Using Light Therapy To Treat Acne - An Introduction

Using lasers and light therapies offers a promising, noninvasive alternative to treat acne. Lasers and lights show evidence of improving not only inflammatory acne, but can also lead to improvement in acne scars. The long-term benefits of lasers and other light sources as methods for prevention and treatment of acne itself, is presently an open question, but the future appears bright. Until more is known, laser and light therapies may offer an alternative for people whose acne hasn't responded to traditional acne therapies.

 

Lasers can be tuned to target specific structures. When used to treat acne, the beams are adjusted to penetrate below the epidermis without causing any injury to it. They travel into the dermis where they can zero in on hair follicles, sebaceous glands, and the P. acnes bacteria Certain lasers can also be used to destroy "broken" blood vessels (telangiectasias) in the dermis; some lasers, by heating dermal collagen, can help to "tighten" the dermis and result in less visible scarring. Lasers that are used in acne scar treatment are the resurfacing (ablative) lasers and the non-ablative lasers.

 

Researchers are hopeful that such treatments will lead to a reduction in the amount of drugs required to treat acne. At this stage of the game, laser and light therapy seem to be most helpful when used in combination with traditional acne medication treatments. Most acne patients using these technologies generally must continue to use topical and oral medications; however, several investigators report that some patients tend to require less oral and topical antibiotic treatments when lasers or lights are effective.

 

There are two basic groups of acne-treating lights. One group of technologies inhibits the growth of the bacteria P. acnes and the other group of light sources aims to shrink the sebaceous oil glands that also play a pivotal role in causing acne.

 

Most insurance plans classify the light and laser treatments used to treat acne as "emerging technologies" and will probably not pay for your treatments. Many are still in the investigational stage and may not be the first choice for treating your acne. All of these treatments are expensive, time-consuming, and some are still in the experimental stage.

 

Many people who have dark skin have been told that laser treatment is not safe for them. However, in expert hands, very specific wavelengths of lasers can minimize complications such as PIP and scars.