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Just got an IPL treatment? 

This post will go over the best IPL aftercare and how to make sure you get the absolute best results out of your treatment. Whatever your treatment area, and whatever the focus of your treatment, you want to make sure that you get the best possible IPL results!  And that means pressing pause on things like when can I exfoliate after microneedling. So learn how to get the most from it here. 

What is IPL used for? 

IPL stands for ‘intense pulsed light’. IPL can be used for a lot of different purposes, but they all do basically the same thing. They shoot light at the skin, and that light creates heat. 

The heat can quite concentrated, like when it’s used to reduce unwanted hair as a hair removal method. Other times, the heat is more generalized and used to gently stress the skin as part of a rejuvenating facial. 

For me personally, I’ve done IPL twice: to treat the broken capillaries that I get on my face from rosacea, and to treat brown spots left behind by sun damage. 

But IPL is also used to treat acne scars, fine lines, age spots, and can improve skin tone. So there’s a lot of use cases out there.

Regardless of what you’re using IPL for, all the aftercare is going to be more or less the same. 

Why does IPL aftercare matter?

IPL is gentler than a laser skin treatment or microneedling, but you still want to be gentle in order to get the best possible result. 

Though IPL is a “minimal downtime” treatment and most people will be able to go back to work after their treatment, you want to be mindful that there will be some skin sensitivity! Even if you feel like you look normal, there’s been a little bit of skin trauma from the light and heat. If you go 100% back to normal after your IPL photofacial treatment or your hair removal treatment, you can reduce the effectiveness of your treatment. 

So,you paid the money for it — get the most from it! Don’t just assume that if your skin looks fine, everything is normal. (You also shouldn’t assume that if your skin looks normal it didn’t work! There’s a healing process ahead!) 

When can I exfoliate after IPL?

So, if you’re asking, when can I exfoliate after IPL….

Define “exfoliate”. 

If you’re thinking that you want to gently brush dead skin cells off with a washcloth? Wait two days. 

If you’re thinking about an AHA or BHA serum that you would typically use a few times a week… plan to wait 4-5 days for that. 

For a retinoic acid like tretinoin? A week. 

And then if you’re thinking about something more intense like a chemical peel, that should be two weeks at the very very minimum! If you’re doing a stronger, in-office peel, you’re going to want to be super up front about your IPL when you’re making the appointment to avoid any unpleasant surprises. 

The exception to this is if you had a treatment for dark spots! These will sometimes rise to the surface of the skin in a scab-like way. They’re called “coffee grinds” sometimes because that’s exactly what they look like! If that’s your experience, do not exfoliate until they fall off! Those spots are going to fall off all on their own without any help from you and reveal beautiful clear skin underneath. Don’t rush it. You had those sun spots for however long, and you can live with a scab for three days. Rinse your skin with warm water, not hot water, and don’t scrub or pick at them. 

Even if you don’t have “coffee grinds” , you shouldn’t do all of these at once in your healing process– like, if you’re planning to do a chemical peel, don’t start the tretinoin again a week before! IPL is a gentler treatment compared to many others, but there will be side effects if you pile on too many aggressive treatments. 

​Full IPL aftercare guide

Take care of your skin because you love your skin! That means avoiding anything that’s going to further stress the treated area for a while. 

Whether you’re supporting your beautiful skin or zapping those hair follicles, here’s what to do after each IPL treatment: 

• for 24 hours: avoid anything that brings you to a sweat. You don’t want to have your blood pumping or bring up your blood pressure. So that means no strenuous exercise, but also no sauna, no hot baths or hot showers, no hot tubs…basically anything that would cause excessive sweating. Too much heat can bring blood back to the treated areas, reducing the overall benefits of the IPL. You want to let the uneven pigmentation or broken vessels or red sports or whatever wither as much as you can. 
• for 24 hours: stay out of the sun completely. Avoid all direct sun exposure after your appointment. Past 24 hours, you can go back out while wearing a 50+ SPF sunscreen. The effects of sun damage are always bad! But currently, you have fresh baby skin that us super vulnerable to the sun. You’re not trying to end up back in that chair to treat the sunspots you just got.
• for 24 hours: drink plenty of water. ​This will help your body flush out damage. 
• For 48 hours: use only the simplest skincare. A basic gentle cleanser is ideal. You might like ice packs or cold compress during that time if you’re still feeling pain. 
• For 48 hours: avoid exfoliation of any kind. Don’t pick at peeling skin! (If you can’t cope, clean a pair of first aid scissors or nail scissors with rubbing alcohol and cut off the peeling parts as close to the skin as you can without tugging.)
• For as long as it takes: ​wait for “coffee grinds” to fall off — do not scrape or pick! 
• For one week: ​avoid tretinoin or retinols.
• For two weeks: ​avoid chemical peels, microneedling, or any other harsh skincare products, at home or in an office. 

When can I exfoliate after IPL? Pin this to come back to it!