It’s the ideal time of the year to think about Intense Pulsed Light (IPL). This treatment is to rejuvenate skin and eliminate pigmentation, as sun exposure is to be avoided after such treatments.

IPL is a method used to improve damaged and ageing skin using high-intensity pulses of light. Often referred to as photo rejuvenation, it’s an effective way to correct and treat skin damage without disruption of the skin’s surface and can be tailored to your individual condition and skin type.

 

Reasons For Causing Facial Veins

Aging can lead to facial veins. Other factors can also cause facial veins, including the following:

 

Sun Damage: Sun exposure is one of the most common causes of facial veins. Staying in the sun without sunscreen or having sunburns can enlarge and dilate your blood vessels. When your skin experiences sun damage, the top layer of skin can peel and make the blood vessels directly under the skin more visible.

Extreme Pressure: Extreme pressure on your face, whether from vigorous washing, popping a pimple, sneezing, vomiting, or facial injuries, can damage delicate capillaries and make them dilate. Other external factors, such as environmental or chemical irritants, wind, or extreme temperature changes can also damage these sensitive blood vessels.

Drinking Alcohol: Alcohol consumption can dilate blood vessels temporarily. Frequent drinking can dilate the blood vessels for longer periods of time and cause a flushed appearance.

Genetics: If you have family members who have facial veins, you have a higher chance of getting them.

Medical Conditions: Having certain medical conditions, such as rosacea, liver disease, scleroderma, and lupus, can also increase your risk of developing facial veins.

High Estragon Levels: Having high levels of estragon, which occurs during pregnancy, can also result in broken blood vessels. The extra blood volume that occurs at this time can cause extra pressure in the capillaries, which can make them susceptible to dilating.

 

So, What Is a Photo Facial and How Does It Work?

 

A photo facial uses intense pulsed light (or IPL) to target the haemoglobin and melanin in your skin that causes visible redness and dark spots.

First, the handheld IPL device is applied to your skin. It then emits a flash of light that causes the melanin (brown pigment) or haemoglobin (red blood cells) in your skin to heat up and be reabsorbed by your body’s natural healing process. In the case of brown spots, you will notice they will become darker and eventually slough off. Normally, it takes only 1 to 2 weeks to see results and up to a month for your skin to heal completely.

A photo facial session usually takes around 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the area you’re treating. You will need 3-6 treatments, once every 4 to 6 weeks. You may experience some mild discomfort during the first session, but as your skin starts to improve, the discomfort will lessen with each subsequent treatment.

The effects of a photo facial can be long lasting. With the use of the right products, you can help to extend the results. However, photo facials are more of a control than a cure, and you may choose to go for a touch-up session about once a year following the initial series of treatments. The most important thing to remember is to continue taking good care of your skin both during the treatments and afterwards, using on SPF daily.

 

Benefits of Intense Pulse Light (IPL)

Photo facials utilize Intense Pulsed Light, or IPL to refresh and repair damaged skin. During the procedure, a highly trained laser specialist directs pulsated blasts of intense light at a specific skin area or imperfection. The energy from the light pulses safely penetrates the layers of skin, heating the tissue to stimulate a variety of biological responses that repair and rejuvenate the skin. Some of the therapeutic benefits of the IPL facial include:

Skin Rejuvenation: The process of IPL energy penetrating the skin and heating the upper layers of the dermis results in instant rejuvenation of the skin, making the face look more radiant. The heat also stimulates the production of collagen, which helps the skin remain firm, taut, and free of wrinkles. New collagen production also helps to further restore the skin and improve its texture and tone.

Improves Skin Tone and Corrects Hyperpigmentation: The same IPL energy that triggers the production of new collagen can also be used to target areas where sun damage has caused melanin to accumulate, resulting in uneven skin tone and hyper-pigmented skin, such as freckles and brown spots.

During the Photo facial procedure, the darker pigment in the melanin absorbs the IPL energy. This intense thermal energy causes the melanin to safely fracture and break apart into smaller pieces. The fragmented melanin is then small enough to be absorbed by the body, causing the hyperpigmentation to fade gradually.

Reduce Redness Caused by Vascular Lesions: The thermal energy utilized during a Photo facial can also target and improve redness, which results from damaged or irregular blood vessels under the skin. These cause vascular irregularities like rosacea, port wine stains, broken capillaries, facial veins and other types of redness.

The haemoglobin in the blood absorbs the thermal energy of the IPL. This heats the fine blood vessels, causing them to constrict. The constriction shrinks small facial veins and reduces overall redness caused by rosacea.

Treat Active Acne and Shrink Pores: Photo facials can also be useful for treating mild to moderate active acne. Clinical studies have shown that the powerful IPL thermal energy of a Photo facial can destroy surface-level bacteria that can cause acne breakouts. IPL energy can also help the regulation of overactive sebaceous glands, which produces the oil that can cause acne. Photo facials are also effective in shrinking the appearance of pores, further contributing to the appearance of clear skin.

 

Conclusion

Overall photo facial is a great solution for people suffering from common skin problems such as thread veins, hyperpigmentation etc. Not only does it clear up imperfections, but it’s indeed healthy for your skin. The results are almost instant, are incredibly long-lasting, and other than some redness is curable if an SPF to be used afterwards. If you want to know more about the advantages of having your IPL Photo facial done at Balance Clinic, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss options with you.