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How Can Lasers Benefit Acne?
Dermatologists are using lasers for just about everything, including
removal of birthmarks, smoothing out wrinkles, removing unwanted hair
and assisting with acne.
Years ago when lasers were suggested as a form of treatment for acne,
the results were not as good as dermatologists wanted. In fact, some
of the darker skinned people were experiencing excessive scarring due
to the changes in pigmentation. This is not the case today.
Laser machines have been finely adjusted and upgraded along with the
training and skills of doctors. The advancement of laser treatment and
technology has brought therapy into the new century and is the suggested
treatment for acne and acne scarring.
The percentage of teenagers and adults from every ethnic background
is about the same. But the methods of laser treatments differ.
People of color find that the combination of light and radio frequency
produces the best results. While radio frequency energy causes the skin
to tighten through its warmth, and special kilowatt light rays kills
the bacteria, the laser adds to the overall effect in healing and cosmetic
enhancement.
Patients suffering from active acne lesions and scarring have undergone
the laser treatments showing significant improvement of scars and reduction
in sebum, the oily substance found in pores causing pimples and blackheads.
The laser has also proved to be more effective in the reduction of
ongoing acne than any prescription or over the counter medications.
Caucasian and other ethnic societies are prone to loss of pigmentation
in the skin. Sometimes acne scarring causes this loss. Laser technology
has added to its systems the ability to restore pigmentation in those
areas with a stimulation technique that brings back the natural substances
that were stripped away.
While loss of pigmentation (vitiligo) is unsightly and problematic,
the laser goes deeper into the skin than the light treatments. The infiltration
of the laser to these areas wakes up the dormant cells and puts them
back in action. Thus, the scarred area becomes more vibrant and smooth
taking on the texture of the skin in the surrounding area.
A few years ago, dermatologists agreed that the best method to treat
acne was with ultraviolet light. It was an accepted method then, but
side effects could be dangerous. When UV light was considered cancer
causing, the UV treatments became less until laser technology took over
and proved to be much more effective.
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Dermatologists were pleased with the laser effects but in severe cases
felt a combination of UV light in small amounts would not harm the tissues
and would be helpful in regenerating healthy pores.
When an acne patient faces pitting, or deep holes, in the skin as a
result of acne, there is a treatment called laser resurfacing. Movie
stars and celebrities who were concerned about wrinkles and showing
their true age first used laser resurfacing.
Dermatologists discovered that using carbon dioxide in the laser would
selectively remove the outer skin and change the texture of non-facial
scarring such as on the shoulders and upper arms. The process is short
spurts of laser pressure in and around the scar. It is performed under
anesthesia in an outpatient setting. There are a few days recuperation
and some redness. The results have been satisfying.
If you are concerned about having laser treatment and possibly not
getting the results you want, consider what one treatment will do. Doctors
have reported that taking just one treatment has reduced acne severity
by more than half in their patients. They do, however, stress the importance
of receiving treatment from a doctor who has had several cases and who
has been recommended as a certified laser surgeon.
One therapeutic treatment can last up to three months and may involve
both acne treatment and scar reduction sometimes done at the same time.
Doctors found that not only will the laser session treat acne; it will
also cause stimulation to collagen cells renewing the skin and preventing
future outbreaks.
If a patient with acne becomes immune to the antibiotics that he or
she has been taking over a period of time, the main alternative is laser
therapy.
Doctors suggest that over time, depending on the severity of acne,
the cost between antibiotics and laser will average out. The shorter
treatments of laser versus the price of prescriptions that take longer
to produce satisfactory results will be about the same.
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