What is the difference between intense pulsed light treatments and traditional laser therapy?

Lasers have been around for a longer time than the IPL machine, and the difference is that the laser usually targets one small area of light to target a specific part of the body, whether it's hair or veins or skin. It can be very invasive, and doctors do need to use the lasers. The IPL machine, because it uses a broader spectrum of light, is not as invasive, and will cover a broader area of treatment options. Whereas you may need one laser for hair, one laser for skin, and one for veins, an IPL with different hand sets can treat all of those different areas. The other issue is that because the IPL is not a true laser, the regulations of who can and cannot use the IPL machine are a lot different, and state-to-state dependent.