Acne laser treatment

There are many ways to deal with acne nowadays. These range from the use of what may be referred to as ‘substance-based’ acne treatments (like the various Acne medication drugs) to the use of what may be referred to as ‘non substance-based’ acne treatments, the most notable one of which is laser treatment.

The advancement of technology has made it possible to use new approaches in treating acne and its scarring effects. Take laser treatment, for instance. For quite a good number of the people who happen to be afflicted with acne, and who are wary of using acne medication (with all side-effects it is said to come with) undergoing laser treatment can prove to be a very appealing proposition. As mentioned, laser treatment is a non-substance based acne treatment. As such, there are no drugs, no creams and no side effects involved.

There are different acne laser treatments that are available, a good example of which is what is referred to as pulsed dye laser therapy. Pulsed dye laser therapy is highly recommended in the treatment of acne scars; as it has shown good efficacy at curing active inflammatory acne vulgaris.

Ongoing studies are increasingly suggesting that both light therapy and laser treatment may be the best approaches yet in combating acne. As of now, there are a number of different laser treatments that are available, for the people afflicted of acne. The most notable of these, for instance, is the one that can sculpt scar edges; and thus effectively treat acne scars. With this laser treatment, the main focus is developing collagen in the layer of the skin where it is usually to be found. Generally, the laser treatments for acne removal tend to be different from the laser treatments for acne scar removal. 

In the final analysis, it is a well established fact that acne scars can be removed by acne laser treatment. Of course, if you would like to undergo this treatment, it is best to start saving money because this can be quite expensive. Incidentally, the V beam (also known as pulsed dye laser) that is used to treat acne is also the laser treatment used in treating stretch marks and keloids.

Talking of acne treatments, it’s worth mentioning that there are also acne patients who may have deep holes in the skin. To cure this unique problem you would probably need laser resurfacing. With this type of acne laser treatment, the laser goes further to remove areas of damaged skin, making room for healthy re-growth. When undergoing laser treatment, it is best to almost submit to a skin maintenance regime that is prescribed by the doctor; to complement the laser treatment.

For your acne laser treatment, it is best to select a company that has a track record, and thus a company that you can be sure that they will do a good job. Remember, improperly carried out acne laser treatment may cause the skin to be uneven (or worse); hence the need to check the credentials of the people who will be doing your laser treatment.

Successful acne laser treatment involves different levels of laser exposure. For the most part, the types of lasers used include carbon dioxide lasers and non-ablative lasers. The carbon dioxide lasers, which seem to be the more popular of the two, can reduce levels of pigmentation; making them ideal for removal of acne blemishes.

A number of preparatory steps need to be taken before undergoing acne laser treatment: see to it that you are prepared. And before embarking on the whole laser treatment venture, be sure to consult your dermatologist and thus see if this is the way for you; as laser treatment might not be for everyone (just as the different acne medication drugs are not always suitable for everyone).

Before concluding on acne laser treatment for acne, it is also worth mentioning that these laser treatments are actually painless; but extremely effective at acne and acne scar removal. The only downside to the laser acne treatments is, of course, the fact that they can cause you quite a lot of money.

You can read on other new approaches to the treatment of acne like naturopathic treatment  and on the various adult acne treatment options available including the various prescription acne medication drugs.

Frequently Asked Questions on Acne Laser Treatment Answered

1. What is acne laser treatment?

Acne laser treatment is one of the available treatment options for acne vulgaris, a condition characterized by pimples and blemishes (blackheads and whiteheads) on the skins of the victims. This laser treatment involves the use of light in combating acne (itself) and its effects on the skin; the said pimples and blemishes. To create the lasers – which are essentially beams of light, natural light is ‘intensified’ and the ‘pulsed’ (made into pulses) by specialized equipment, before being directed to the patient’s skin, using specialized equipment, to make the treatment possible. It is quite a young treatment method, and as such, still in its ‘experimentation and revision’ stages. Nonetheless, results from it so far are highly encouraging, leading to it being quite a highly sought treatment, even at this early stage of its life. 

2. How does acne laser treatment work?

Acne laser treatment takes two forms. The first is where lasers are used in phototherapy, using the so called ‘red and blue light’ method. Here the precise mechanism involves the direction of light lasers at the areas afflicted with acne. The lasers of light so directed (they must be of a certain wavelength) cause a certain natural chemical produced by the acne bacteria to in turn produce free radicals, with the free radicals so produced in turn killing the bacteria itself in the long run. There is also the application of lasers in what is referred to as laser surgery, to rid the body of the disfiguring blemishes that acne leaves in its wake.

3. Is Acne laser treatment effective?

Yes, acne laser treatment – especially when used to effect phototherapy (by stimulating the acne bacteria to produce free radicals which in turn kill it) has shown good efficacy in addressing mild to moderate cases of acne. It may not be very effective in the treatment of extremely bad cases of acne; but then again, such really bad cases of acne are relatively rare. On the other hand, where acne laser treatment is employed in effecting laser surgery, it can be highly effective in ridding the skin of the blemishes that are acne leaves as an aftermath; even the worst kinds of such blemishes.

4. Is acne laser treatment costly?

Unfortunately, yes. Acne laser treatment does not come cheap. This is because of a number of factors. For starters, acne laser treatment (especially where the strategy is to get the acne bacteria to produce free radicals that in turn kill it) is not a ‘one-off treatment,’ but rather the sort of treatment that has to be undertaken on a continuing basis. Indeed, the recommended frequency is a couple of times per week. Then it turns out that the cost of each session is not likely to be very low either. This is because the highly specialized equipment used costs a lot, and the people offering the treatment naturally have to recoup their investment. This not to say anything of the fact that it is the sort of treatment that has to be carried out by highly specialized personnel, and it is upon the person seeking the treatment to foot their wage bill for the ‘service rendered.’

5. Is acne laser treatment safe?

Basically yes. Unlike other treatment strategies for acne that involve the ingestion of substances (typically potent pharmaceutical formulations), in acne laser treatment, the only ‘substance’ (if we may call it that) used is natural light, and this has no known side effects. Yet there is still an element of risk: like if the equipment used in the treatment happens to be faulty- causing burns to the patient undergoing the treatment (though the possibility of this happening is rather low). On a more ‘likely note’ though, it is feared that laser surgery, when employed to rid the skin of acne induced blemishes, could lead to effects like long term skin dryness, and could also cause ‘spotting’ of the skin. Yet compared to the side effects associated with most other available acne treatment options, laser treatment is still relatively safe.