Looking Good in laterlife
                              July 2008

Looking good in laterlife is your guide to today's anti-ageing technology - to help you sort out what's safe and effective in beating wrinkles and maintaining soft supple skin and a lovely smile.   We take it for granted that you're not trying to look as though you're still in you're twenties.  Nor do you want cosmetic treatment to carry ANY risks at all.  This month:

Intense Pulsed Light
Throwing some light on skin treatments

The recent development of IPL (intense pulsed light) treatment is becoming enormously popular. It can be used for a wide range of anti-ageing and medical benefits – from getting rid of sun or age spots to removing red veins on the face and legs. But few people really know what it is or how it differs from the seemingly ubiquitous laser.

There are some very big differences between laser and intense pulsed light treatments.

Lasers produce light in one specific wavelength - think of the intensity of the single beams of light in a laser light show and you will get the picture. Diode Lasers produce that strong red light that is clearly visible. Laser treatment can be carefully calculated so the beam of light treats at different specified depths.

Intense Pulsed Light, on the other hand, is based across the entire light waveband and produces a broad spectrum of light in different wavelengths and colours. There are several advantages to this. Treatments can be calculated to be as wide reaching as necessary and can also penetrate the skin to different depths as required. This means the treatments can respond to differences and irregularities in small red blood vessels and skin pigmentation.

Intense Pulsed Light systems deliver energy to the skin more gently than lasers and are generally less invasive. Also, IPL treatment areas can be much larger than the small spot targeted by a laser, making treatments much quicker.

Intense Pulsed Light is very safe and is now being used for a wide range of anti-ageing and skin treatments including sun damage, pigmentation on face, hands and chests, small blood vessels, redness and age spots.

Treatment is quick and simple. Your skin will be assessed and a precise treatment calculated for the required results. For facial red veins, for instance, carefully calculated strong pulses of filtered light released by IPL will target the blood vessels, heating them to a point where they are destroyed and re-absorbed into the body. For age spots, the IPL breaks down the excessive melanin into smaller particles, allowing them to be shed naturally.

A common question is whether IPL treatment is painful. The answer is not really, although the sensation will vary from person to person. Most people say the treatment feels like the flicking of an elastic band on their skin. Any discomfort is momentary and there is no lasting sensation.

If you are considering IPL treatment, you should be aware:

1. You will need a consultation before treatment and also a skin patch test to check you are suitable.
2. IPL does not work on all skin types
3. You may need a series of treatments for the best results.
4. Immediately after IPL treatment you may notice a slight reddening of the skin. This is no cause for concern.
5. Following IPL treatment, areas of pigmentation can darken and rise to the surface of the skin before being exfoliated naturally within one to two weeks. Again, this is a positive indication of a successful IPL treatment and is no cause for concern.

When considering IPL treatment, always ensure the salon or clinic you are going to employs fully qualified and certified staff. At the moment most good clinics are registered by the Commission for Healthcare and Inspection (the Healthcare Commission), so check this as well.

IPL treatment can be quite expensive, treatment for age spots can be £75 plus and you may need a course of four or even six to ensure they are completely eradicated. The good news is that the treatment is permanent – and suddenly having lovely clear skin again can make a real difference to your life.

A professional clinic will be happy to answer all your questions. For more information on IPL and treatments, contact:

www.consultingroom.com. This is a UK website which provides unbiased information on a wide range of issues including IPL treatments.

www.white-therapy.com. This is a chain of Healthcare Commission registered skin clinics which were one of the first in the UK to introduce IPL and the only IPL clinic to be accepted into a department store chain in the UK.

If in any doubt about any of the information covered in health related articles and it's relevance for you, consult your GP.

View previous editions of Looking Good in laterlife   

laterlife interest

The above article is part of the features section of laterlife.com called laterlife interest. laterlife interest contains a variety of articles of interest for visitors to laterlife.com written by a number of experienced and new journalists.

It includes both one off articles and also associated regular columns of a more specialist nature such as Healthwise, Talkback, Gardener's Diary, and a beauty section called Looking good in later life.

There's also 'It could be you' by Maggi Stamp laterlife's counsellor on human relationships. 

Also don't forget to take a look at our regular IT question and answer section called YoucandoIT by IT trainer and author Jackie Sherman.

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