As a 48 year old woman, I'm starting to look for ways to improve the appearance of my skin that don't involve surgical intervention or needles. Not that I would deny anyone else their choice to try these types of options. But truth be told I'm deathly afraid of needles and even more so of any sort of surgical options.

Plus I like the way my face is shaped and generally don't mind how I've aged. However I wanted to try something that would improve a few things I was unable to address completely with topical products, facial exercises and other more natural interventions. Related: Red Light Therapy Experience Part I

Far be it from me to begrudge anyone making changes that make them feel better about themselves, and I am no exception! I had been on a birth control pill for many, many years. One of the side effects of the pill is that you get more discoloration and age spots over time.

Using our skin care products definitely helped, but there were some spots that were just too deep and too ingrained that would need a little more help. Plus I wanted the added benefit of improved collagen production, which is a side effect of BBL.

So What is BBL Exactly?

BBL stands for Broadband Light. The acronym is also the same as the one used for a popular cosmetic surgery called the Brazilian Butt Lift. The BBL we’re talking about today is a therapy that involves treating the skin with an intense light laser.

Broadband Light Therapy is similar to another procedure using light therapy called Intense Pulsed Light (IPL). BBL is really just a specific type of IPL laser, and some say it is the superior and more advanced version. Related: Does Plastic Surgery Paradoxically Make You Look Older?

You will have to wear some pretty serious, tight goggles when you get a BBL treatment. You can even see the flashes of light through the goggles (even with your eyes closed!), so for me this was just a good reminder of why you absolutely need thick eye protection for this treatment. Once you feel the zapping sensation of each targeted blast, and see the flash of light that seems impossibly bright, you know you’re dealing with a very intense energy!

What Can It Treat?

So what can BBL laser therapy target? Well, as I stated, I selected this type of treatment because not only was it noninvasive. It also is renowned to help treat the discoloration that I was finding to still be problematic in my complexion. I also have residual acne scarring that has discolored areas of my skin, and was hoping to help remove those spots as well.

BBL can treat acne scarring, age spots, freckles, general dullness and also can help to clear the skin of current acne. 

It also purportedly will help to stimulate collagen. Presumably this side effect is a combination of the deep heat delivered to the treated areas, coupled with the fact that superficially “wounding” the skin like this will naturally help it to stimulate collagen so it may begin repairing the damage.

Does it Hurt?

I wish I had better news in response to the question on whether BBL is painful. It of course depends on how much power the practitioner uses, and the higher intensity will undoubtedly deliver more pain. I told mine up front I would be comfortable with temporary pain as long as I get results, so you may want to make your practitioner aware of your pain tolerance up front and keep them informed as the treatment progresses.

Once you talk to the practitioner about your expectations and what you are hoping to address, they will clean your face of any debris or leftover makeup, and apply a conductive gel to your face which feels pretty thick and goopy. The laser actually glides through this gel and I assume this is so that the light is able to penetrate the skin better - similar to the idea behind ultrasound gel (it may even be the same thing, honestly not sure).

I did experience some fairly significant discomfort during my BBL session. At a few points, the discomfort made my eyes water so much that I wasn’t sure if my goggles were making me sweat or whether I was truly crying because of the pain. Related: Exfoliate 3-4 Times Per Week for a Noticeable Difference

You will experience more pain and discomfort in the more sensitive areas, like above the lips, and for me it was the border of my face, like toward my ears or around my nose area. I was able to tell when she turned the device up to a higher setting as well, and I was ok with that because I told her I was ok and could handle it when she asked me if I was ok. By all means, if you are in a lot of discomfort, let them know so they can tailor the level of intensity to your level of comfort.

BBL treatment isn’t all that time consuming. I would say it took about 15-20 minutes start to finish.

Stay Tuned for Part II!

Next time we’ll talk about the recovery period, and most importantly, the end result of this BBL experience. Let’s just say, so far so good, and I should hopefully have even more updates on progress next time we talk, so stay tuned for BBL Part II!