Problems with uneven pigment after an IPL treatment.
Dear Dr. Irwin, Love your website! I recently made the mistake of my life and had an IPL 6weeks ago. All my face is a uneven toned and darker now except for two triangles over my eyebrows. But the major concern is that I have read that this IPL can cause permanent sensitivity to the sun (for years to come)..Is this true? Does regular indoor light from a light bulb darkens the pigmentation also? This would be impossible to avoid! Thank you so much!
I’m so glad you find SkinTour helpful! It’s so frustrating when something like this happens but a couple of words of encouragement.
- In general, this will resolve but two good things to remember. It’s best to start on an anti-pigment skin care regiment right away if this happens. If your dermatologist didn’t start that yet, please contact him/her or use this pigment control regimen in the meantime.
- In thousands of IPL treatments, over 20 years, we have never seen a single case of permanent sensitivity to the sun.
- Regular indoor light from a bulb won’t cause darkening…………but any natural light coming in from a window WILL …..due to the UVA through the glass. That’s why you need a UVA blocking sunscreen like the one in the above regimen.
- Also, the darker your baseline skin type, the longer this will take to resolve.
- And, you may need that series of 3-5 treatments that are usually recommended to acheive the eveness you want.
Hope this helps, Dr. I
