If you’ve ever wished the brown spots and sun damage on your skin would magically peel off, leaving your complexion even-toned and glowing, I have some good news for you. The treatment known as IPL—which stands for Intense Pulsed Light—does pretty much exactly that. “After the treatment, the brown spots darken and naturally lift away, redness gradually decreases, and the overall texture and tone of the skin subtly improve,” explains Beverly Hills-based certified nurse practitioner, Mariana Vergara, NP-C.
Now, if over a decade of working in the beauty industry has taught me anything, it is that nothing is really magic when it comes to transforming your skin. Most of the time, you’re going to have to put in some work, whether that’s by white-knuckling a painful procedure, sitting in your derm’s office for hours, or dealing with a lengthy recovery. But sometimes you can get lucky and find a pretty low-lift treatment, such as an IPL photofacial, to improve the texture and tone of your skin—one of the many reasons it’s become so buzzy. As Angel Maiorano AGPC-NP, an aesthetic nurse practitioner at SkinSpirit in New Jersey, says, IPL is one of the best and most effective treatment options for achieving flawless skin because it can “quickly transform the skin’s clarity, brightness, and overall health with minimal downtime.”
