AESTHETIC TREATMENTS

BBL: BroadBand Light intense pulsed light treatment

Energy-based procedure that treats sun-damaged and ageing skin, freckles, blood vessels and loose skin with fine wrinkles.

  • Treats pigmentation and fine vessels
  • Rejuvenation effect improves skin texture
  • Good for rosacea redness and flushing
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IPL (intense pulsed light) is a laser-like treatment for improving the appearance and condition of sun-damaged skin. We use the BBL-Hero form of IPL which offers significant benefits over laser and older IPL treatments. BBL is much faster, hurts less and there is minimal downtime after treatment.

Broad band light (BBL) is a light-based procedure similar to a laser that can treat the signs of sun-damaged and ageing skin such as freckles, blood vessels and loose skin with fine wrinkles.

Conditions treated

At Spot Check Clinic, we mainly use BBL treatment for areas of skin that have visible signs of sun damage. Pigmented conditions that are treated by BBL include:

The treatment is also effective at treating vascular lesions such as:

  • Telangiectasia or broken blood vessels.
  • Variations of rosacea.
  • Angiomas and spider angiomas.
  • Poikiloderma of Civatte.
  • Vascular birthmarks such as port wine stains.

The treated skin looks clearer, younger and healthier after treatment.

In limited cases, BBL can potentially reduce the risk of skin cancer in the treated area, but for most people, it should be considered a cosmetic treatment only.

Other uses of BBL include:

  • Treatment of certain skin cancers or areas of pre-cancerous sun damage in situations where surgical or other non-surgical treatments are not appropriate.
  • Treatment of overgrown or discoloured scars.
  • Treatment of acne.
  • Treatment of rosacea.
  • Hair removal.
  • Treatment of loose skin and fine lines and wrinkles.

BBL is not the best treatment for cosmetic removal of moles, seborrhoeic keratoses, skin tags or other raised skin lesions. We offer other treatments such as laser ablation, radiosurgeryelectrosurgery, cryotherapy and shave excisions to manage these lesions better.

Skin rejuvenation and anti-ageing effects

BBL treatment has been shown to have rejuvenating effects on the skin2.

  • Treated skin looks younger.
  • BBL treatment boosts the production of collagen and elastin, which are depleted in ageing skin.
  • BBL stimulates genes in skin cells to function more like genes in younger skin1.
  • The skin becomes thicker.
  • There is a decrease in the production of hormones and inflammatory chemicals associated with skin ageing and skin cancer.

Note: BBL has not been shown to reduce the risk of skin cancer except in cases where it is used to treat solar keratoses.

What is intense pulsed light?

BBL is a type of intense pulsed light (IPL) treatment. IPL is extremely bright light applied to the skin in short concentrated flashes.

The colour or wavelength of light can be selected to target selected structures in the skin:

  • Brown (freckles, “age spots”, flat seborrhoeic keratoses, hair).
  • Red (blood vessels, angiomas).

Cosmetic treatments like BBL are effective because the energy applied to the skin is so intense that it heats and damages the target structures, leaving normal skin behind.

There is a highly efficient cooling system built into the BBL handpiece that maintains a low skin surface temperature after the short burst of light. This cooling protects the skin surface and typically results in a short flash of warmth rather than a burning sensation. In some cases, we use more intense energy to treat prominent pigmentation or blood vessels. This sometimes feels like a very brief flash of pain, which subsides almost instantly.

Because the light generated by BBL equipment is extremely bright, you will need to wear block-out goggles or tinted glasses to protect your eyes when receiving a full-face treatment.

Treatment can be applied in different ways:

  • General treatment to improve the condition of an area of skin (e.g. face, neck, hands, arms).
  • Focused treatment to reduce or eliminate specific spots.
  • Heat treatment to stimulate collagen production and tighten skin.

Dr Chris Miller
Written by Dr Chris Miller Accredited skin cancer doctor

MBBS, MA (Virtual Comm), Grad Cert Hlth Info, Grad Dip Comp Inf Sci

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.

 

BBL Treatment
BBL treatment

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.

How to prepare

If you are properly prepared for treatment, treatment is more effective in a shorter period, and there is much less risk of discomfort and irritation during and after the procedure.

2 weeks before your treatment

Keep your skin as pale as possible. Avoid sun exposure, fake tan and tinted cosmetics and moisturisers.

2-3 days before treatment

Don’t use products that might make your skin more sensitive. If you are taking medication which makes your skin more sensitive to light (for example, doxycycline for rosacea), stop taking it until after your BBL treatment, as long as the prescribing doctor tells you it’s safe to do so.

On the day of treatment

Shave off hair in the treatment area. Clean the area with a gentle moisturising cleanser. Don’t apply any make-up. Wear light-coloured loose clothing.

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

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Side effects and warnings

Contraindications to treatment

Pregnancy, photosensitivity, light-induced migraines or epilepsy, medication that causes light-induced rash or skin sensitivity.

Common effects

Most patients report slightly flushed skin, redness and a mild sunburn-like sensation that lasts a few hours. A small proportion of patients have some mild puffiness under their eyes on the day after treatment. There is a small risk of burns in the affected area. Eye injury due to bad use of safety glasses is possible but rare. BBL treatment can cause an outbreak of cold sores in susceptible people.

BBL treatment can result in reduced hair growth in the treated area. We recommend not treating areas where you want to maintain full hair growth.

People with darker skin (Fitzpatrick V and VI) may not achieve satisfactory results and are more likely to experience unwanted pigmentation changes following BBL or laser treatment. Many of the conditions treated by BBL are long term, and cannot be cured with a single BBL treatment course. You may gain further benefits with maintenance treatments in the future. BBL can treat visible signs of sun damage, but it has not been shown to reduce skin cancer risk in the treated area.

Less common side effects

Possible side effects after stronger treatment (for example, for resistant rosacea) include:

  • Swelling.
  • Light bruising.
  • Peeling.
  • Scabbing.

Significant problems are rare but can occur:

  • Burns
  • Eye irritation
  • Accidental bleaching/hiding of skin cancers.
  • Increased or decreased pigmentation of treated areas.

We manage these risks by carefully selecting machine settings and checking your medical history, medications, previous skin treatments and sun exposure.

Any suspicious-looking skin lesions, spots or lumps will be checked by an experienced skin cancer doctor prior to treatment. We can provide preventative medication to reduce the risk of cold sore outbreaks if required. The possibility of burns is greatly reduced with the BBL technology but can occur. If a burn does occur, our doctor and nurse will instigate a treatment program, which produces excellent results.

Avoid known photosensitising drugs and chemicals before light-based treatments such as laser, IPL/BBL and LED light therapy. If you are taking these medications, be sun smart every day.

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Cold sores are a known side effect of surgical, laser and IPL treatments. You can reduce the risk by taking antiviral medication before treatment, or immediately if you notice the onset of cold sore symptoms after your treatment.

More info

Redness, swelling, blisters and sores are often a common result of aesthetic and skin cancer treatments. In most cases, they can be managed easily and settle gradually over the following weeks. However, it’s important to notify the clinic if you are very uncomfortable or concerned about your reaction being abnormal.

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At Spot Check Clinic, you’ll be treated by a doctor or registered nurse. All of our treating staff are registered with AHPRA and comply with professional and ethical codes of practice.

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