Acne Laser Treatments

This page is dedicated to Acne Laser Treatments.
Today Laser has an important role in the treatment of acne lesions.

Until now two treatments have been available:

1) Ablative acne laser treatments

Used to sculpt or vaporize the skin’s surface (performed with a carbon dioxide (CO2) laser), ablative laser targets both the surface and the lower layers of skin.
Although the CO2 laser has been around since the 1960's, advancements have made it safer and more effective for use on human skin. This laser can greatly improve the skin’s appearance but with serious risks and complications. (irritations, redness, scabbing, swelling).

Except when the skin is deeply damaged, usually only one laser skin resurfacing session is necessary. After the laser skin resurfacing procedure is completed, protective creams may be prescribed and bandages may be applied to the treated area. Ice packs and medication can control any swelling or pain that may occur.
For regional areas (zones), a local anesthetic combined with a topical anesthetic cream and a light oral sedative is all that is required.
For full face laser resurfacing, an I.V. sedation administered by an anesthesiologist is recommended.

There are 2 types of ablative lasers used for resurfacing: carbon dioxide (CO2) and Erbium Yag Laser.

Today, ablative acne laser treatments have become less common, in favour of non ablative laser.

2) Non ablative acne laser treatments

These lasers utilize light energy to stimulate collagen to removing irregular pigmentation and acne scars without creating any damage to the skin surface.
This technique doesn't injure the outer layers of skin, the healing process is very rapid, and the risk associated with these procedures is minimal.
Acne sufferers with disfiguring ice-pick acne scars can choose this effective scar treatment option that affords minimal downtime from personal daily activities, as they do not have to deal with the healing of a large wound area such as with a traditional CO2 laser that completely removes the top layer of skin.

The ability of the pulsed dye laser to stimulate new collagen formation can be used for depressed scars and acne scarring.
The major disadvantage of Non-Ablative acne laser treatments is the modest improvement typically seen after treatment.This therapy generally requires a series of treatments to achieve maximum benefits.

The treatment is costly and four sessions are usually required to treat the whole affected area. Depending on the type of acne scar, improvement can be dramatic. The improvement is gradual and continues to improve even after the treatment stops.

As laser skin surgery becomes increasingly popular for treating acne scarring and reversing damage from sun exposure, a new study reported in Dermatologic Surgery, the peer-review journal of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS), shows that six in ten patients undergoing minimally invasive or non-ablative laser procedures said they are satisfied with overall improvements from the treatment.

The worl’d first non-ablative resurfacing laser is the Fraxel laser; this device have revolutionized the treatment of acne scars, having the ability to promote collagene growt and to greatly improve the appearance of acne scars after 3-5 treatments .

Fraxel™ is a unique non invasive laser therapy designed and FDA approved to dramatically improve acne scars. Side effects are minimal and typically involve mild-to-moderate swelling and redness. Routine activities can be resumed immediately after treatment.In contrast to ablative rejuvenation procedures, non ablative laser procedures induce a dermal healing response without notable injury to the epidermis. Improving the appearance of the skin without injury to the epidermis is a hallmark of non ablative skin treatments.
The treatment delivers a series of microscopic spots penetrating the stratum corneum of the skin and leaving it absolutely intact.

Another non ablative laser is Smoothbeam: this treatment employs new process with Dynamic Cooling Device. This device first deep-cools the area of skin to be treated with a cryogen spray which protects the skin. Then the laser beam targets the upper dermis.

An acne laser removal scar treatment with Smoothbeam typically will take approximately 20-40 minutes. The skin heal fast using the healthy tissue to replace skin imperfections.

Finally you can consider a treatment with NLite laser, a non ablative device very effective for active acne and acne scars.

I also suggest you to read about the following Acne Laser Treatments:
Mosaic ECO2 System

Gemini Laser

Medlite Laser Toning

Portrait Plasma

Cool Laser for scars

Laser Resurfacing General Guidelines

Acne Laser Treatment

People with darker skin types may not be able to use acne laser treatments. Patients with the darkest skin prototypes have a significantly higher risk of postinflammatory hyperpigmentation and hypertrophic scar or keloid formation following resurfacing with lasers in the mid-infrared to far-infrared range. Despite these risks, an increasing number of reports recently have described laser techniques that are reasonably safe for darker-skinned individuals.

People who suffer from skin disorders such as psoriasis, cystic acne, and dermatitis may not be ideal candidates. Those using certain medications such as isotretinoin for acne must stop using the medication for six months prior to the procedure.

Go Here to find a Cosmetic Surgery Center.

If you have only few marks or scars, you can consider a Home Soft Laser to reduce the appearance of your scars.

Also consider Laser treatments Cost

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