Good skin care comes down to a consistent at-home regimen and treatments performed by a professional. Supercharge your complexion with a photo facial – a noninvasive treatment that uses light energy to erase sun damage, age spots, and wrinkles.
A regular skin care routine. Eating healthy. Hydration. These are the basics of keeping your skin healthy.
But, while at-home skin regimens are important, it’s necessary to undergo treatments by a professional to supercharge your complexion. One of those treatments at the top of the list is a photo facial.
Photo facial is a noninvasive treatment that uses light energy to improve the appearance of your skin. This treatment whisks away age-related skin imperfections like sun damage, age spots, redness, broken capillaries, and wrinkles. But once you’ve completed a photo facial, it’s important to understand there is a recovery process that you’ll be pleased to hear is very straightforward.
Your skin care experts at Southern Secret Medical Spa are serving photo facials to patients in Conroe, Texas who want to turn back time on their appearance. Read on to discover all you need to know about photo facials and what recovery is like.
Revamp. Refresh. Revitalize.
Photo facials date back to the 1990s when the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved it for its cosmetic uses. Since then, technology has greatly advanced and photo facials are a regular addition to people’s beauty regimens around the world. But how do they work?
Photo facials use intense pulsed light (IPL) – a light beam that’s shaped like the flash of a camera. When you undergo a photo facial, light in many different wavelengths is administered to your skin, penetrating beyond your skin’s top layer to heal the second layer (the dermis) beneath.
Pigment in your skin absorbs the light and converts it to heat which erases unwanted pigment. This process removes skin concerns like:
- Age spots
- Freckles
- Pigmentation
- Wrinkles
- Varicose veins
- Birthmarks
- Rosacea
While you’ll notice an improvement in your skin after the first session, you might need 3-6 treatments to get the results you want.
When to expect results?
If you’re like most, you want results now. But all good things take time, and IPL is no different.
When you leave your IPL appointment, you’ll notice redness in your skin. This is very common, normal, and a sign that the treatment is working. Once this resides in a few days, you will start noticing changes in your skin.
Many people start to see an improvement in skin tone and a reduction in redness only days after their treatment. These immediate changes are caused by the light energy’s impact on superficial blood vessels.
The most significant changes occur 2-4 weeks after treatment. During this time, sunspots and freckles start to darken and flake off or fade for a clearer complexion. Collagen stimulation leads to enhanced skin texture and firmness for an overall refreshed look.
All about the after care
Let’s face it – we all want beautiful skin without looking like we had a treatment done. Luckily, a photo facial requires minimal downtime without needing to press the “pause” button on your life.
Immediately following your IPL treatment, you’ll notice your skin is sensitive and red, similar to a sunburn. It’s important to keep your skin hydrated by applying a creamy, gentle moisturizer three times daily. This will reduce irritation and help keep your skin comfortable during healing.
The most important part of caring for your skin after a photo facial is sun protection. Always apply an SPF 30 or greater to your skin daily to help protect against UVA and UVB rays. Wash your face twice daily using warm – not hot – water.
Drink at least eight glasses of water a day to flush out toxins and keep your skin rejuvenated. Wait at least 48 hours until hitting the gym as strenuous activity and sweating can reverse some of the positive treatment effects.