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I was sitting in my doctors office the other day and we began to talk about it. We started talking about IPL. And he goes on and on about the lasers and the light. And it popped in my head. I mean do these lasers cause any problems later on in life? Does Ipl hair removal cause cancer?
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Does IPL hair removal cause cancer?
No. There is no evidence. I repeat no evidence that IPL can cause cancer. So “NO” it can not cause you to have cancer.
But since many will be worried, when it comes to a risk of cancer, x-rays along with gamma rays are very dangerous and famous for their high ionizing radiation.Now when that ionizing radiation gets a chance to go through your body, that is when it will damage your cells DNA. And this may or may not lead to cancer in your future.
According to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), hair removal methods such as IPL and laser hair removal uses radiation, but it is non-ionizing. The light coming from these lasers don’t penetrate the skin, it remains at the top. So those lasers don’t cause any DNA mutations or damage. They can only heat up and destroy the hair follicle.
Does IPL help prevent skin cancer, or can it make skin cancer difficult to detect?
Only if the skin cancer has any pigment. See, IPL treatments remove the amount of pigmentation in the hair. This may interfere with you or any doctors detecting skin cancer.
Could a laser like the IPL spread a skin’s cancer?
No, skin cancers won’t spread or be affected in any way for better or worse by the IPL lasers. But IPL can be used for more than just hair removal. So, for people that don’t have cancer, the laser may actually be beneficial towards them being that it can help improve your damaged skin.
But for people with skin cancer, the doctor may insist on you are taking care of that first before any treatment.
Long-term effects of IPL hair removal
There many side effects of IPL hair removal. Most show up right after your treatment. Temporary ones such as hyperpigmentation, or burns can be treated fairly quick. The burns can lead to scars if they are deep in the skin.
But if you haven’t had any side effects after the IPL treatment, you don’t have to live your life expecting side effects to pop up.
Some lasers that treat psoriasis or vitiligo by using ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT instead of pulsed light will damage your DNA cells. It can lead to cancer or lesions that are cancerous.
IPL side effects hyperpigmentation
Hyper-pigmentation is when certain parts of your skin become dark in color. If your skin is already dark, then those parts will be even darker. You’ll notice it because it is in patches and doesn’t really affect any of the surrounding tissue.
The reason for this condition is the fault of melanin. Too much melanin develops small deposits in your skin. Now I’m only talking about a side effect from IPL but, in case you wanted to know there are age spots, liver spots, and sunspots, along with freckles are also forms of hyperpigmentation.
You can also find hyperpigmentation in the arms, face, and hands which happen to be common areas for hair removal. Don’t worry too much because these areas, if they succumb to hyperpigmentation, can last 14 days and then go away. This is a normal thing.
If you keep your skin nice and moisturized and not dehydrated, this can help speed up the healing process. I would say you can wait 7 days then start helping your skin by using washcloths with natural moisturizing soap or baking soda anytime you clean yourself.
But in my case, the physician who did the IPL hair treatment on me took a close look at my skin type. They use a Fitzpatrick Scale and made sure to use a different setting since they were judging my skin by the scale.
They insured me that this would help to avoid any hyper-pigmentation. Sometimes it may not be visible because they can microscopic. And it may take up to 2 days till it comes to the surface of the skin.
IPL risks
Some risk of IPL is skin redness, scarring of the skin, and skin discoloration. Skin swelling, skin soreness. Most of that will succumb within a few hours. Once you’re done with your treatments, your skin may feel a bit burnt as if you are having a burning sensation.
There might be blistering and burning, so in case of that, I would limit the amount of sun exposure just to decrease any chance of the risks becoming any worse. The area where you had the treatment, there may be some skin discoloration because of the change in your pigment.
So, watch for your face, underarms, bikini area, or legs, since these are the places where you’ll most likely get the IPL treatments for hair removal.
That discoloration I’m writing about can make your skin appear darker or lighter. If it becomes darker, then expect sun-tanned spots to appear and they’ll have tanned spots within them.
If your skin is lighter, the spots may be a bit larger. But don’t worry, it’ll vanish within a few months of them appearing.
But I must say I have had IPL hair removal treatment and 2 of my friends. They had no side effects. I ask my physician why? He says, “it’s rare to see any side effects.” But then I thought about my skin type. I have very light skin. But people with darker skin are more at risk.
So, don’t worry too much, as long as you have a good/great plastic surgeon, or dermatologist then you don’t have much to worry about. They’ll make sure to take a look at your skin and adjust their device settings to accommodate that.
But you should know that if the devices setting is too high you may get hyper/hypopigmentation and burns. Too low, then you might not have the results you are looking for.
Are there any serious Complications of IPL Hair Removal I should know about?
The only serious risk I have come to experience with IPL hair removal is the light actually overheating. When this happens you can get blisters, some bad scarring of the skin, and risk of an infection because of the damage of the skin.
If you have darker skin, you may be more at risk since your skin has much more pigment and that is what the light energy dispensing from the lasers is attracted to.
How can I go about preventing any complications with IPL Hair Removal?
In order to avoid any complications, you should speak with your doctor immediately before and after the treatments. First, your doctor should make sure your risks are minimal at best and take measures to ensure there aren’t any problems.
Since there are problems with IPL devices overheating and causing damage. The doctor would probably use a cooling gel, put a chilled tip on the device. You may be given an antiseptic cream also after your treatments.
Tanning can bring out any complications after the IPL treatment. So, I wouldn’t be so eager to get to tanning once I’m done with the IPL hair treatments.
Skin a little sore. You may use lotions with Aloe Vera supplement, sunblock, or a cold ice pack or compress.
IPL in Bikini Area Affects Reproductive System?
No. Currently, there isn’t any evidence and no medical research studies that can prove the intense pulse light energy can harm your reproductive system. The light can’t penetrate deep into the skin to cause any harm. Most of the wavelengths being used aren’t that strong enough to go through the first layer of skin. Unless the physician is using some sort of special filter.
So, you don’t have to worry about IPL nor laser hair removal treatment as far as the safety of your reproductive system is concerned. The wavelengths being used are powerful enough to go through the layers of the skin like that. So, there is no way that it could harm your reproductive system.
Is IPL safe for the face?
Of course. It is. No problems with the face area. As long as there is hair you are trying to remove then IPL can work. But the only thing you should be concerning yourself with is any open wounds on the face, bad acne, and dark skin. I write about the dark skin because IPL can be a little tricky when it comes to the darker skin type.
Women, who have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) can they have IPL Hair Removal or not?
Quick note: POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME is when a woman grows little cyst all over her ovaries. The cysts from my understanding aren’t harmful but if left untreated can cause an imbalance in the woman’s hormones.
Yeah, it’s fine. It won’t be a problem. But only if you are ready for it. What do I mean by ready? The right skin and hair tone and they should be sensitive to the intense pulsed light. But there may be a need to go through more treatments than a woman who doesn’t suffer from PCOS.
Only because the process of hair growth is a hormonal one. With PCOS your hormonal balance is thrown into a limbo. It won’t be balanced. And your hair might grow back. So that’s a problem. But you should still talk with your physician or any licensed person who is performing the treatment.
Side effects arise, now what can I do?
Your skin may feel a bit tender once you are finished with your first or even the last treatment. I would always put ice on the area that bothered me the most. You can get a hold of some aleve, Motrin or some ibuprofen. These medications can help to reduce any swelling, pain, and redness you may fee and get.