What is the Acne Laser Treatment Process?
New York (USA), January 27, 2012
The first step in acne laser treatment is to apply a topical anesthetic cream to the acne-affected areas of the face. A smooth laser beam passes through the face at low-level, heating sebaceous glands under the skin. This laser beam then kills the bacteria and reduces sebaceous gland’s excessive production of oil.
You need to have three or four sittings for acne laser treatment for a complete cure. Success rates are high. Treatment time could be anything between twenty minutes and few hours for each sitting depending on your acne condition. In some severe cases, doctors recommend anesthesia.
Before and After Acne Laser Treatment
Before starting with acne laser treatment, doctors discuss your medical history. They also need to know details of any medications you may be currently using.
You may experience redness, irritation, and discomfort immediately afterwards. Although it disappears within couple of hours, in severe cases of acne, redness may take few days to go. Many patients undergo laser treatment during lunchtime too. You can resume normal work soon after the treatment. You can experience the results within the first week after laser treatment itself.
Effectiveness of Acne Laser Treatment
Recent clinical studies indicate 91% of acne laser treatment patients reporting improvement in more than 66% of their acne within the first week after treatment. More than 81% of severe acne patients reported marked improvement in their acne within the first week after treatment.
How Safe are Home Lasers for Acne Treatment?
Home lasers emit low frequency of red light to increase the healing of existing acne and clear scarring. Such low mild light does not hurt or burn tissues. This treatment is very effective and safe against acne in inflammatory stage. Normally, total cure is possible within three or four weeks of regular treatment. Statistics indicate that around 20% patients recover completely after six weeks of using home acne laser treatment, 50% show major improvements while 20% show minor improvements.
Many prefer home lasers to other acne laser treatments as you can use them at home and do not have to visit or pay dermatologists often.
Ablative Lasers
Ablative lasers burn scar tissue and tighten dermal collagen. It therefore removes outermost skin layers. This reduces visibility and itching of scars, reduces redness, and flattens skin too. This damages the uppermost skin layer and takes time to heal back to normalcy. You need to prevent possible skin infections during this period and your skin could take several months or even a year to heal.
Non-ablative Lasers
Non-ablative lasers like Smoothbeam affect dermis and do not damage the epidermis or outer skin layer. It works by heating sebaceous glands, reducing their sebum production and thereby your acne. Scarring is less apparent here.
Some physicians prefer ablative to non-ablative acne laser treatment as it offers a better cure for severe acne cases. Mild cases find total cure in non-ablative laser treatment.
Cost of Acne Laser Treatment
Typically, acne laser treatment of fifteen to twenty minutes session could cost you around $500. You may need three to four sessions depending on the severity of your acne. Although it proves to be costlier than most medications and ointments, yet many go in for laser treatment due to the fast relief and high success rate. However, there is no insurance coverage for laser treatments as of now.
Acne Treatments, Treating Severe Acne, Acne Skin Care Tips
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