There are cases of acne that are more severe and require advanced acne treatment. Even those people who suffer from mild acne could choose to use the more advanced treatments if only because of the side effects from their current medications. Using advanced treatment is a viable alternative for many people. Two of the most popular advanced acne treatment options involve lights and lasers.
Earlier, ultra-violet light was often employed to treat acne because it was found to be effective in destroying propionibacterium, which is one of the causes of severe acne. However, further studies have proven that UV increases the odds of getting skin cancer and this practice was stopped. Now, other forms of light are being utilized.
The Various Advanced Acne Treatment Options
Take a look at some of the more effective advanced acne treatment options:
Blue Light Therapy: Blue Light Therapy gets its name from the tint or color of the light that is used. It kills bacteria on the skin. Because there are bacteria in our skin oils, the light can dry out the skin as well. There is a small amount of UV in blue light therapy but it is not enough to cause skin cancer.
Blue Light Therapy is done twice a week for about a month. It works well on many acne problems but is not for those that have cysts or nodules. These can actually get worse with exposure to blue light. The other forms of acne can be reduced from 40% to 100% using blue light therapy. Two-thirds of those studied saw a reduction of 59 to 67% in inflamed acne lesions.
Light Heat Energy (LHE): Light Heat Energy decreases oil production by shrinking sebaceous glands. It has gotten approval by the FDA to treat mild to moderate acne. Acne can be reduced using twice weekly treatments for a month. Using drug based treatments can take two or months to work. Sometimes a dermatologist will choose to use both light therapy and prescriptions to fight acne.
ALA (5-aminolevulinic acid): ALA is applied directly to the skin. This works by increasing the skin’s sensitivity to light. It is used to make light treatment more effective. ALA is applied to the skin and left on for 15 to 60 minutes while the patient receives light treatment. Preliminary results show ALA to be effective and safe, but studies are still being done.
Lasers: The lights we use have waves that scatter in every direction. Light from lasers however; move in the same direction in a focused line. This is called “coherent” light. That is how laser light can be focused on specific areas.
The biggest difference between various lasers is the light’s wavelength. Acne lasers use the type that produce waves of 1450 nanometers (one nanometer = one billionth of a meter). This kind is the most safe and effective treatment for acne.
According to studies, employing lasers is among the more effective of all advanced acne treatment options; one treatment can reduce lesions by almost 40 percent. Two treatments can decrease acne by almost 60% and over three treatments can reduce it by over 80 percent. Laser therapy can be painful. Topical anesthetics are used to help control pain.
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