IPL Hair Removal Side Effects

Side Effects of IPL Hair Removal.

Intense Pulsed Light (or IPL) is the latest rage in safe, effective hair removal, but nothing is perfect. The following is a list of side effects that are possible with IPL hair removal. 1. Skin irritation: the most common side effects are minor swelling and redness in the treated area. In some cases the redness may last for several days. Icepacks and topical pain relievers can be used to reduce the discomfort 2. Burns of the skin and eyes: IPL hair removal uses an intense light to generate enough heat to target and destroy the hair follicles. In people with darkly pigmented skin (naturally or tanned) the heat tends to be absorbed by the melanin in the skin rather than that in the hair follicle itself, and can cause severe burns.

The strong light is also damaging to the eyes if proper eye protection is not worn. 3. Pinpoint bleeding is a very rare, but possible, side effect of IPL hair removal treatments. If bleeding does occur, more treatments may be necessary to achieve the desired results. 4. Post inflammatory hyper-pigmentation (or PIH) may occur as a result of superficial burns (or just too much heat) from IPL hair removal treatments, and my last as long as 6 months. The hyper-pigmentation can prevented by pretreatments with melanin inhibiting agents such as hydroquinone or kojic acid.

. If the damage has already occurred, it may require 1064q switch laser treatments to treat the side effects. 5. Infections are possible, but unusual, side effects that can occur any time the skin is damaged. Because the area treated has been stressed and irritated, it is made susceptible to invasion by bacterial, viral and fungal infections if not kept clean. Any type of skin infection will need to be treated and may require a course of antibiotics which can alter your skin's light sensitivity and may require postponement of further treatments.