Vascular Laser vs. IPL: What’s the Difference?
Dr. Vincent Richer
When it comes to treating facial redness and visible blood vessels, vascular lasers and intense pulsed light/broadband light (IPL, BBL) are two commonly used options. While both use light energy to target unwanted redness, they are not the same technology — and they are not interchangeable.
The right treatment depends on the diagnosis leading to redness, the type and size of the blood vessels being treated, your skin type, concurrent changes on the skin to address, and the overall goal of treatment.
Vascular Laser: More Selective Treatment
A vascular laser is a high-energy light designed specifically to target blood vessels. Depending on the device and wavelength used, the laser energy is absorbed primarily by haemoglobin within the blood vessel, allowing the treatment to focus its energy on the vascular target. Unlike ablative lasers that vaporize all tissue, a vascular laser will only be absorbed by “red” targets in the skin, bypassing the top layer of the skin and avoid affecting other nearby structures in the skin.
This makes vascular lasers particularly effective for discrete, visible blood vessels, including facial telangiectasia (commonly referred to as broken capillaries), spider angiomas, cherry angiomas, and other vascular lesions. A very significant improvement of these conditions is observed with few treatments of vascular laser.
Vascular laser can also improve fixed redness – this type of redness tends to stay on the nose, cheek and chin in patients with rosacea, or can present as persistent redness or red scars after acne. It can also help with flushing – when redness comes in and out. Often, a series of a few treatments is needed for the best outcome.
Because the wavelength is more specific, a vascular laser is often the best choice when the primary concern is clearly defined blood vessels, background redness or flushing. In our hands, it provides the most improvement per treatment session for these features.
IPL: Broader Light Treatment
IPL, or intense pulsed light, is not a laser. Rather than producing one specific wavelength of light, IPL delivers a broad spectrum of light that can target several components in the skin, in particular hemoglobin and melanin (pigment).
For this reason, IPL is most useful when redness coexists with pigmentation, for instance, from sun spots (solar lentigines). Since IPL is a less precise technology, it requires high contrast between the skin condition and the background skin to be effective and safe, and so is best suited for fair-skinned patients with blood vessels and dark sun spots on the skin.
While IPL improves discrete vessels, background redness and flushing, it may require more treatments than vascular laser to reach an outcome.
What About Rosacea?
Rosacea is a chronic condition that often presents with two major features: the inflammatory component that presents with pimples and pustules, and the vascular component that presents with dilated vessels, fixed redness and flushing.
The inflammatory component responds best to medical treatments such as prescription topicals, or when needed, oral medications. The vascular component is best addressed with devices such as IPL and vascular laser. Given its precise nature and high-yield outcomes, we often favor vascular laser in the care of our patients with rosacea.
The Bottom Line
Vascular laser and IPL both have a role in treating redness, but they work differently and may be best suited for different patient clinical presentations.
A consultation will help us collate all the relevant information from you and your skin to make the best recommendation.