A guide to the most popular skin treatments right now

How does broadband light work?

Despite being universally called a laser, BBL is technically a light-based treatment. Unlike lasers, which use a single focused wavelength, BBL uses a broad spectrum of intense pulsed light that can be filtered to target different concerns, Dr. Amy Hubert, medical director and founder of The Beauty Barn, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The treatment is commonly used for conditions like rosacea and acne and also helps minimize sun damage, fine lines and wrinkles.

When the light hits your skin, it seeks out pigment (brown spots, freckles and redness), breaking it up while leaving the surrounding healthy tissue untouched. Your body clears out the damaged cells on its own, which is where the post-BBL “pepper spots” come in.

A typical session runs about 30 minutes. You’ll wear protective goggles, feel what most people describe as a tight, snappy rubber band hitting their face, and leave with some pinkness similar to a mild sunburn that usually fades within hours.

While the BBL treatment is generally considered safe, it isn’t recommended for darker skin tones. The light can cause burns, uneven pigmentation and scarring when there’s more melanin present.

“You need to be selective about who is performing these treatments, because darker skin types are super reactive,” Dr. Rosemarie Ingleton told PopSugar. “Everything bothers (our) skin, so you need to find someone experienced in treating our sensitive skin type.”

Credit: Courtesy of The Beauty Barn

Credit: Courtesy of The Beauty Barn

It’s also worth being upfront about what you want to keep. Julie Thorne, a doctor of nursing practice and co-founder and aesthetic practitioner at The Beauty Barn in Milton, now asks every patient before treatment whether they want to hold onto their freckles. Because once they’re zapped, they’re gone.

Is it a one-and-done situation?

Not exactly. One or two sessions deliver noticeable results, but the real payoff comes with consistency. Three or more treatments a year can result in smoother, brighter, more even skin, and a Stanford University study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology found the results go deeper than surface-level.

The study found after a series of treatments, the gene expression patterns of aged skin actually shifted to more closely resemble younger skin at a molecular level.

Whatever treatment you land on, aftercare matters just as much as the appointment itself, according to Thorne. Skipping SPF after BBL essentially undoes the work — the treatment makes skin more photosensitive, and sun exposure reactivates pigment right back to the surface. Always talk to your provider about a post-treatment routine.

“It’s like building the foundation of a house. You can’t just have a foundation and never paint the walls. Skincare is what keeps everything from rusting,” Thorne told the AJC.

How does it compare to other lasers?

Broadband light is just one of many treatments used to address common skin concerns. There is a range of options designed to target everything from redness to wrinkles. Here’s a look at some of the most popular treatments right now:

BBL: Best for surface-level concerns like sun spots, redness, rosacea, freckles and uneven tone. Minimal downtime, no numbing required, and results build over time. Also known as IPL.

Moxi: A gentle resurfacing laser focused on skin tone, texture and pores. It stimulates collagen and works on all skin types, which is why it’s often paired with BBL. Together, the two cover both the surface and the deeper layers of the skin, according to Thorne.

Nd:YAG: This laser goes significantly deeper, penetrating up to 10 millimeters into the dermis, Eunice Louis-Jacques, registered nurse and aesthetic lead at SEV Laser, told the AJC. It’s also a safe option for darker skin tones, since the wavelength bypasses the melanin-heavy upper layers of the skin rather than interacting with them.

Halo: A hybrid fractional laser that combines two wavelengths, targeting both the surface and deeper layers of the skin at the same time. A good middle ground for people who want resurfacing results without committing to significant downtime.

CO2: The most aggressive option on the list. It removes the outer layer of skin, which means more recovery time, but the results are often more dramatic. Typically recommended for deeper wrinkles, significant sun damage or scarring that hasn’t responded to lighter treatments, the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery reported.

With so many treatments and buzzwords floating around, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

“There’s so much information out there,” said Hubert. “It’s impossible for everybody to know all the things. Finding a provider you actually trust matters as much as the treatment itself.”