IPL Treatment in Encinitas

IPL works by selective photothermolysis: light of a particular color is absorbed by a particular target, heats it, and leaves the surrounding skin largely untouched. A flash of IPL contains many wavelengths at once. A filter placed in front of the light guide cuts off the shorter wavelengths, and choosing that filter is how the treatment is aimed. Shorter cut-offs reach superficial brown pigment. Longer ones penetrate deeper and are safer on skin with more natural pigment.

That is why the device matters. The Lumenis Stellar M22 is a multi-application platform from Lumenis, the company whose predecessor brought the first IPL to market in the 1990s. Its IPL handpiece carries nine filters, and the provider changes them during a session as the target changes. A typical face treatment uses a shorter filter on sun spots and the vascular filter across the nose and cheeks.

Two Lumenis technologies shape how each pulse is delivered. Optimal Pulse Technology (OPT) keeps the energy level flat across the length of the pulse instead of spiking at the start, and SapphireCool light guides chill the skin at the point of contact. The Stellar M22 is FDA-cleared (510(k) K250809) for benign pigmented lesions, vascular lesions including the redness of rosacea and poikiloderma of Civatte, and inflammatory acne, among other uses.

The platform has peer-reviewed data of its own. In a 2024 randomized trial of 60 patients with redness-type rosacea, the M22's 590 nm and vascular filters reduced redness about as well as a pulsed dye laser over four sessions. Blistering was more common with the vascular filter than in the other groups, which is why we test spots and adjust settings rather than treating at the maximum.

Melasma. Blotchy, soft-edged patches that match on both cheeks, the forehead or upper lip are usually melasma, not sun spots. The European Society for Laser Dermatology's position statement calls IPL very effective for sun spots but says it should be used "with great caution" for melasma. Many people have both: melasma across the cheeks and ordinary sun spots on the temples. In that case we treat each area differently, and LaseMD takes the melasma. Our guide to telling sun spots from melasma walks through the differences.

Tanned skin. IPL can't tell the pigment in a sun spot from the pigment in a tan. Tanned skin absorbs energy meant for the spot, which raises the risk of burns and blotchy darkening. If you arrive with fresh color, we reschedule. This is also why fall and winter are the easiest seasons to start a series.

Deeper skin tones. The American Academy of Dermatology notes that darker skin is more prone to burns and dark marks after light and laser treatment. IPL works best on fair to medium skin (Fitzpatrick types I-III). Type IV is a case-by-case decision with conservative filters, and for types V-VI we recommend LaseMD, which targets water instead of pigment.

Spots that are raised, changing or irregular. IPL treats benign pigment only. A spot that is growing, bleeding, raised or unusual in color should be seen by a dermatologist before any cosmetic treatment.

Call of Beauty is at 90 N Coast Hwy 101, Suite 207 in Encinitas, a few blocks from Moonlight Beach with easy access from I-5. IPL appointments are short enough to fit into a lunch break, and most patients go straight back to their day.

Solana Beach and Cardiff patients are five minutes or less down the 101. Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe are 12 to 15 minutes away, and Carlsbad is about 8 minutes north. For anyone who surfs, sails, golfs or simply walks the coast, the neck, chest and hands carry as much sun damage as the face, and they can be treated in the same visit.