Do you want to know how to get the best out of your laser and IPL treatments?
How do I prepare? What can I expect during my treatment? How many treatments will I need? What’s the recovery time like? How do I best care for my skin after my treatments?
These are all valid questions, and we are going to tell you everything you need to know to make sure you get the best results from your laser and IPL treatments with us- your leading cosmetic clinic in Cairns.
First of all, is there a difference between laser and IPL? YES! They are not the same technologies, however they can both treat many different concerns, and they are both light-based devices. Our Candela Nordlys IPL is world class. The narrow-band handpieces allow us to treat the skin more efficiently, effectively, and safely. We love our IPL for treating freckles, pigmentation, redness, capillaries, rosacea, acne, scarring, and sun damage. Our Candela Frax 1550 and Frax 1940 lasers are top-of-the-line fractional lasers. Fractional laser is excellent for improving textural irregularities, blending pigmentation, firming the skin, improving fine lines and pores, and giving the skin an undeniably healthy glow.
Our IPL and lasers both improve the look and feel of your complexion, while also promoting a healthier skin. It’s a win win!
So how do you get the BEST out of these treatments? Preparation is key- you wouldn’t run a marathon without training first. It’s no different with your skin. A treatment plan consisting of home care products supported by professional treatments will give you the best outcomes possible.
When you come for your consultation, we will discuss which treatment or treatments will suit your skin best. We may recommend to start with a series of IPL treatments, and finish with a fractional laser, or vice versa. The number of treatments you will need will depend on what you are trying to achieve with your skin, and what initial condition it is in. 20- 30 years of sun damage is not going to be eradicated in just 1 treatment.
How do you prepare? We want your skin to be as healthy as possible to be able to handle the laser or IPL treatment. This means we want it to be hydrated, not inflamed, smooth and exfoliated, and with no recent suntan. We will discuss which products will be most suitable for you, but some of our favourites are Allmedic Skin Repair, Mesoestetic Retinol 1%, Mesoestetic AOX Ferulic, and La Roche Posay sunscreen. We can even order in specialist ingredients from a compounding pharmacy if required (in instances where people have darker skin or lots of pigmentation). This preparation makes a really big difference to your overall outcomes. It’s also common to do an initial microdermabrasion facial to ensure we get rid of dead, dry skin that has built up on the surface.
What can I expect during my treatment? With both devices, your eyes are covered with protective goggles. When we use the IPL handpiece we always apply a conductive gel on the skin before pulsing. The pulses feel like a flick of a rubber band, followed by some tingling and heat. The more pigment you have, the more heat you feel. For the following 7-10 days pigment will lift off and redness will fade. With our lasers we roll the handpiece over the skin several times. You hold a cooling device to take away any heat, and the most you feel is tiny prickles. Both treatments are tolerable. You will feel varying degrees of heat with both. Following IPL you can be pink with dark speckles of pigmentation (your pigment always looks worse before it gets better). With fractional laser you will have an obvious redness to the face for 24 hours followed by a rough texture for the following 4-5 days before the skin lifts off.
These treatments are different, but they are both working towards a healthier skin that looks fresh. Aftercare is similar for both treatments. You MUST stay out of the sun, use sunscreen and wear a hat every day, and apply a recommended calming product to the skin like aloe vera or bepanthen. You can resume active ingredients (AHAs and vitamin A) after 2 weeks. You do not need to take any time off work for either of these treatments, your makeup can cover most of the darkened pigment. The aftercare is a vital step in restoring hydration and nourishment to the skin. The better you look after it following your laser, the better your skin will be.
After your course of laser and/ or IPL your skin will be vibrant, smooth, more even, and glowing. We love performing these advanced treatments for our clients and we get great results- especially when the skin is well prepared and well looked after!!
If you’re interested in improving your skin but don’t know where to start, book an initial consultation with us to discuss the many options available to you. Book online, message us on our socials, or call/ text 0480 345 479.
