Hey all, I have some pretty decent patches of pigmentation on my face which started in pregnancy and never left (probably due to the pill etc). I was considering a referral to a dermatologist or plastic surgeon for treatment but have come across a student clinic which offers IPL photo rejuvenation at excellent prices. (It's a school which trains "dermal therapists" who work in cosmetic medical clinics apparently, nurse supervised).

I was just wondering whether anyone has tried this type of therapy and had success or whether I would be wasting my dough and should head straight to a dermatologist instead?

TIA

I have had it on my legs for chronic folliculitis which also caused discoloured blotches on my legs, I've only had one session as I couldn't afford to continue at the time but the results were great and it definately reduced the discolouration. I'm current;y saving for the full course as I was so happy with the result after just one session

Oh, that's good to know. I might book in for one session and see how it goes .

Can I ask where this clinic is. I would be really interested in trying it too

It's in Perth. I'm not sure if they are open to the general public, or if it's invite only. If you're in Perth let me know, and I'll ask when I finally get around to calling them.

Not sure if you have had it done yet? How did it go? If you have had it done, I hope it went well! If not,
Please be careful of having IPL in a student clinic. IPL can go wrong quite easily in untrained hands. It can cause blisters, scarring, loss of too much pigmentation (white patches) etc etc. Having it done by a well trained therapist lessens these chances greatly. cosmedicalskinsolutions (they have a website) in Perth are meant to be really good. I think it around $400 for a full face treatment. But cant remember for sure. You might need between 1 and 3 treatments.

If deciding to go the dermatologist route they will probably prescribe something like Obagi. Its a hydroquinone based treatment. It can be quite harsh ( causes redness/peeling etc), but results are quite dramatic in most people after 6 weeks.

Not yet, but I'm booked in for the end of November. Thanks for the tips - fortunately I am going to the Saturday clinic which is with a trained therapist as the students don't work Saturdays (but I still get the student price ) I go in for a patch test the week before the full face treatment. Fingers crossed it works!

Let us know how you go!
I had my patch test done a few weeks ago- no change at all on my skin so i decided not to go back.

Hi, I had my full face done approx 2 months ago now. had 4 sessions over 4 months had fantastic results people constantly commenting on skin however i went to phucket in september and sun block wasnt strong enough some of the pigmentation has returned. i would highly recommend IPL just be vigilant with post care.

Calamity Jane, I would be very interested in hearing how you go as I'm also in Perth and have Pigmentation patches on my face that drives me nuts!!!!

Quick update - had my first full session last Saturday. It hasn't all come away yet (it flakes off), but there's definitely an improvement in some areas of pigmentation. Unfortunately the main patch I was concerned about hasn't improved as much as the rest, but I am going back for another session next month. The therapist said that pigmentation from pregnancy doesn't respond as well as sun pigmentation and if it doesn't improve as much as I would like it to after a full course then she will refer me to the dermatologist at the clinic for a cream to finish it off. Overall pretty happy with the results so far so will keep at it for another 1-2 sessions. I looked pretty horrendous for a few days but by day 4 I could just cover it with normal makeup rather than slapping it on with a trowel LOL. I'm having the next session at the start of a week off work so I won't have to worry about it quite so much!

Bumping!!!

Hey Calamity,

How is the treatment going? Would you mind pm'ing me the name of the place please as I'm looking into it to!!

Thanks!!

So sorry, just saw this. Have PMed you the details. Session #2 was two weeks ago and I've really noticed a difference. One more to go .

I have had IPL treatment for pregnancy-related pigmentation.

I would only recommend going to a dermatologist for it. There are cases where IPL can make the pigmentation worse and I would only trust a dermatologist to make that call for me.