thing you should notice during the procedure is a warm sensation in the targeted area or a feeling like a rubber band snapping against your skin.
What are the Side Effects?
The side effects of IPL and BBL light therapy are often minimal, and can include:
- Mild reddening of the treated area that lasts from 3-5 days. It’s okay to use makeup to conceal any redness.
- You may feel a mild sunburn-like sensation around the treated skin for 24-48 hours after the procedure—apply cold compresses as needed, as long as ten minutes per hour.
- Darkening of pigmented lesions is also a normal response; they may scab or crust and then flake off in 2-3 days with healing in 7-10 days and fading over 2-4 weeks.
If you experience or are worried about any side effects, don’t hesitate to contact our offices at Boulder Plastic Surgery.
How Long Does it Take to Recover?
There is virtually no downtime when you receive IPL or BBL light therapies; many of our IPL and BBL light therapy patients are able to go back to their day as if they had come in for a routine checkup.
Full recovery, with the passing of all side effects, could take a few days if you follow your aftercare instructions. Aftercare will vary from procedure to procedure, but in general:
- You may be given one or more skin care products and instructions for their use to help reduce redness or inflammation and improve healing time.
- Try to avoid UV light and direct exposure to the sun.
- If any blistering or breaking of the skin occurs, contact our offices about an antibiotic ointment to use.
- Avoid any aggressive scrubbing or exfoliates, including loofa sponges.
How Can I Learn More About IPL/BBL Light Therapy?
If you are interested in learning more about your IPL/BBL light therapy options at Boulder Plastic Surgery, we encourage you to contact one of our specialists; we will be happy to provide you with any information you need to make the right light therapy decision for your needs.