During any IPL treatment special protective eye-wear must be worn by both the patient and the clinician to protect the eye retina. A special cooling conductive gel will be applied to the area being treated. Topical gels may be applied on your skin to aid in the treatment. The hand-piece has a chilled tip which also cools the skin during treatment reducing any discomfort as the pulses of light are passed evenly across the skin. Whilst the hand-piece passes over the skin, despite wearing protective eye-wear and probably even having your eyes shut tightly, you may be aware of each flashing pulse of light – particularly with treatments on the face. This can feel a little disconcerting but is completely safe and you will become less aware of the flashing as the treatment continues. Clients can, if they wish, apply anaesthetic cream thirty (30) to forty five (45) minutes prior to the IPL treatment to further reduce any minor discomfort (anaesthetic creams must be purchased from a pharmacy by the client and applied by the client before arriving for the treatment), however this is rarely necessary – the sensation of IPL is no more than being gently flicked with an elastic band and dissipates immediately, much less painful than a waxing session. NOTE: A consultation and patch test is required a minimum of 24 hours prior to commencing any IPL treatment so that our Skin Specialist can assess your skin suitability. The consultation process aside from the treatment takes approximately thirty (30) minutes and will include a test shot (referred to as a patch test) with the IPL hand-piece in the vicinity of where treatment is required. Our Skin Specialist will select an appropriate sapphire filter for the IPL hand-piece so that only a selected range of short blasts of a polychromatic, high-intensity light can penetrate just below the skin’s surface, targeting specific chromaphores or structures such as haemoglobin (the red colour in your blood vessels) or melanin (the dark pigment in your hair and skin), dependent upon what is being targeted and treated. For the best long term results, it is imperative after your treatment to follow the post treatment advice provided by our Clinician, report any concerns promptly and avoid unfiltered direct sun exposure.