Light delivery system for improving the appearance of skin

Pulsed light from solid state devices is applied to an area of skin under conditions that produce an improvement in the appearance of an area of skin, without significantly damaging the skin. Preferred light sources are light emitting diodes (LEDs) and diode lasers, preferably selected to produce at least a substantial portion of their output in with a narrow band of wavelengths between 570 and 600 nm, more preferably within a wavelength band no greater than 15 nm, and most preferably including a substantial portion of their output at about 585 nm. A controller drives the light sources in at least one of a banked, overpulsed, and super pulsed modes. Pulsing is preferably accomplished using a pulse width of between about 1žsec and 1msec. A skin or other applicator preferably cooperates with the controller to provide light energy to the area of skin under conditions that produce a skin reaction without producing any significant ablation, or any other substantially deleterious effect upon the skin, especially the basal layer.