Intense Pulsed Light Therapy (IPL)

A photofacial is done inside our Port Saint Lucie, FL office in about 20 – 30 minutes in one of our minor procedure rooms if performed alone. To start the photofacial, the technician will clean and dry the skin to be treated before covering your eyes with shields. The photofacial is administered using a handheld device that passes over the skin while emitting pulses of laser energy. While most patients will feel some discomfort during the photofacial, it is generally tolerable for the quick treatment time.

There is no recovery period associated with a photofacial treatment, but you will leave your appointment with your skin a little inflamed and red. This will go away on its own in about a day — it can be concealed with makeup if you want. Vinyard Institute of Plastic Surgery recommends patients use an ointment on the skin to decrease irritation and speed healing. It also helps to take an anti-inflammatory medication to ease swelling. After several days, the irregularities that rested under the skin will come to the surface and then begin to flake off. It’s critical to keep your skin protected from the sun at all times after a photofacial treatment and to not pick at your skin while it heals. While you should see visible results after the first session, your skin will attain the best results after several photofacial sessions. Dr. Vinyard recommends approximately 3 – 6 treatments scheduled around once a month at Vinyard Institute of Plastic Surgery.

Your skin is unique, which means the cost of IPL treatments will vary based on your unique goals. Vinyard Institute of Plastic Surgery offers special deals sometimes, and we accept several payment methods. During your initial visit, we can help estimate your cost and determine the number of treatments needed to fit your needs and goals.

Visible improvements can usually be seen after one IPL treatment, but final results develop around one month after your last treatment. It’s common for you to see different responses following each session. You should see fading of redness, blotchiness, and spots (age, brown, and sun) over time.

It’s common to experience mild side effects, like temporary swelling, redness, blisters, crusting, or bruising. These go away on their own 2 – 3 days following your treatment. You will be sun sensitive and you should keep in mind that excessive sun exposure will negatively affect the results of the procedure. We also recommend using sunscreen to protect your skin and prevent damage, like redness and spots.

To prepare for an IPL treatment, patients are usually asked to avoid self-tanners and excessive sun for 2 – 4 weeks prior to the appointment. You might need to discontinue the use of certain medications and topical creams, like Retin-A several days before each procedure, and you may want to start taking ibuprofen or aspirin for 5 – 7 days before the appointment to reduce inflammation, which lowers your chance of bruising. You should also use sun protection (like a hat and sunscreen).

We recommend getting a series of IPL to produce natural-looking improvements to the appearance of your skin. Each session helps to reduce surface irregularities and spots. Several sessions also allow for longer-lasting results.