Acne Laser Treatments

 

Acne laser treatments are performed using lasers that have been designed for use in medical and skin care. They can effectively treat serious acne and can help with rosacea skin care and skin remodeling that may be necessary due to acne scars.

 

Acne treatment lasers work by focusing intense laser light directly on affected areas which ultimately removes the top layers of the skin. These procedures are most often looked to after traditional acne skin care approaches and acne medication have had little effect. Different types of lasers are used to perform different procedures, the most common of which are discussed below.

 

Acne Laser Resurfacing

 

This procedure involves the use of short pulses of laser light on acne blemishes and scarring. This is a very precise treatment and works by removing the layers of the skin that have been affected by facial or body acne. Two different types of lasers are most often used with these types of acne laser treatments, the CO2 and Erbium lasers.

 

Both of these lasers, which are considered invasive but have reduced risk because the amount of radiant heat that is absorbed by the skin is limited. They essentially vaporize the top layer skin cells where acne is occurring allowing the skin to replace the area with smoother, blemish free layers. Recovery time from these procedures can be anywhere from one to two weeks depending on the level of laser treatment.

 

One benefit of these types of acne laser treatments is that they can be applied to acne skin without affecting the surrounding areas where treatment is not desired. Erbium lasers have been known to also be more suitable for darker skin tones which can suffer discoloration from some other types of laser acne treatment.

 

Fraxel Laser Treatment

 

If you are suffering from facial acne scarring and other uneven skin texture problems from rosacea or body acne, the Fraxel Laser can help dramatically reduce their appearance. The Fraxel Laser works by sending focused beams of laser light into the skin creating tiny "columns" which dissolve skin tissue that has been affected by acne scars. This is considered a non-ablative laser treatment approach since it does not harm surrounding tissue. Recovery time from acne laser treatments using the Fraxel Laser are greatly reduced.

 

Laser Skin Peels

 

In this procedure the top layers of the skin are "burned" using a focused laser beam. This skin eventually blisters and peels away leaving more pristine skin to take its place (similar to how a chemical skin peel works). Depending on the acne solution desired, these lasers can be adjusted for depth to remove as few or as many layers of the skin as needed. Acne laser resurfacing using this approach may take multiple applications before the desired effect is achieved. Recuperation time is slightly increased over other forms of acne laser treatments.

 

Acne laser skin treatment are medical procedures and should be performed by a licensed cosmetic dermatologist. Acne laser therapy should also only be used for more severe cases of acne scarring and damage from rosacea and after other approaches, such as an acne home remedy or over the counter and prescription medications, have been ineffective.

 

Though there are no organic or product based approaches that can replace the effectiveness of laser treatments, alpha hydroxy acids from fruits can be used to help exfoliate and remove dead, blemished layers of skin. Blackberry, apple, banana, grapefruit and lemon are good sources.