Sun and Age Spot

Photofacial Questions and Answers

Q: What body areas can I get treated?

A: Any area, except directly around the eyes. The most common areas are the face, upper lip, neck, arms, hands, shoulders, chest, legs, back, and more can all be safely treated.

Q: How does IPL, intense pulsed light work?

A: Specialized handpieces that filter the light spectrum, enabling it to attract to blemishes. Each spectrum wavelength band is ideal for different treatments, such as sunspot removal (red and brown spots), hair reduction, acne treatment, and age spot removal. While the handpiece pulse, light’s energy converts into heat energy in the dermis (deep layer of skin), leaving epidermis (outer layer of skin) unharmed. Our Pulsed-light systems are able to deliver more comfortable and variable-sized light beams than most other lasers systems for delicate tiny spots or our wider coverage units for faster, larger treatment areas.

Q: How is pulsed light different from a laser?

A: We offer BOTH Pulsed light and Diode laser systems.

Photofacial Questions and Answers | IPL Treats Acne
Acne is the most common skin condition that affects mostly teenagers and also approximately 80% of adults in their 20s through their 40s. The goal of our Photofacial treatment is to reduce the level of bacteria inside the lesion, which provides the skin with a healthy environment for healing, allowing new, fresh, acne-free skin to develop.

Q: What are the treatments like?

A: Your treatment technician will pulse the handpiece over your skin. Each pulse sends a flashing light beam on the skin, you’ll feel a mild sensation on the skin and hear an audible tone that will tell you when the pulse is coming.

Q: How soon will I notice results?
A: Most people notice benefits seen gradually in a few weeks following treatment; which provides long-lasting results, that start showing a week after the 1st or 2nd treatment.

Q: How long do results last?
A: Photofacials can have life-long results if the skins post-care is maintained (and the sun is avoided). We recommend investing in your skin with our SkinMedica skincare product line and doing a maintenance session once a year.

Q: What are alternative options to a photofacial?
A: There are (and we have) many different laser treatments available, depending on your skin’s condition. Its recommend to come in for a free consultation and one of our trained technicians can help educate the best route for your individual needs.

Q: What are Intense Pulsed Lasers (IPL) advantages?
A: IPLs don’t damage the skin’s surface unlike deep CO2 laser resurfacing and dermabrasion, so there is ultimately no downtime. Patients can come in for a treatment and return to work or school on the same day. The sessions take approximately 30 minutes. There are so many benefits listed on the previous page.

IPL Treats Rosacea
Approximately 16 million Americans suffer from Rosacea, so you are not alone. However, only a small percentage seek treatment. Treatment options are available, although not 100% curable, will improve your quality of life tremendously and will improve your confidence. Rosacea usually affects ⅓ of a person’s face, particularly around the nose. Aside from redness, flushing, pimples, and swelling, Rosacea can also cause eye problems, such as red inflamed red eyelids, keratitis, and conjunctivitis. This chronic skin condition may have its ups and downs, but we can help you control it!

Q: How many Fotofacial treatments are needed?
A: This differs between patients, the average is 2. It can depend on the area of receiving treatment. However, most people need 2 to 4 treatments in a 4-6 week interval.

Q: Are you candidates for a Photofacial?
A: The best candidate for photofacials are those who are a lighter skin type and have hyperpigmentation, enlarged pores, acne or acne scars, sun damage (brown spots), or Rosacea, red spots, a flushed face or many others listed on the previous page.

Q: Are Photofacial treatments safe to do?

A: Photofacials are extremely safe and are FDA approved. All of our staff are Nationally Certified, very experienced, have passed exams and criteria to perform these treatments.

Rosacea Facts

• Rosacea is a very common incurable acne skin problem
• If left untreated, symptoms will get worse with time
• Symptoms may flare up for weeks to months and may subside for prolonged periods of time before flaring up again
• Often mistaken for acne, allergies or other skin conditions
• Rosacea is not contagious
• Most people who have Rosacea are caucasian
• President Bill Clinton suffers from Rosacea.

Q: What kind of results should I expect?

A: After even one photofacial session, your skin may have a brighter tone and become much smoother. Other improvements include: shrunken pore size, fading sun and age spots, reduced fine lines and wrinkles, and patients with Rosacea will notice a decreased redness after every treatment.

Q: What does recovery involve? How is the downtime?

A: There are minimal side effects or downtime after a photofacials. However, your skin may have some slight redness or look a bit flushed; but this only lasts a few hours. After the flushed skin and capillaries are gone, your skin will look much younger and rejuvenated. Applying a cold compress helps, you can even apply your makeup and return to normal routines right away.

Q: What should I expect after my treatment?

A: You may experience lingering tightness, warmth, redness in the treated area, which fades within a few hours of treatment. Because so much of the healthy skin is unaffected by the light pulses, there is a quick healing process. Usually, you can undergo treatment and return back to work or to different activities without any recovery time. A series of treatments in 4-8 week periods may be needed to produce the wanted result of tighter skin in the face, smoother arms, abdomen, and other areas.

Your treatment provider will be able to give you more information about treatments and expected results. A combination of many numbers of skin conditions can be treated, including sun spots, age spots, rosacea, birthmarks, freckles, spider veins, active acne, acne scars, and other facial blemishes.

Body Beautiful Laser Medical Spa can address many of your skin conditions or concerns in any of our Western Pa or Pittsburgh area locations.

Q: Why Do I Have Brown Spots?

A: Brown spots or blemishes develop for many reasons. Over time, the sun’s harmful rays, genetics, and certain medications (estrogen, hormones, etc.) play a role in the formation of brown/sunspots. Typically, a sunspot is a lesion of either increased pigment molecules (melanin) or an increased amount of pigmented cells. Excess lesions of melanin stay on the epidermis (outermost layer of the skin), while a small percentage lies deep inside of the skin (in the dermis). Therefore, the sunspots are actually a unique group of skin complications and each skin type requires different settings and treatments.

IPL Treats Sun Spots (Brown Spots)

Q: Still have Photofacial Questions?

A: Call 724 987 3221 for more Photofacial Questions you may have or to schedule a free consultation with our certified laser technicians!