IPL at a salon

[LasikRelatedDES]

I'm not sure if this has been discussed in any of the IPL threads, so I wanted to throw it out there. Because of financial and time constraints, it is not reasonable for me to fly out to California at this time to try IPL with Dr. Toyos.

The other day, I was discussing IPL with my mom and she said, "Oh, I've had that done three times down at the salon." Apparently, the swanky salon in town has a machine and a trained technician that is supervised to a degree by an MD off-site. (Edit note: It was unfair for me to use the term I used here as I am not familiar enough with the supervisory relationship between physician and technician. I am also not completely sure of the doctor's specialty)

So, in a move that would make all the ophthalmologists in my life shudder and chastise me, I headed down there today with an IPL case study in hand and received a treatment. The technician was wonderful and very conservative. She had me write down my symptoms and she read the case study. Their machine is a little less powerful than the one Dr. Toyos used, but she said it was similar.

She did a double pass from my sideburns to my nose under the eye. She did not treat close to my eyes for safety's sake.

Initial results are positive, similar to how I feel after doing a hot compress. We'll see how the next days go...

It cost me $35. I believe it was discounted because only a portion of my face was treated.

Thoughts?

[irish eyes]

Hey - I thought about doing that too but the thought escaped from my head pretty quickly! I've never had IPL but there are plenty of salons here in the UK that offer it!

Please keep us posted!

[odydnas]

Hi LasikRelatedDES,

To be perfectly honest here, I shuddered a little after reading your post. I completely understand the frustration with not getting any progress with DE symptoms, and how desperate we can feel for a cure. BUT IPL is a medical treatment and should be taken seriously, and should only be performed under the care of a trained medical doctor. I know the technician didn't get close to the eyes but it still just doesn't seem safe to me. I would never trust a technician or even a nurse (basically anyone not a medical doctor) to do things like laser, botox injections, lip injections, laser hair removal etc. that I've seen swanky salons do. A technician has no medical training whatsoever and probably cannot even recognize a situation gone wrong. They can be trained in less than 2 weeks by some programs! By that standard, we can all just learn how to do IPL and do it on each other to save money!!

I don't want to sound so harsh or negative, but it just doesn't sound safe. I've heard too many horror stories from the procedures that salons do. However, I am very glad that the results are positive so far though. But my personal opinion is that I would take caution in getting treatments from a salon...and would rather bring the case study to an opthalmologist or dermatologist.

[Lucy]

Odydnas said it best. I saw this advertised locally and it made me shiver. I would not do anything like this WITH DRY EYES. If a person has normal eyes and tears, etc. I figure it's their own business what they want to do with their eyes. I screwed up on mine (decision for Lasik) but back at that time, we didn't know any better. I can understand a bit more the way the gal in CA is doing it with Dr. Toyos. There has to be some credibility. But a salon, no way. I hope you are ok. (I'm sure you will be.) I just don't like the feel of dry eye and don't want others to suffer more than they have to. Lucy

[autumnn]

This scares me a bit too. The experience with Dr. Toyos is not about the IPL machine only- he evaluates you carefully and understands the meiombian glands so well before he even begins. He has 7 years behind him and hundreds of successful outcomes- he gets that machine right on your lashline and knows exactly how to use it....and, the effort he puts into manual expression directly after seems to be half the battle. This technique was discovered when just treating the face but Dr. Toyos has perfected it when it comes to the eyes. I'd even go further to say that he evolves his technique constantly as well.

[LasikRelatedDES]

Thanks for the feedback. I knew it would be a slightly controversial topic. If someone came to me and asked if they should seek IPL in this manner, I would discourage them as well.

A couple points of clarification:
Over the last 6 months since this got really bad, I've followed a disciplined step-wise approach to treatment consulting qualified professionals at arguably the best healthcare system in the world. With limited success.

I talked to the technician (a kind person that my family knows) prior to the treatment and learned she had underwent a 6-month certification course. She consulted her supervising M.D. on the subject and got the go-ahead. She has been at it for awhile and treated a large number of people without side effects.

My ideal would be to work with a doctor like Dr. Toyos but the expense is far too great at this point in time. With a "test" of IPL under my belt, it becomes more acceptable to go into debt to seek treatment out there.

I must also emphasize how conservative her approach was. I do not encourage anyone else to seek help in this manner, but if you did decide to do something similar, please also be extremely cautious.

Final notes:
I have experienced two good eye days since the treatment and believe it had a positive effect. I am continuing my own non-IPL treatment regimen and considering what to do next. Thanks to Autumn, Sazy, and others out in California sharing their experiences.

Lucy- Thanks also to you. Your posts are always kind and knowledgeable. Your story always puts mine in perspective. I'm glad you are sharing your wisdom.

[LasikRelatedDES]

This scares me a bit too. The experience with Dr. Toyos is not about the IPL machine only- he evaluates you carefully and understands the meiombian glands so well before he even begins. He has 7 years behind him and hundreds of successful outcomes- he gets that machine right on your lashline and knows exactly how to use it....and, the effort he puts into manual expression directly after seems to be half the battle. This technique was discovered when just treating the face but Dr. Toyos has perfected it when it comes to the eyes. I'd even go further to say that he evolves his technique constantly as well.

Clearly the salon does not offer a substitute for the experience you're having with Dr. Toyos. The light went nowhere near my lashline and I expressed oil myself after coming home and cleaning my hands and face very well. I am very jealous of your experience and hoping for your continued success.

[autumnn]

Hi Lasik- Even with the great skills of Dr. Toyos, there is still a lot of time, faith, and patience needed- I am not so good at this! But I do believe he is worth considering. Maybe you could go to the Tenn office? Also, I think you can get the tmt with zero financing....just a rumor I heard...Hope all is well.

[kstaff4]

anyone else out there?

Are there any other doctors out there besides Toyos or the guy in NY that i see in videos doing this? If dermatologists are seeing the benefit to the eyes for this treatment on their rosacea patients, i would be willing to try it doing it that route since i live in the Mid-west, and several appts and trips to one coast or the other just isn't possible time wise......But around here, it's even hard to find the right dermatologist!

My eye doctor has encouraged my attempts at IPL, but it is so hard to find someone that is doing this for such a small population...

Thanks! K

[catlover]

I'm not sure if this has been discussed in any of the IPL threads, so I wanted to throw it out there. Because of financial and time constraints, it is not reasonable for me to fly out to California at this time to try IPL with Dr. Toyos.

The other day, I was discussing IPL with my mom and she said, "Oh, I've had that done three times down at the salon." Apparently, the swanky salon in town has a machine and a trained technician that is supervised to a degree by an MD off-site. (Edit note: It was unfair for me to use the term I used here as I am not familiar enough with the supervisory relationship between physician and technician. I am also not completely sure of the doctor's specialty)

So, in a move that would make all the ophthalmologists in my life shudder and chastise me, I headed down there today with an IPL case study in hand and received a treatment. The technician was wonderful and very conservative. She had me write down my symptoms and she read the case study. Their machine is a little less powerful than the one Dr. Toyos used, but she said it was similar.

She did a double pass from my sideburns to my nose under the eye. She did not treat close to my eyes for safety's sake.

Initial results are positive, similar to how I feel after doing a hot compress. We'll see how the next days go...

It cost me $35. I believe it was discounted because only a portion of my face was treated.

Thoughts?

What is IPL?

[kstaff4]

Ipl

Hi i'm rather new at this, but my understanding after doing a lot of research is that IPL is short for Intense Pulse Light Therapy. Patients who were having light therapy in the dermatologist for rosacea were finding that their dry eyes were getting better. Different eye doctors, in NY, CA and TN have now begun a program of this IPL targeting just the eye area. This therapy seems to stimulate the eye glands, softening the dry eye markedly.

This is as much as i know....i've heard it may take 4-6 treatments, then require follow-ups. Since I live in MO i am weighing the option of going to a local spa (since our dermatologist doesn't do this) or traveling to TN multiple times.

Good luck.......

[Jade]

Ipl

IPL can cause you to lose fat in your face. This can happen over several months after having it. And it doesn't matter if it's done by a doctor, PA, esthetician, nurse, etc.

[irish eyes]

I heard that too but I don't know how common it is.