My First IPL Facial!
After a few years of deliberation, I finally made the decision to invest in my skin beyond skincare products and try in-office treatments. I wasn’t skeptical whether or not they would work but was just too broke to afford them. I came to Spa Derma in Lincoln Park (there’s also one in the West Loop) to get my IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) facial or Photofacial done for the first time after my friend’s recommendation to take advantage of their BOGO (buy one, get one) deal.
IPL is something I’ve wanted to do for a while since my freckles have been something that bothered me on and off throughout my adult life. I go from thinking they’re cute and make me look youthful to questioning if they actually just make me look like I’ve spent too much time sun bathing. Sun protection only became important to me about 10 years ago and I am forever in debt to my friend Carli for influencing me to wear SPF everyday. I have very fair skin that freckles easily so to become sun savvy at 18 was a real game changer for me. Thanks a million, CP!
Spa derma lincoln park lobby
When I arrived at my appointment I was greeted by the lovely ladies at the front desk and was told my esthetician would be with me shortly. After a few minutes browsing their products for sale, Julie greeted me with a friendly smile and showed me to our room. I was given a run-down of what was going to happen in my session and had all my questions answered. Before we started, Julie kindly examined my pores after I complained of their size and did an extraction on me to see if there was actually anything in my pores. Spoiler: there was. She recommended their Express Facial for my next visit to take care of the rest of my blackheads and then we got started.
First, Julie massaged a cleanser into my face to remove any residual dirt or skincare from earlier in the day. After I was thoroughly cleansed, she put two cotton pads over my eyes and topped them with goggles to protect me from the powerful light the machine gives off. She then applied a gel that helped to keep my skin cool and allowed the laser to glide over my face with ease. She worked in vertical sections, starting on the right side of my face at my jawbone and up to the top of my cheek bone.
On a scale of 1 to 5, my pain or discomfort was at a 2. Going into this I thought the pain would be comparable to getting laser hair removal - which I'm not the biggest fan of but can bare it - however, it was considerably less painful than that. Julie describes it as a "rubber band snapping on your face". What I was not expecting was the very bright beam of light that you could see despite your eyes being shielded. I came out of my session neither blind nor with x-ray vision so all was fine in the end but the light is so intense it would make me jump a little every time it went off.
before
(Pictures taken on Spa Derma’s iPad)
BEFORE: RIGHT
BEFORE: TOP
BEFORE: LEFT
after
(Pictures taken on my iPhone 8 Plus)
AFTER: RIGHT
AFTER: TOP
AFTER: LEFT
Thirty minutes later my session was complete! Julie wiped off the gel, applied a soothing cream and sunscreen to my face and I went on with my errands for the day. I was slightly red and my forehead felt how a sunburn would feel for about an hour afterwards. I could see my freckles and sun spots that were pronounced prior to IPL starting to darken as the day went on, and by the next day the "peppering" stage had begun. By day three, my largest sun spot underneath my left eye had faded dramatically and the rest of my face that had peppered had either healed over or was still in the healing stage.
Many sites I have visited for information about IPL claim it helps with pore size and wrinkles but I was told that that is only a temporary effect of the IPL and if those are your main concerns then something like micro-needling would be a better treatment to look into. I'm really happy with my results so far and I'm looking forward to my next treatment! If you would like to know more about IPL, click HERE or consult a certified skincare specialist to find out what treatment is right for you. I'll be following up with my results as I continue my sessions so stay tuned for more!
in case you missed it!
