Acne Treatment

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Acne Treatment

Acne Vulgaris (common acne and often referred to as zits or pimples) is the single most troublesome skin disease for teens and young adults. Acne begins when the sebaceous glands become clogged and there is a build-up of acne bacteria called P. acnes. This bacteria build-up causes inflammation and formation of acne.  Fortunately, it is also one of the most manageable chronic skin problems. Acne problems can begin early, even before preteen years and can continue for some all through middle adulthood. For many years, acne sufferers have been forced to rely on topical and oral medications to treat their blemishes, cysts and inflammation. These medications, such as Accutane and long-term antibiotic therapy tend to have inconsistent results and many side effects. Early effective skin care and laser treatments can prevent long term problems such as scarring and discoloration of your skin.

 Dr. Heidari uses the most advanced laser and light-based treatments to treat and control your acne.

Everyone has different responses to acne inflammation. Some people scar deeply and others experience only faint scars that are more easily treated. Early treatment of acne will help prevent scarring. Persistent redness caused by chronic acne can be treated with photo-rejuvenation and maintained by a specific skin care regimen. Dr. Heidari will recommend specific laser treatments and closely monitor your progress with you, using the most effective treatment plan with the best possible response, creating healthy, beautiful skin you can live with.

Blue Light

Certain light spectrums activate bacteria-fighting agents produced by your body called porphyrins. Blue Light is a high-intensity blue-violet light that activates these porphyrins and starts a chemical reaction that destroys the P. acnes bacteria (the root cause of inflamed blemishes). This process treats and controls the acne. Blue Light treatments are usually done in multiple sessions of 6-8 and can be performed 2-3 times per week. Maintenance Blue Light therapy is also recommended monthly.

Laser/ Photo-rejuvenation

Dr. Heidari uses ThermaScan’s infrared energy at a 1319 nm wavelength from Sciton. These lasers allow controlled heating of sub-epidermal layers of your skin which will lead to collagen remodeling, proliferation of active fibroblasts, and treating over-acting sebaceous glands that result in the reduction of acne and improve your acne scarring.

BBL’s 420 nm Photo-rejuvenation is also an effective way to shrink acne vesicles and kill the bacteria responsible for acne formation. These treatments are more aggressive than Blue Light therapy and require less number of treatments with quicker response and clearing of your skin. For moderate to severe and cystic acne, this is used as a more aggressive treatment.

Photo-Dynamic Therapy

For the most aggressive treatment of stubborn acne, Dr. Heidari uses Photo-Dynamic Therapy. This treatment uses Levulonic acid 20% as an added agent when photo-rejuvenation is used. The Levulonic acid is absorbed by active cells, like acne sebaceous glands, making the targeted acne cells more sensitive to the light. This combined interaction of the solution and the light is what gives rise to the term “photodynamic therapy.” Levulonic acid will also target sebaceous hyperplasia (which are those small (1-3mm), benign bumps under your skin) and the papules of acne rosacea. Levulonic acid, which is a clear painless solution, is applied to your skin and left on for 60 minutes. It is then activated with a specific wavelength of light Blue Light or the more aggressive BBL. This second phase takes about 8-10 minutes.

Recovery

Depending on the type of acne treatment, recovery varies from no recovery usually, to 2-3 days recovery with the Photodynamic Therapy. Although the laser system is very powerful, most patients describe the light pulses as a ‘snapping’ sensation, which causes mild discomfort at most. After the treatment, you may have some redness for about a week, but that quickly fades and you can enjoy the effects of much improved skin and significantly lower blemish count.