IPL Skin Rejuvenation

IPL treatment is an appropriate treatment for most people, with the exception of those who are pregnant or who have taken strong antibiotics for acne-prone skin in the past 6 months.

The treatment typically takes no longer than an hour per session to complete.

The IPL treatments at Cadogan Clinic are carried out either by consultant dermatologists or one of our qualified nurses or skin therapists.

The ICON laser system uses Optimised Light photo-rejuvenation technology, which delivers gentle pulses of intense, optimised light to regions of unwanted pigmentation and facial vessels.

The appearance of sunspots, age spots, spider veins, rosacea and capillaries can all be reduced significantly. Treatment time can be as short as 30 minutes, depending on the size of the area to be treated. Three to five treatments should deliver optimal results but some patients may achieve their desired results after just one or two sessions.

There is very little preparation required before IPL therapy.

We typically simply recommend that you do not spend too much time in the sun in the six weeks ahead of your treatment, and avoid any treatments that will irritate the skin for two weeks prior.

IPL treatment is not painful. You should expect to feel a heated sensation as the pulses of light permeate your skin, with the most you can expect to feel a similar sensation to someone flicking an elastic band against your skin with each pulse.

If you are extremely sensitive to pain, topically applied anaesthetic can be considered before treatment and moisturiser can be applied immediately afterwards.

There is typically no downtime at all.

Immediately after your ICON laser treatment, however, your skin will feel warm, red, and maybe slightly swollen similar to that of a bad sunburn. These effects usually resolve on their own within 1 to 3 days at most.

Some mild bruising may also occur over particularly delicate areas, crusting, scabbing, darkened patches, and, in quite rare cases, mild blistering can also be experienced. These reactions gradually subside within 1 to 2 weeks after treatment.

You should start to see the results in the days and weeks after your first treatment, and the tone and texture of your skin will begin to improve. Results improve over time, and with each successive treatment, particularly beyond the third treatment.

Your best results will be between 3 and 6 months after your final treatment. At this point, you should expect to see a visible decrease of redness, dark spots and fine lines. Freckles and age spots may appear darker for up to a week before they fade gradually.

For optimal results, a series of 3 to 5 sessions spaced 3 to 4 weeks apart is recommended; patients may also wish to incorporate a treatment touch-up treatment every 6 months to maintain results.

The results should last between 12 and 18 months, at which point you can come back for a top-up treatment.

Typically the less exposure to the sun in the treated area, the longer the results last.

IPL therapy is very safe. Any side effects such as (blistering, scabbing, redness or bruising) are temporary and tend to subside after just a few days.

These side effects will be fully discussed at your consultation.

IPL is an excellent and highly effective treatment for improving the appearance of pigmentation conditions. Most commonly these are age spots, brown spots, sun spots and sun damage.

The intense pulsed light emits light waves which are absorbed by the melanin and haemoglobin in the skin which causes the pigment to fragment. These pigment fragments are then broken down naturally by the body making them less visible in appearance.

IPL therapy can be used as a standalone non-surgical treatment to treat burns and burns scars, or as a single element of a broader package of treatments.

When treating burns it is vital to make sure treatment follows a certain order and is delivered by experts (or team of experts) to ensure the best results and safety. You may be a better candidate for surgery.

Either way, it is vital to speak to one of our specialist burns and laser consultants to assess what the appropriate treatment is for you.

Yes, IPL treatments can be used to treat the appearance of acne. By undergoing a number of treatments, varying depending on the patient and the severity of the condition, IPL can help to destroy the bacteria that create acne, therefore reducing its appearance on the skin.

Cystic acne is one of the most severe types of acne.

It is caused when sebum and puss begin to build up inside the skin, and instead of breaking through the surface or being healed by the immune system, the acne continues to grow deep into the skin, sometimes even rupturing the sebaceous glands that produce the sebum in the first place in some cases.

This is the most difficult type of acne to treat because it is too deep for most topical medications to be effective.

IPL Skin Rejuvenation and Laser Skin Resurfacing are very different treatments.

An IPL Skin Rejuvenation treatment consists of a series of high-intensity pulses of broad-spectrum light that pass through several layers of skin at once, targeting only the unwanted cells. IPL can thus improve the texture, quality, colour and health of your skin and treat multiple conditions simultaneously, such as the appearance of veins, capillaries, redness, age spots, blotchiness and freckles.

By contrast, Laser Skin Resurfacing delivers a direct beam of thermal energy to one specific target. Laser Skin Resurfacing uses a laser beam focused on one specific wavelength and targets the very outer layers of the skin, which are removed, encouraging new skin to replace them. This process restores the smooth, even and fresh appearance that the skin tends to lose with age.

We offer two main Laser Skin Resurfacing treatments: ClearLift & Pixel Perfect, each having its own specific benefits and advantages.