funny, I just had StarLux pulsed light therapy (an IPL photofacial) done on Thursday morning at my derm. office. It's a bit too early to tell if it worked for the rosacea and sun spots, but I think the broken capillaries on the sides of my nose and my chin are gone or much reduced. It didn't really hurt - felt like tiny pin pricks. The sun spots have darkened as the dr. said and they will slough off. There are more on the left side of my face because of driving.

forgot to add, you can have more than one procedure (maybe some people need additional treatments) and mine cost $250 from the nose to the chin (forehead was good).

My sister just had her second treatment. She's very red and had to stay in a dark room for a certain length of time. She's going for one more. All her friends in the south do it.

I had it done several years ago - time to do it again. Gets rid of what used to be cute *sun kisses* as my mom called them when I was a kid. They're not cute at my age anymore!

Yes, 9 years ago and it was painful esp around the nose, which is why I have never repeated it.

Delilah....maybe methods have improved in the last nine years and it wouldn't be as painful now?

Thanks everyone.

I have a consult scheduled next week. Dermatologist said she has it done periodically and the pain level isn't that bad, that the laser center uses triple power (eh, not sure that's the technical term she used, lol). numbing cream, that it's pretty effective and pain is fairly minimal.

ETA that my issues are broken capillaries and brown spots.

Had it done about 15 months ago for rosacea and broken capillaries. Be prepared to spend about 2 days out of the public eye since it is like a very intense sunburn. After a few days I applied tattoo cover up make up to leave the house.

I spent 300$ in SW Florida. Not extremely happy with the results so I will be attempting a second go. It did not remove any brown sun spots just the redness.

I've had IPL treatments and usually get one around now. 2 treatments will get rid of most brown spots. I bought a series of 3 2x on specials a local cosmetic surgeon offered. I now get one every year after the summer. Not only does it get rid of ugly brown pigmentation of all kinds and redness, it rejuvenates your skin and stimulates collagen. It also gets rid of spider veins on your face. I love getting them.

It is a little uncomfortable during the procedure. The office I use has the newest IPL laser which isn't as uncomfortable as past instruments but it's still uncomfortable.

I would love to try it, because I have a million sun spots, but I have a hard time figuring out how to hide in my house for however long it takes after the procedure!

I have had a series of microdermabrasion treatments in the past, which helped a bit, but not enough.

I'm wondering if different kinds of lasers give differing results and side effects? I had a series of 4 IPL's done a few years ago through my dermatologist. My skin was a little red afterwards, like a mild sunburn; nothing major for the first three treatments, but I did get some swelling with the final treatment. It did get rid of brown spots ... after a few days they turned dark and then later peeled off. Some around the hairline were not removed completely, but they were lightened significantly. I feel it greatly improved the condition of my skin and the results are long lasting. I get a mid-grade peel every now and then for maintenance.

I've not heard of the "staying in a darkened room" restriction after an IPL, but that is the case when IPL or Bluelight is combined with Levulan to treat precancerous lesions (actinic keratosis). Yayagal, I'm wondering if that's what your sister had? Now that involves a scary-looking recovery; very red and much more intense than plain IPL.

My sister had blue light (not sure what the diff is between IPL and b/light) is and hated it. Said it was extremely painful; not the procedure itself but afterwards. She's very fair; not sure if that has anything to do with it or not.