Today’s Advanced Skin Care Using the Power of Light

Author: Wanda Cummings, Vice President of Clinical Operations (East Coast)

Did you know the power of light can help rejuvenate your skin?

Preview: We know we’ve all been educated to avoid sunlight and UV rays because of the damage it can do to our skin, but with modern technology there is a controlled form of light that we use to help improve your skin – Intense Pulsed Light (IPL).

Intense pulsed light (IPL) is a technology used by cosmetic and medical practitioners to perform various skin treatments for aesthetic and therapeutic purposes, including hair removal, photo rejuvenation (e.g. the treatment of skin pigmentation, sun damage, and thread veins) as well as to alleviate dermatologic diseases such as acne.

Various cutoff filters are commonly used to selectively filter out lower wavelengths, especially potentially damaging ultra violet light. The resulting light has a spectral range that targets specific structures and chromophores (e.g. melanin in hair, or oxyhemoglobin in blood vessels) that are heated to destruction and reabsorbed by the body. IPL shares some similarities with laser treatments, in that they both use light to heat and destroy their targets.

An innovation from InMode in this category is Lumecca, a superior skin renewal treatment. Lumecca uses intense pulsed light (IPL) to selectively target and treat skin conditions through selective photothermolysis. Optimized for light and dark skin, Lumecca increases the potential for clinicians to treat a variety of skin types and conditions ranging from facial pigmentation, superficial vessels, skin texture and/or photo-damage.

Lumecca can be used on all areas of the body. The most common areas of treatment are zones that are regularly exposed to the sun. This often includes the face, neck, décolletage, legs, hands and arms.

In just 1-3 sessions Lumecca improves the appearance of:

• Age spots (red/brown pigmentation)
• Sun damage
• Vascular lesions (spider veins, port winestains, leg telangiectasia)
• Rosacea (redness)
• Freckles

“20 years ago, when IPL first came out, I think most of us who used lasers were skeptical, but intense pulsed light devices have evolved. IPL’s have become more sophisticated, increasingly safe, and increasingly reliable. I think Lumecca represents all these features and is the most engaging IPL technology for me.”

– Dr. E. Victor Ross

If you decide to pursue a skin treatment, you can use this checklist provided by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons as a guide during your consultation:

• Are you certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery?
• Were you specifically trained in the field of plastic surgery?
• Is the office-based surgical facility accredited by a national- or state-recognized accrediting agency, or is it state-licensed or Medicare-certified?
• Am I a good candidate for skin resurfacing?
• What will be expected of me to get the best results?
• Who will perform the resurfacing procedure?
• Are you trained in this specific procedure?
• Where and how will you perform my procedure or treatment?
• How long of a recovery period can I expect?
• What are the risks and possible complications associated with my procedure?
• How can I expect to look over time?
• Do you have before-and-after photos I can look at for this procedure?
• What results are reasonable for me?

If you want to learn more about Lumecca, use our physician finder search tool to locate a practice near you that offers this innovative treatment.