Learn to reduce pigmentation safely with IPL and the Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. This course takes you from the skin science behind pigment, through consultation, patch testing and treatment technique, to aftercare, complications and knowing when to refer.
Accredited CPD course: 12 CPD credits
The CPD Group accredited activity #1014243. Skintastic Aesthetic Lasers Ltd is an approved CPD provider (#777800). This is a CPD course: it is not a regulated qualification and carries no qualification level.
What this course covers
- Health and safety, UK laser and IPL regulation, the Laser Protection Adviser and Local Rules, and laser safety.
- The skin, the melanocyte, how pigment is made, what damages it, and what causes pigmentation.
- The types of pigmentation, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and which marks must be referred rather than treated.
- Consultation, Fitzpatrick skin typing, contraindications and patch testing.
- How IPL and the Q-switched Nd:YAG (1064 nm and 532 nm) work, and how to choose between them.
- Treatment technique, clinical endpoints, treating darker skin types, aftercare and managing complications.
- Other treatment methods, when to refer, and the client forms and records you need.
How it works
The course is blended: 7 hours of home study, then one classroom day of teaching and supervised practice on two volunteer models, one with IPL and one with the Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. You finish with a final assessment and two observed practical sign-offs, and your certificate is issued only when all parts are complete. Results vary and none is guaranteed.
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Course at a glance
| CPD credits | 12 |
|---|---|
| CPD Group activity number | #1014243 |
| Total study time | 12 hours |
| Home study | 7 hours |
| Lessons | 17 lessons, 106 topics |
| Certificate | Issued when you pass |
Who can take this course
Core of Knowledge in the safe use of lasers and intense light sources (essential); an existing laser and IPL qualification or equivalent experience (essential); device-specific training on the IPL and Q-switched Nd:YAG you will use (essential before you treat); public liability and professional indemnity insurance covering pigmentation treatment (essential before you treat); aged 18 or over (essential). Recognition of Prior Learning is accepted for the entry requirements but never for the practical element.
What you will learn
- Name the main health and safety laws that apply to an aesthetic clinic
- State what the Control of Artificial Optical Radiation at Work Regulations 2010 require
- Explain how England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland regulate laser and IPL clinics
- State when and why cosmetic laser and IPL work left Care Quality Commission regulation in England
- Say what LASER stands for and name the principal legislation
- List the effects of laser exposure on the skin and the eye
- Match each UK body to what it covers for a laser and IPL clinic
- State the four duties in the Control of Artificial Optical Radiation at Work Regulations 2010
- Describe the epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous layer
- Explain how keratinocytes renew the epidermis
- Describe melanogenesis in simple terms
- Explain the roles of tyrosine and tyrosinase
- Identify the four main causes of pigmentation
- Explain why ultraviolet light is the most important cause
- Define post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH)
- Explain how inflammation produces PIH
- Carry out a structured consultation for a pigmentation client
- State the order of the consultation
- Explain selective photothermolysis in simple terms
- Explain why the pulse length matters
- List the four stages of carrying out a treatment
- Describe what happens in each stage
- Describe the purpose of the Q-switched Nd:YAG pigmentation protocol
- Explain why the device-specific protocol takes priority
- Explain why treating Fitzpatrick IV to VI skin carries greater risk
- Explain where the energy goes in darker skin
Course structure
Lesson 1: Start here: your course guide (4 topics)
- Welcome: what this course covers and what it does not
- Entry requirements and Recognition of Prior Learning
- How the course is delivered and how your 12 hours add up
- How you are assessed, your trainer and accessibility
Lesson 2: Health and safety and your legal duties (9 topics)
- The law on one page: your premises and your people
- COSHH and personal protective equipment
- Equipment, first aid and what to do when something goes wrong
- Fire safety in a laser room
- Your clients and your business: consumer, data and equality law
- Salon hygiene and preventing cross-infection
- Cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation
- Electricity and electrical safety
- Professional standards, ergonomics, storage and insurance
Lesson 3: UK regulation, the LPA and compliance (6 topics)
- How laser and IPL clinics are regulated across the UK
- Local licensing in England and the proposed national scheme
- The four minimum safety requirements
- Qualification levels and your treatment protocol
- The three safety roles and your Local Rules
- The controlled area and the laser register
Lesson 4: Laser safety (5 topics)
- What a laser is and the hazards of a laser beam
- Why 532 nm and 1064 nm are a danger to the retina
- The seven laser classes
- Specular and diffuse reflection
- Laser safety management and the hierarchy of controls
Lesson 5: Legislation and regulatory requirements (Appendix A) (8 topics)
- Who regulates what, and the four duties of the optical radiation regulations
- The rest of the health and safety picture
- The device itself: medical device rules and the UK Responsible Person
- Reporting incidents, cosmetic-only devices and buying second hand
- Licensing and registration in England, including London
- Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the LPA and the EMP
- Your clients, your records and your advertising
- Your compliance checklist and where to check the current position
Lesson 6: The skin, the melanocyte and skin phototypes (5 topics)
- The structure of your skin
- The melanocyte and the epidermal melanin unit
- Same number of melanocytes, different amounts of melanin
- The Fitzpatrick skin phototypes
- Phototype and treatment risk
Lesson 7: Melanogenesis, the MSH cascade and cellular damage (7 topics)
- How the skin makes pigment: tyrosine and tyrosinase
- Where creams and devices act on the production line
- Eumelanin, pheomelanin and the melanin umbrella
- The MSH cascade, PAR-2 and hormonal pigmentation
- Oxidative stress, free radicals and the skin's antioxidant defences
- Lipid peroxidation, mitochondria and the vulnerable melanocyte
- Cellular senescence and when damage means do not treat
Lesson 8: What causes pigmentation, and the types of pigmentation (9 topics)
- Sunlight: the biggest cause of pigmentation
- Hormones, inflammation and injury, genetics and age
- The golden rule of cause and effect
- Two families: too much pigment, or too little
- Ephelides (freckles) and solar lentigines
- Melasma and chloasma: why caution is essential
- PIH, poikiloderma of Civatte, café-au-lait macules and dermal naevi
- Hypopigmentation: recognise it, never treat it with light
- Never treat an undiagnosed lesion, and the summary table
Lesson 9: Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (5 topics)
- What post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is
- Pigment incontinence and why dermal PIH is stubborn
- Keratinocytes, free radicals and the link to oxidative stress
- Who is most affected, and how long PIH lasts
- Managing and avoiding PIH: cautions and contraindications
Lesson 10: Consultation, visual analysis and patch testing (6 topics)
- The consultation, step by step
- Visual analysis: stretching, magnification and the Wood's lamp
- Contraindications: reasons not to treat
- Patch testing: purpose and how to choose the site
- When to read the patch test and what is normal
- Recording everything: what must be written down
Lesson 11: How light, IPL and laser reduce pigment (6 topics)
- Selective photothermolysis: the principle behind treatment
- IPL versus laser, and how IPL works
- Matching the IPL filter to the skin, energy, courses and cold sores
- The Q-switched Nd:YAG laser and its two wavelengths
- Choosing between 532 nm and 1064 nm
- IPL do's and don'ts, and what the evidence shows
Lesson 12: Treatment in practice: the pigmentation protocol (8 topics)
- Four stages, every time: prepare, set up, treat, finish
- The six things you always work within
- Pre-treatment assessment, patch testing and the waiting period
- Preparing the area: skin, hair, tattoos and wavelength
- Technique: positioning, shot placement, overlap and passes
- Numbing cream and cooling
- Clinical endpoints: normal, watch and stop
- After the pulse: healing, intervals, sessions and records
Lesson 13: Q-switched Nd:YAG pigmentation treatment technique (6 topics)
- The Q-switched Nd:YAG protocol: purpose, device priority and wavelengths
- Only treat appropriate benign pigmentation: lesion checks and patch testing
- Preparing for Q-switched treatment: skin, hair, tattoos, eyewear and numbing
- Selecting settings and delivering the pulses
- The Q-switched endpoint, frosting, stop signs and cooling
- After Q-switched treatment: healing, intervals, records and golden rules
Lesson 14: Treating darker skin safely, aftercare and complications (7 topics)
- Why darker skin needs a different approach
- The six safe principles for darker skin
- Knowing when not to treat, and setting expectations
- Aftercare: what the client must do
- Side effects and complications: expected or adverse?
- Managing a complication and describing realistic results
- Follow-up, review and safety-netting
Lesson 15: Other treatment methods, referral and your client records (6 topics)
- Topical treatments and sun protection: the foundation of every plan
- Peels, microneedling, cryotherapy and combination therapy
- Know your limits: when to refer
- The client forms pack and the order of paperwork
- The skin typing form and the medical history form
- Consent, the assessment and patch test record, the treatment record and aftercare sheets
Lesson 16: Your final assessment (3 topics)
- How the course is assessed
- How to approach the written parts and what a good answer shows
- Your final assessment and how to use it
Lesson 17: Your practical day and trainer sign-off (6 topics)
- Your training day: the programme and what each session is for
- Models, consent and the same-day patch test
- The controlled area, eyewear and devices on the day
- Part C: the IPL practical competency checklist
- Part D: the Q-switched Nd:YAG practical competency checklist
- Sign-off, certificate and what happens next
How you are assessed
Each teaching lesson ends with a short multiple choice quiz. Your final assessment combines multiple choice questions with written answers marked by your trainer, and your supervised practical is signed off by your trainer. Your certificate is issued when you pass.
