About nine in every 10 teenagers will get pimples, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). Acne is the most common skin disease in the United States, affecting up to 50 million teens and adults every year, the AAD says. Most people with mild or even moderate acne can clear their skin with help from an over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide product, but some need additional assistance. Dermatologists offer laser and light therapies, which can be effective acne treatments.
Significance
Physicians don't know exactly what causes acne. But the Mayo Clinic points to three factors: too much oil produced by the sebaceous glands located under the skin's surface, irregular death and shedding of skin cells, and bacterial overgrowth near the surface of the skin. Too much oil and too many dead skin cells can clog the tiny hair follicles at the skin's surface, which causes a pimple. Bacteria thrive in oily skin, and this leads to additional infection and inflammation. The result is a terrible case of acne.
Function
Laser and light treatments aim to stop acne in its tracks by interrupting this cycle of clogged follicles and infection, according to the AAD. Dermatologists began adopting different types of laser and light treatments less than a decade ago, and they've quickly won favor among both physicians and patients. Physicians like laser and light therapies because they work well, especially in some acne cases that have proven resistant to other treatments. And patients like them because they're easier in many ways than remembering to take daily medications or applying messy topical products.
Types
Laser therapies for acne work by zapping the skin with energy from a medical laser. The mild injury and heat produced by the laser heats the sebaceous glands, which shrinks them and causes them to produce less oil. Medical studies have shown different types of lasers work about as well to curb acne lesions. For example, a 2009 study published in the journal "Dermatologic Surgery" reported on 16 patients treated over 12 weeks with two different laser technologies, and concluded that both types of lasers were effective in reducing pimples.
More Types
Light therapy uses high-intensity, narrow-band blue lights to kill the bacteria that helps to cause acne, according to the AAD. Patients generally receive more blue light treatments than laser treatments--eight light therapy sessions over four weeks, compared to three laser sessions over a longer time frame. The ADD reports that medical studies show many patients, although not all, see an average of about 55 percent clearance of their acne after the full course of treatment.
Considerations
There's no one perfect treatment for acne, which is why dermatologists like to have an arsenal of different types of therapies to try. Therefore, some patients will respond better to blue light therapy, while others might find superior results with laser treatment. A study published online in the "Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology" looked at both types of treatments and said both were effective, but the laser provided more sustained results. Regardless, patients should confer with their dermatologists to determine which treatment is right for them.
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