Skin pigmentation (hyperpigmentation) is a condition where the skin is darker; this can occur in small patches or cover much larger areas of the body. These include freckles, birthmarks, sun damage, age spots, dark patches, skin hyperpigmentation, sunspots and melasma.

IPL emits powerful flashes of filtered light and a broad spectrum of wavelengths that penetrate below the surface of the skin where the brown pigment or melanin lives. The light energy converts to heat that destroys the area with a high concentration of melanin within sunspots and freckles. The pigment breaks down and rises into the skin surface as scabs as the natural body processes occur.