Skin Care Review: Intense Pulsed Light

Rating
Good

Benefits
Glowing skin, lightens pigmentation, reduces hair, tightens pores, reduces veins

Drawbacks
Expensive, requires several treatments, searing pain

Details
I'm a 29 year old Chinese with fair skin and freckles. My skin type is combination with enlarged pores especially on my nose. I have quite a few spider veins/broken capillaries on my cheeks. I also have some dark hairs on the upper lip, which I have been waxing/tweezing since I was 12 years old. I had read a lot about the Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) procedure in magazines and on the internet, and figured it was the perfect solution for my freckles, enlarged pores, veins and facial hair. My face at that time was rather 'dirty' looking. So far I've had a series of 7 IPL treatments done, at intervals of about 1-2 months. The results I have noticed are: lighter freckles and veins and an overall brightening of the skin; small improvement in enlarged pores; facial hair is significantly reduced and takes longer to grow back. Many people have commented on how great my skin looks. The treatment is also supposed to make you look years younger, but I don't think it had that effect on me, probably because I don't have any wrinkles. I have also had this procedure to reduce underarm hair and after 9 treatments, there are only a few very fine hairs left.

Conclusions
IPL produces good results if you do at least 6 treatments. I highly recommend it.

Price (paid by reviewer)

Where to find it
Beauty salon