BBL: BroadBand Light intense pulsed light treatment

BBL-Hero: a new IPL technology

“Hero” refers to High Energy Rapid Output (a proprietary name). Advantages over conventional/older IPL treatments include:

• Treatment is more comfortable due to superior cooling and a more concentrated delivery of energy to target tissues.
• Treatment tends to be in a smooth gliding motion rather than “stamping” the skin, leading to less risk of uneven results.
• Less discomfort and skin irritation following treatment. No downtime means that most people can return to normal activities immediately after treatment.

Customised treatment

BBL treatment is delivered by the Sciton mJoule device.

The BBL equipment provides a range of specialised programs and settings which can be tailored for your specific needs:

• The problem or condition you wish to treat.
• The part of the body to be treated.
• Your skin type.
• Your comfort level during treatment.

You will usually need more than one treatment session to obtain the best possible result. The settings are re-evaluated after each session to optimise results and your experience during treatment.

How it’s done

You will wear tinted glasses or goggles to protect your eyes from bright flashes of light during the treatment.

The nurse or dermal therapist administering your treatment will apply a gel to the treatment area. This gel improves the contact between the handpiece and the skin, as well as reducing friction. Anaesthetic creams or gels are not required.

Pre and post-treatment photos

We take photos of your skin before every treatment. This provides evidence of how well the treatment has worked on your skin.

All photos are stored in the MoleScope/DermEngine shared medical record system so that you can follow your progress by looking at the photos. You can add your own photos to this record if you wish.

We can add resources about your treatments and aftercare to ensure that you have information about your treatments and follow-up.

During treatment

Bright light is emitted from a handpiece in contact with the skin:

• Usually the therapist or nurse will use a smooth gliding motion in several passes over the treatment area. This technique is best for treating large areas of skin, or if the objective is to improve the general appearance.
• Sometimes, they will hold the handpiece stationary directly over a problem spot, such as a cluster of blood vessels or a dark freckle. This is known as corrective treatment.

Treatments usually last only a few minutes for each body area.

During treatment, the handpiece emits extremely bright flashes of light, which only last a fraction of a second. If the therapist is using a gliding motion, flashes of light occur 3 or 4 times per second.

Each flash feels like a very brief hot and sharp sensation. This immediately settles due to cooling from the handpiece straight after the flash of light.

After treatment

Your nurse or therapist will clean and moisturise the area and apply sunscreen.

You will discuss whether further treatments are required and book a follow-up appointment if necessary.

The results of treatment are usually visible in about 2 weeks for facial treatments and 4 weeks for other parts of the body. In the meantime, you may notice mild redness, followed by small dark dots in the treated area. This is a sign that the treatment has damaged pigmented structures in the skin and your immune system is “cleaning up” leftover pigment.

You should avoid sun exposure and any irritant creams, ointments or cosmetics unless they have been specifically recommended by your therapist or doctor.

More information about preparing for BBL

Avoid potentially irritant skin products

For at least two days before (and after) treatment, do not use any active skin product which might make your skin sensitive. These include:

• Tretinoin or any other product containing a retinoid.
• Vitamin C/ascorbic acid.
• Other acids such as alpha-hydroxy acid, beta-hydroxy acid, salicylic acid.

Note: In some cases, your doctor will prescribe a cream or ointment for the area to be treated. This is more likely if your BBL treatment is for a skin cancer or pre-cancer condition. In this case, we will provide advice about how to use the prescribed/recommended medication or product.

Keep the area as pale as possible

If the skin is pigmented or tanned, it’s harder for the BBL to target specific problem areas and structures.

For two weeks before your treatment, we recommend that you avoid:

• Sun exposure to the treated area (even with sunscreen).
• Fake tan/spray tan.

Don’t use tinted cosmetics or sunscreens on the area for 2-3 days before your treatment.

On the day of treatment

If there is any hair in the treatment area, shave it off as closely as possible. Do not wear make-up of any kind. Wear light-coloured loose clothing that will allow access to the area to be treated, e.g. a singlet for treatment of arms, shoulders or chest.

Follow-up

In most cases, a course of 3 or more treatments is required for the best results and skin health. After treatment, you should avoid direct sun exposure and wear sunscreen even if the weather is not hot or bright. Active skin treatments such as retinoids, tretinoin, vitamin C, and prescription creams and ointments should be avoided for a period of time, unless your doctor has given explicit advice to use them following BBL treatment. There will usually be mild redness and after a few days small dark spots may appear in the treatment area. The full result of treatment will usually be visible in about 2 weeks for the face and 4 weeks for the body.

Learn more about BBL aftercare

References

1. Chang ALS, Bitter PH, Qu K et al Rejuvenation of gene expression pattern of aged human skin by broadband light treatment: a pilot study. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 133 (2) 394-402, 2013.
2. Bitter P, Pozner J Retrospective evaluation of the long-term antiageing effects of broadband light therapy. Cutis, supplement February 2013. Pages 34-30.