When I was first treated with IPL, I wondered what the procedure would involve and how long it would take to heal. There are so many factors that influence the healing process, so I think that a break down of day by day IPL healing stages will help you understand each phase better.
This article will take you through the IPL healing process, starting with immediately after IPL treatment run-up and the 1 week post IPL healing stages, taking you through an IPL recovery journey with ease.
Understanding IPL Treatment
IPL photo facial is a non-invasive procedure whose main focus is targeting the skin to remove pigmentation, sun damage, small acne marks, and fine lines. Using light energy allows the procedure to target problem areas to promote production of collagen and rejuvenate the skin. Although IPL is impressive, recovery of the skin takes a little time.
Immediately After IPL Treatment
The initial hours after IPL treatment are critical in comprehending the response that your skin will have. Following the session, there may be a brief period of mild redness and temporary mild swelling as you might get after sunburn. This is normal healing part of the IPL laser healing process.
According to research from 2020, the IPL healing process can vary from 7 to 14 days, depending on the skin type and treatment intensity. The IPL recovery begins as soon as treatment is over, and aftercare guidelines should be followed in order to avoid complications.
1 Day After IPL Treatment
During the initial day of therapy, you may find that the redness that had been experienced on the previous day to be present, but this has to decrease with time. The skin may be dry or tight and minimal swelling may be remaining at some areas. Moisturizing the skin is a key to mitigate discomfort and facilitate the IPL healing process.
At this period, you ought not to be exposed directly to the sun. Make you apply sunscreen- one with strong SPF in order to take care of your skin. Use a very minimal skincare routine, and never apply harsh products or harsh ingredients on the treated skin.
3 Days Post IPL Treatment
It can take up to day 3 before you start seeing color changes to the skin particularly in the regions of treatment targeting pigmentation. The appearance of dark spots can be darkened or increased and this indicates that the pigment is being effectively destroyed by the IPL light. This is the IPL photo facial healing process where portions of damaged cells start falling off the skin.
In this stage, there is a need to keep the skin free of any picking or scratching. To ensure prevention of irritating or scarring, the healing skin requires time to renew itself.
1 Week Post IPL Treatment
After a week, most of the redness and swelling should be reduced. Nonetheless, you are likely to get some slight alterations in pigmentation. To those who underwent sunspot removal, freckles removal or other forms of pigmentation removal, this is the time when dark spots will start flaking or fading off. This is one of the 1 week post IPL healing stages.
The day by day IPL photo facial recovery takes different durations depending on the individuals and the intensity of the treatment with most people experiencing a marked improvement within one week. At this point, you may experience softening and smoothing of the skin, where the IPL laser recovery process can demonstrate tangible results. Keep using your aftercare treatment depending on the aftercare routine to enhance the day to day IPL photo facial healing.
2 Weeks After IPL Treatment
The skin being treated should appear very clear after 2 weeks. These symptoms would have all gone away (redness, swelling) by now had there been any. The IPL healing process due to the IPL laser should have almost finished, and the skin will begin to even more smooth and look younger.
It may appear as the skin feels smoother, there is reduced visible discoloration. Keep covering your skin with sunscreen and stay away of rough skin care product that might impede the healing process.
1 Month Post IPL Treatment
Studies show that 80% of patients report significant skin improvement after completing the 1 month IPL healing stages. The effects of an IPL treatment will become clear to most patients during the one month mark. The IPL healing stages are however not complete now.
Although the visible healing process will be concluded, there are certain residual effects, which might take a few weeks more. The skin will keep on producing collagen, and the entire effects of the IPL recovery will emerge within the next few months.
Long-Term Healing and Results
Results may show further improvement in the skin even after the initial recovery period as longer-term consequences to collagen production happen. You will see an even greater radiance and even smoother skin within the following couple of months.
My day by day healing IPL photo facial process has given long-term outcomes that include reduction in pigmentation, smoother skin texture with the number of lines reducing. Effects of the IPL photo facial healing process are usually long-term, but revisits are advised as an effort to maintain the youthful skin.
What to Expect After IPL Treatment
This is because the IPL healing process goes beyond the healing of the body but also in the learning process of what happens to your skin when you have an IPL treatment or healing process.
The most important thing you can do is adhere to aftercare instructions to provide your skin with the opportunity to heal as required. Here is a brief description of what is awaiting you:
- Day 1-3: there is redness, swelling and warming of the treated areas.
- Day 4-7: The dark spots can appear to be even darker, and start peeling off.
- Week 2: The red in the skin dissipates and the skin becomes smoother.
- 1 Month: Complete results are observed, skin becomes brighter and evened out.
- Ongoing: Regular care procedures need to be done to obtain continued best results.
The duration of steps involved in the IPL healing process may depend on each individual customer, so patience is important. It is easy to make sure your skin heals effectively and efficiently by observing the day by day IPL healing stages. It is important to understand that all the stages of the IPL recovery process help to achieve the final outcomes, and whereas consistency is a consideration that can ensure that your IPL laser recovery is as seamless as possible.
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