Sun spots, uneven tone, the patches of darkness that have crept in over years of living outdoors — they have a cause, and there's a treatment that targets that cause directly. Not bleaching, not hiding — light that clears excess pigment from the skin.
Your skin makes melanin — the pigment that gives it colour — as a natural response to sun exposure. It's your skin's sunscreen, produced to absorb UV before it damages deeper layers. The problem is that over years of repeated exposure, that protective response overshoots. Melanin clusters in patches, persists long after the sun has faded, and appears as sun spots, age spots or general uneven tone.
Hormonal changes can also drive pigmentation — pregnancy, the pill, perimenopause and menopause can all trigger melasma, a deeper form of pigment that sits in patches across the cheeks and forehead. It's the same mechanism (excess melanin), just driven by hormones instead of sun.
Some prescription creams can lighten surface pigment over months of consistent use — and they're worth using as a preventative. But they work by slowing new melanin production on the surface. They cannot target the pigment that's already there, they cannot reach deeper pigment (like melasma, which sits in the dermis), and they cannot remove an established sun spot. Pigmentation is an excess-pigment problem, and creams slow the supply but don't clear the stock.
To clear established pigment you need something that targets it directly — which is what IPL does.
How we treat it
Intense pulsed light is absorbed by melanin, heating and breaking down the pigment so the body clears it naturally.
Pigmentation is an excess-pigment problem, so the treatment has to target the excess pigment. IPL delivers broad-spectrum light that's selectively absorbed by melanin — the darker the pigment, the more light it absorbs. That means the light energy concentrates exactly where the problem is: in the pigmented spots, not the surrounding skin. The pigment is heated, broken down, and cleared by the body's own lymphatic system over the following days to weeks.
That's the mechanism: target the pigment, break it down, let the body clear it. No cream can do this because no cream can reach into the dermis and selectively heat melanin. IPL can because it uses light, and light is absorbed by pigment. It's the right tool for the right problem.
One important caveat: melasma (hormonal pigmentation) sits deeper and IPL can sometimes worsen it if the wrong settings are used. Anne will assess your pigmentation type at consultation and tell you honestly whether IPL is right for yours or whether a gentler approach is safer.
A free consultation first — Anne will look at your pigmentation, assess whether it's surface or deep, and tell you honestly how many sessions you'd need and what result to expect. The treatment itself takes 20 to 30 minutes: a cold gel is applied, you wear protective goggles, and the IPL handpiece is passed over the area. You feel a quick, warm flick with each pulse — like a tiny rubber band snap.
Over the next few days, pigmented spots darken briefly (this is the pigment breaking down), then flake and fade. Overall tone evens out over a course of 3 to 5 sessions, spaced 4 weeks apart. Daily SPF is essential throughout — the sun will repigment the skin faster than any treatment can clear it. Anne will talk you through this.
IPL is highly effective for sun-induced pigmentation — sun spots and uneven tone respond very well, often within a course of sessions. Melasma is more complex: it can be improved but it's a managed condition, not a cured one. It can recur with sun exposure, hormonal changes or heat, so maintenance and daily SPF are part of the plan, not an afterthought. Anne will always be straight with you about which type you have and what's realistic.
For the full deep-dive on what IPL actually does to pigment, read IPL for pigmentation explained. For the hormonal side, see the Menopause Skin Plan.
IPL targets the pigment in the skin, breaking down the excess melanin that causes dark spots. Most clients need a course of sessions for full clearance.
Sun exposure triggers melanin production. Over years, repeated exposure causes pigment to cluster and persist — appearing as sun spots, age spots or uneven tone. Hormonal changes (pregnancy, menopause) can also drive pigmentation.
Some creams can lighten surface pigment slightly with months of use, but they cannot target the deeper pigment or remove established sun spots. IPL targets excess pigment directly, wherever it sits in the skin.
Most people need a course of 3 to 5 sessions spaced 4 weeks apart. Pigment darkens briefly before it flakes and fades — this is the treatment working, not a reaction.
Book a free consultation. Anne will assess your pigmentation, tell you honestly what will help, and give you a plan — not a sales pitch.
Book a free consultation