STELLAR M22™ IPL

Service Description

The Lumenis Stellar M22™ is the gold-standard IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) platform trusted by top dermatologists worldwide to treat sun damage, pigmentation, redness, rosacea, broken capillaries, and signs of photoaging — while rebuilding a brighter, more even complexion overall. Powered by proprietary Optimal Pulse Technology (OPT), every pulse is precisely calibrated to your unique skin type, tone, and concern, delivering clinic-grade efficacy with industry-leading comfort and safety. Controlled light pulses penetrate the skin, targeting unwanted pigment and vascular imperfections, while simultaneously stimulating collagen and elastin production. Visible results after just one session; optimal results with a short series of 3–5 sessions spaced 3–4 weeks apart. Minimal downtime. Best for: • Sun spots, age spots, freckles, and melasma • Facial redness, rosacea, broken capillaries • Dull, uneven, or photodamaged skin • Overall skin tone and texture refinement ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ WHAT TO EXPECT 30–45 minutes. Skin is cleansed, cool gel applied, and protective goggles placed. The IPL handpiece delivers controlled light pulses that feel like warm rubber-band snaps (tolerable, not painful). You may see sun spots appear darker ("pepper spotting") for 3–7 days before flaking off. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ PREPARATION & AFTERCARE Before: • NO sun exposure/tanning 4 weeks prior — this is critical • No retinoids 5–7 days prior • No self-tanner 2 weeks prior • Come with clean skin, no makeup After: • Skin will feel warm for 1–2 hours, like a mild sunburn • Dark "pepper spots" on pigmented areas are expected — they flake off naturally in 3–7 days (DO NOT pick) • Use gentle cleanser + heavy SPF 50+ for 2 weeks minimum • No retinoids or acids for 5–7 days • Avoid sun at all costs for 4 weeks post-treatment Downtime: none to mild redness for 24 hours. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ FREQUENTLY ASKED Q: Is it safe for darker skin tones? A: The Stellar M22's OPT technology is safer than older IPL for medium skin tones (Fitzpatrick I–IV). We do NOT treat Fitzpatrick V–VI due to burn risk — instead we recommend microneedling or other alternatives. Q: How many sessions do I need? A: 3–5 sessions spaced 3–4 weeks apart for optimal results. Stubborn pigmentation may need more. Q: Does it hurt? A: Moderate — like warm rubber band snaps. Most clients rate it 4–5/10. Q: When will I see results? A: Redness improves immediately. Pigmented spots darken first, flake off at day 5–7, and skin looks clearer by day 10–14. Q: Can I do this in summer? A: Not recommended. Sun exposure before/after dramatically increases hyperpigmentation risk. Best performed fall/winter. Q: Will it help my melasma? A: IPL can help, but melasma is tricky — we may recommend lower settings plus combining with hydroquinone. We'll discuss at consultation.