Why I Chose IPL Photo-facial

Jaala Leis Wanless is a celebrity hairstylist and artist with more than 24 years experience in the beauty and hair industry. She writes about her experience with an IPL photo-facial treatment for sun damage.

After years of thinking that I had been applying my sun screen vigilantly and taking care of my skin properly, I recently started to notice that I was indeed starting to acquire the beginning of what looked like sunspots. How could this be, I pondered? Wasn’t I taking good care of my skin all these years?

Then the “aha” moment arrived. I remembered the time in Mexico where I had missed applying sunscreen to one elbow, the top of my foot, and a strip of skin along the edge of my forehead (the rest of that trip was dedicated to babying the resulting sunburnt “crispy tortilla” skin on my forehead and hiding under a giant sombrero). And all the times driving around on my other adventures, hands on the wheel and stick shift, music blaring, with the left side of my face being roasted in the sunshine. Yes. Those times. All those times. They finally got to my skin in the end.

So, what does one do with sunspots and skin damage? There were many different serums and cream samples I tried (prices ranging from modest to ridiculous) that didn’t seem to work as they said they would or tackle the one sun spot that I wanted to get rid of. My frustration at not being able to tackle this issue on my own led me back to search out some other solutions and expert advice.

My first thought should have been (instead of trying all those serums and creams), “Go to your skin care and facial saviour Rita Moldovanos!” But, I really wanted to see if anything topical in the beauty and skin care market actually worked to eliminate sunspots and sun damage before I went the laser route. Some creams temporarily lightened my spot but the problem always remained or returned to full force a short time later. I realized then that what I was trying to deal with was actually a deeper dermal issue that couldn’t be resolved without some kind of laser treatment.

Finally, I turned to Rita Moldovanos at Pure Light Laser for some expert advice and treatment options. Rita assured me that what I was dealing with was really just minor sun damage that was easily treatable with a series of IPL photo-facials. My one sun spot and unseen sun damage could potentially be pesky problems of the past!

The first treatment, after having my skin cleansed, felt like a prickly rubber band was being snapped on my skin all over my face. Overall, there was minimal discomfort, the procedure was relatively quick, and I had no downtime or reactions after it was done. A couple of days later, lo and behold, those areas I had burnt (the strip on my forehead) and the left side of my face (my driving in the sun exposure) started to change color in little patches where all of my “invisible” sun damage started coming up to the surface of my skin. My pesky sun spot also changed color and then about 10 days later, these darker areas peeled off to a clearer, more evenly colored skin tone. My sun spot was noticeably lighter!

After my first treatment, I could visually see and compare the benefits of laser therapy vs. topical creams and serums. The change to my overall complexion after just one visit was enough to prove to me that this was indeed the treatment plan I should have followed in the first place. I also became much more aware of the unseen damage that chronic overexposure to sunlight can incur; that there is no such thing as a good “sunburn”…the damage will always be lurking in the deeper layers of your skin and will come back to haunt you at some time. See the truth by Google image searching “sun damage” and feast your eyes on the buffet of over-exposed, sun-damaged skin that could definitely use correctional IPL treatments.

My road to an even, clear complexion is far from over. I still have a few more rounds to go before I am off “spot free”. But, knowing that there are laser treatment options available that actually work to reduce sun damage and sun spots (and boost your collagen to help with wrinkles!) is a complete relief. Thank you Rita for sharing your knowledge, expertise, and taking such good care of my skin!

To be continued…

Jaala Leis Wanless
Celebrity hairstylist and artist at large

This article was written by Pure Light Laser