Lasers Treatments to Ease Acne Scars- A Modern Cosmetic Treatment

Lasers Treatments to Ease Acne Scars- A Modern Cosmetic Treatment

For acne problems, the best way to avoid it is to take preventative meansures early on. But often people are unable to prevent it sufficiently and result in scarring. In fact, it is estimated that more than 10 million Americans end up with scarring caused by acne.

There are many degrees of acne-related scarring. In some cases, the scarring is very minimal and hard to notice. While in other cases, scarring is severe and can cause long-term emotional damage. Many teenagers who have severe scarring caused by acne suffer from depression and a loss of self-confidence. They may become emotionally withdrawn and isolated, unhappy with their appearance.

Fortunately, many therapies and medical procedures have been developed to help ease acne-related scarring. The earlier someone begins appropriate treatment, the better the chance that scarring will be diminished. Before take the therapy or medical procedures, please discuss the possibilities with their dermatologists.

Laser treatment is one approach to help with acne-related scarring. There are two major kinds of laser treatments used in acne scar laser therapy. They are ablative lasers and non-ablative lasers.

Ablative lasers work by removing the outermost layers of the skin. These lasers burn scar tissue and cause a tightening in the dermal collagen. This reduces the visibility of the scarring. The yellow light laser, a sort of ablative laser, can help to treat keloidal scars by reducing redness and flattening the surface. Yellow light lasers also reduce itching of raised scars.

Laser treatments performed with ablative lasers actually injure the skin and leave it exposed without its outermost protective layers. Those who receive this sort of laser therapy must take extreme care to help wounds heal and prevent possible infection from occurring. The skin may appear reddened for a several months or even a year after the laser treatment.

Non-ablative laser treatments affect the dermis directly and do not injure the outermost layers of skin, or the epidermis. Smoothbeam is a non-ablative laser recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Smoothbeam works by heating the sebum-producing sebaceous gland, which helps to reduce acne formation. Smoothbeam also heats the collagen, which causes a tightening in the dermis, making scarring less apparent,

Before non-ablative laser treatment is performed, a topical cream is applied to the skin. So that the skin is cooled to prevent epidermal damage. The patient receiving this treatment will experience some stinging and some sensations of heat during the procedure, but the topical cream helps ease these sensations.

The whole procedure lasts for about an hour. Three sessions are usually recommended to achieve noticeable improvement in acne-related scarring.

Because ablative and non-ablative laser treatments for acne-related scarring differ so much in their effects and side effects, consult with the dermatologists about the details of these procedures is necessary if considering laser therapy.