Leila Haddad, NP
Lead Clinician, Nurse Practitioner
Leila runs every Skin Read: the exam, the skin typing, the sun history and the test patch. She writes the sessions-and-settings plan you take home and treats most resurfacing and IPL plans herself.
Photofacial · series of three
Sun spots, uneven tone and the diffuse redness that comes from years of beach light, treated as a planned series of three with a test patch first.
- A test patch at the Skin Read, because light-based treatment and tanned skin do not mix.
- A series of three, priced in writing: $349 a session or $945 for the series.
- Planned for the low-sun months, with the sun rules written into your plan.
- Honest about what IPL does and does not do: tone and spots, not texture or deep lines.
Prefer to talk first? (619) 555-0147
Settings readout
What the plan says, before session one
Results vary from person to person. Nothing on this page is a guarantee of outcome, and a treatment may be declined after the test patch if it is not right for your skin.
Photofacial · series of three
IPL photofacial
- Device family
- Intense pulsed light
- Sessions
- 3 in a series
- Interval
- 4 weeks
- Sensation
- A warm snap, brighter than hair removal; numbing is optional
- Plan price
- $945 for three, or $349 a session
- Maintenance
- One session a year, in winter
Why it works
IPL is not a laser; it is a broad flash of filtered light that pigment and small vessels absorb and surrounding skin mostly does not. Sun spots darken for a few days and then flake away; redness fades over the weeks between sessions. It is for tone, not for texture or lines, which is why some people are planned for fractional resurfacing instead, or for both in sequence.
Because it works on pigment, a tan or deeper skin tone changes the picture. The Skin Read decides whether IPL is right for your skin, and the test patch confirms it.
- Step 01
Read
Skin type, sun history and medications recorded by a nurse practitioner. One test patch fired.
- Step 02
Plan
A written plan: device, settings range, sessions, interval, price and a maintenance forecast.
- Step 03
Track
The same nurse every session, with photographs at sessions one, four and final.
Candour
For
- Lighter skin types with sun spots, freckling, uneven tone or diffuse redness.
- People planning the autumn and winter for skin work after a summer outside.
- People who want a visible change in tone with a day or two of flaking rather than a week of downtime.
Not for, or not yet
- Deeper skin tones, where we usually plan a different device; the Skin Read decides.
- Melasma, which light can make worse; we say so and suggest alternatives.
- Anyone with sun in the last two weeks or a planned beach week after.
Results vary from person to person. Nothing on this page is a guarantee of outcome, and a treatment may be declined after the test patch if it is not right for your skin.
Who treats you
Named on every page, by design.
Illustrative stories. Saltgrass is a fictional studio; these are written examples, not patient reviews.
Three sessions in January, February and March. The spots on my cheeks flaked off after the first and I had my face back by spring.
Leila said IPL was not the right tool for my texture and planned fractional instead. I appreciated being told no.
What does an IPL photofacial treat?
Sun spots, freckling, uneven tone and diffuse redness on lighter skin types. It does not treat texture, pores or deep lines; fractional resurfacing does.
How many sessions?
A series of three, four weeks apart, then usually one a year in winter. Results vary.
Is there downtime?
Spots darken and flake for three to seven days and the skin can be pink for a day. Make-up the next day is fine. No beach for two weeks either side.
Does it hurt?
A warm snap per flash, brighter than hair removal. Most people manage without numbing; it is available.
Can I have it on tanned skin?
No. We plan IPL for the low-sun months and wait two weeks after any sun.
Can IPL make pigment worse?
On the wrong skin or with melasma, yes. That is what the Skin Read and the test patch are for, and we will plan something else if light is the wrong tool.
Skin Read · 30 min · complimentary
Thirty minutes with a nurse practitioner, the test patch included, and a written plan to take home.