Undo the sun. Keep the mountains.
Life at 6,500 feet is hard on skin. IPL photofacial uses precise pulses of broad-spectrum light to fade sun spots, break up pigment, and calm redness and broken capillaries — restoring the clear, even tone the Colorado sun has been chipping away at.
One treatment, many targets
Fades sun and age spots on the face, neck, chest, and hands — the high-altitude classics.
Calms diffuse redness and flushing by treating the vessels beneath the surface.
Collapses visible facial veins and spider vessels so they fade from view.
Softens acne scars and blotchiness for a brighter, more uniform complexion.
Light finds the pigment, skin does the rest
Unlike a laser's single wavelength, IPL delivers a broad spectrum of light that's absorbed by melanin (brown pigment) and hemoglobin (redness). The energy heats and breaks up those targets while leaving surrounding tissue untouched — spots darken, rise to the surface, and flake away over the following week; vessels fade from within.
Sessions run about 30–45 minutes with little to no downtime — most clients return to their day immediately. A series of 2–4 treatments, spaced a month apart, gives the most even, lasting result.
Three problems, one handpiece
IPL is not a resurfacing laser — it does not remove the surface of your skin. It targets color: the brown and the red that make skin read as weathered, rather than the texture itself.
Melanin absorbs the light and the pigment fragments. Over the following week those spots darken, crust to coffee grounds, and flake away.
Hemoglobin absorbs a different part of the spectrum, so diffuse rosacea-type flushing and the fine vessels around the nose fade over a series.
The heat also stimulates collagen, so skin reads smoother and more even after three to five sessions — not after one visit.
What to expect
We assess your skin tone and targets, and you avoid tanning and retinoids for the week prior.
Cooling gel, protective eyewear, then a pass of light pulses over each treatment area.
Spots darken and flake off within a week; redness fades in hours. SPF daily protects your result.
Durango skin has a UV problem
UV exposure climbs roughly 10% with every thousand feet of elevation — at 6,500 feet, with 300 days of sun and reflection off snow and the river, Durango skin takes years of extra light. It shows up as freckling across the cheeks, spots on the hands, and a permanently flushed chest.
IPL is the corrective half of the equation — it clears the damage already done. Daily mineral SPF is the protective half, and our clinical team will send you home with both the result and the routine to keep it.
Shop Medical-Grade SPFPair IPL for a complete reset
IPL corrects color — brown and red. Texture is a different job. Many clients alternate IPL with treatments that rebuild the surface: ClearLift for no-downtime collagen, the carbon laser facial for pores and glow, or microneedling for fine lines and scarring. Your laser technician will sequence them so each treatment sets up the next.
A popular rhythm: IPL for the first month or two to clear pigment, then a texture treatment while the skin rests between light sessions — one visit a month, a full skin reset by spring.
Questions, answered honestly
Each pulse feels like a quick snap of a rubber band with a flash of warmth. A cooling gel and the applicator's chilled tip keep it very tolerable — no numbing needed for most clients.
Very little. Expect mild redness for a few hours, like a light sunburn. Brown spots typically darken and look like coffee grounds for 3–7 days before flaking away — that's the treatment working.
Most clients see meaningful clearing after one session, with best results from a series of 2–4 spaced about a month apart. Sun-damaged chests and hands often take the fuller series.
IPL works best on light to medium skin tones with brown spots, redness, or broken capillaries. Deeper skin tones and melasma need a different approach — your consultation covers this honestly, and we'll steer you to a better option if IPL isn't it.
You'll need to avoid active tanning for 2–4 weeks before and after treatment, and be diligent with SPF. Many Durango clients book their series fall through spring — but with good sun habits, summer is workable.
Cleared spots and vessels are gone — but sun exposure creates new ones. With daily SPF, results hold for years; most clients do a single maintenance session annually, often in fall after the summer season.
Yes — the neck, chest, hands, arms, and shoulders respond beautifully. Sun-damaged chests and hands are two of our most-requested treatments, and hands can be added to any facial session for $100.
Your skin, before the sun spots
Start with a consultation — our laser team will map your pigment and redness and build a treatment plan around your skin.
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