What are the risk factors for IPL?

What's good about IPL is it doesn't have the invasiveness of a typical laser, which means the concerns about bleeding and scarring are significantly less. On the other hand, for any patient that is undergoing this treatment, you need to make sure that you don't have the risk of either hyperpigmentation, which is darkening of the skin, or hypopigmentation, which is lightening of the skin. Specifically, African Americans or dark-skinned patients, you need to be very careful before you use an IPL machine. In fact, there are very few instances where you want to use an IPL machine. So the risks are almost entirely pigment changes. That's why it's important, if you're going to a medi-spa, that the doctor examines you before anybody does any treatment.