I am confused as to what you mean by
damage.
Do you mean areas of increased redness/flushing only?
Or do you mean you have indents, fat loss, etc?
If you mean you have areas of increased redness/flushing/burning, but the skin structure is normal, then more IPL treatments would likely be feasible. You would have reason to hope for a reversible of your symptoms and over all improvement.
In answer to your question, in the past, I have had treatments which worsened my rosacea, and the cause was too aggressive an approach. The energies were far too high.
After a period of recovery, I went on to have further treatments with suitable settings and I finally achieved complete clearance of my rosacea. It was bliss and I maintained a virtual clearance for some years.
That was years ago, before I became a severe flusher. This changed everything. In my case, I developed other health problems and they fuel the rosacea/flushing.
Another point to consider is, were the settings used in your treatment, really gentle?
If they were, it is possible you lack the ability to control/switch off inflammation.
This is nearly always a result of poor gut flora. Google Tregs - Suppressor T cells.
In my case, we have proven I have a slight deficiency of these. I also have elevated ACE, and a few other abnormalites.
When I first started to have IPL years ago, the top machine was the Photoderm. No one had more than one pass. Reports of side effects in the form of structural damage were very rare. The crystal ( part applied to the face) never made contact with the skin. It was 'floated' in a sausage shaped strip of gel. Much like the effect you would get if you squeezed out a tube of cream. The light diffused somewhat, but the results in my opinion were good, ... as long as the settings were appropriate.
There were no 'cooling heads' in those days, so floating in the gel was a must.
If the energies were too high, burns could occur and I had some of these. Fortunately they didn't leave structural damage.
Since the IPL machines have 'advanced', reports of structural damage have become frequent. I am not sure if it is due to the common triple pass technique, or the fact the crystal is now placed directly on the skin, or if the more direct and intense shot of light might have side effects that were not initially considered. Perhaps the previous light diffusion was advantageous as it reduced the possibility of intense oxidative stress? All I know is, reports of damage are frequent these days, as can be seen in this forum and many others.
I have IPL induced damage now.In my case I have had far too many treatments, they were done too closely together and there were occasions when the energies were excessive.
My worst damage came from one of the newer machines. I only had one pass treatments with this.
Yet, despite damage, I would still advocate IPL as a very helpful treatment, as long as it is implemented by a seasoned operator who knows what he/she is doing. And as long as there is no known reason which would make the patient unsuitable for treatment.
But, I think IPL is only truly useful if the vasculature is excessive and has been remodelled to such an extent is can no longer recover after localised inflammation has been reduced or eliminated.
My advice to you would be as follows:
Establish if you really have structural damage, or just an increase in facial redness/flushing/burning etc.
Try and improve your gut health and if you have already tried and it is not working, consider a different gut approach.
Perhaps try controlling facial symptoms with a sulphur based product at the same time.
Lotions and potions often make symptoms worse.
Find a different GP. One who is experienced in finding causes for health issues, rather than trying to suppress symptoms with useless methods.
If I recall correctly, you live not too far from me. You could consider consulting my doctor. His entire practice is made up of 'hard basket' cases, all of whom have complex chronic disease.
Also, you could interview other IPL operators and see what they have to say. Perhaps have some test patches done to see how your face reacts.
I have just remembered something else. Back in the old days.... it was quite common to get a bit worse before getting better with IPL treatments. It took around 3 treatments to see any improvement. In my case I had delightful results from the first treatment. It lasted 10 days, after which burning returned, with some blotchy inflammation. I was fortunate that the majority of redness and masses of visible vessels did not return. However, it took a number of additional treatments before things settled down once and for all.
I also had melasma at the time, which complicated matters. It was felt, if I did not have that, my recovery from the rosacea would have been quicker.
Looking back, I am sure it would have been quicker still if I had known anything about diet and the importance of a gut based immune system. I had little clue and didn't address that side of things at all.
Anyway, I have rambled...... but these are my thoughts. I hope they are helpful in some way
Following up on IPL after a previous IPL setback
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Originally Posted by burnforyou
