IPL Acne Treatment in Chicago

This is the part that decides whether the treatment happens at all, and it is worth reading before you book. IPL responds to the contrast between pigment and surrounding skin, so skin tone is not a preference here, it is a safety parameter. Fitzpatrick types one through three are the ideal range. Type four is treated cautiously, with adjusted settings and by a provider experienced in doing so. Types five and six are generally contraindicated, because the risk is burning and dyspigmentation rather than a poor result.

IPL is also not performed over an active tan or after recent sun exposure, during pregnancy, over an active infection or open wound, or where there is skin cancer or a history of it in the area. Melasma is a specific exclusion, because IPL can make it worse. A keloid history and photosensitising medications are handled as relative cautions rather than automatic exclusions.

Isotretinoin is the medication question that comes up most. Our clinic guidance retains a waiting period after isotretinoin, and this treatment is not performed for patients currently taking it. Tell your provider about every medication and supplement at your consultation, including St John's wort and anything that increases photosensitivity.

Before: avoid sun exposure and tanning for at least four weeks, use no self-tanner, discontinue retinoids as your provider directs, and arrive without a tan on the day. These are not preferences. A tan changes how the light is absorbed and is the most common reason a session is postponed at the door.

After: pigmented lesions commonly darken first, sometimes described as a coffee-grounds appearance, then flake away over one to two weeks. Daily sun protection is not optional afterwards. Downtime is minimal and most people return to normal activities immediately, with brief redness or warmth that settles within hours.

Reported adverse events include transient redness, temporary hyperpigmentation, and, less commonly, blistering or burns. Those are more frequent in darker or tanned skin and where the operator is not medically trained, which is the reason this treatment is performed here by licensed medical providers under physician supervision rather than delegated further.