We are fortunate here in Tampa that the sun shines nearly year round. However, the continual sun exposure can wreak havoc on the skin’s external appearance as well as its internal make-up. While we may not experience a typical winter, December, January, and February provide a great opportunity to restore and revitalize sun-damaged skin.
Fortunately, there are ways to alleviate and even reverse skin damaged by the sun’s powerful UV rays. One such treatment: Intense Pulsed Light Therapy (IPL). Commonly known as photorestoration, IPL effectively targets and combats sun damage at a cellular level.
How Does IPL Work?
IPL utilizes a wide spectrum of light to effectively target, heat, and destroy damaged skin cells. Through a range of wavelengths, damaged cells are carefully and specifically heated while sparing the surrounding tissues. Once destroyed, the cell rises to the skin’s surface and flakes off.
Reviving Sun Damaged Skin
What manifests outwardly as color irregularities is the body’s physical response to damaged skin cells. Sun spots, caused by excess melanin, are actually our body’s natural defense system. As such, sun spots are also a telltale sign of underlying damage. By exhuming damaged cells, IPL reduces the appearance of irregular discoloration. In addition to sun spots, IPL lessens the visibility of small veins, rosacea, and broken capillaries.
Along with skin health, IPL also offers pleasing aesthetic results. Diminishing fine lines and large pores, post-IPL, facial redness also fades. Progressing through their treatments, our patients love their skin’s increasingly smooth and fine texture. Another benefit, IPL stimulates the production of collagen—keeping the skin looking younger and healthier long after your treatments end.
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 Why is winter the ideal season for IPL? Keep in mind: To ensure optimal results, it is important to avoid direct sunlight for at least two weeks following your treatment. IPL increases the skin’s sensitivity—meaning that any post IPL sun exposure or exposure to intense heat can irritate or inflame the skin. |
Comfortable with Lasting Benefits
A minimally invasive therapy, with IPL, there is seemingly no downtime—meaning that you are free to resume your day-to-day routine as soon as the treatment is finished. For most, IPL lasts around 45 minutes. While your skin may improve after only one treatment—true results are seen after a series of three to six treatments. Commonly, IPL treatments are spaced three to four weeks apart. Most important and unique to each individual patient, however, is that your skin is completely healed before you continue on with your series.
As Floridians, we are spoiled by a barrage of beautiful weather. That said, the sun is less powerful in the winter months. We, at Artisan Aesthetics Plastic Surgery & Laser Center, encourage you to care for your skin this winter. Contact the office of Dr. Castor to learn more the skin-saving ways of IPL.
