PDL pulsed dye laser: what to know

PDL emits a specific light colour that is absorbed by haemoglobin in visible blood vessels. The device is used by trained clinicians for concerns such as some red birthmarks, facial redness, broken vessels, scars, and selected red stretch marks. It does not treat every lesion, and a brown, blue, raised, changing, or uncertain mark may need a different assessment. Cooling may be used to protect the skin and improve comfort.

A consultation should cover your skin tone, tanning, tendency to scar, medicines that increase photosensitivity or bleeding, and the exact target. Ask whether the lesion needs examination before laser treatment. Afterward, redness, swelling, bruising, or temporary pigment change can occur. Keep the area clean, avoid picking, and protect it from sunlight as directed. The treatment page for [Pulsed Dye Laser Treatment](/treatments/laser-and-energy/pulsed-dye-laser-treatment/) explains the procedure-focused side, while the [Pulsed Dye Laser](/technology/pulsed-dye-laser/) page describes the technology.

Contact the clinician if blistering, severe pain, spreading redness, pus, or worsening swelling develops. Arrange a medical assessment for a skin mark that changes in size, shape, or colour, bleeds without a clear injury, or does not have a confirmed diagnosis. Laser should not substitute for examination of a suspicious lesion.

What target is the laser treating? How could my skin tone affect pigment changes? What medicines or recent tanning matter? What aftercare and warning signs should I follow?