There are new acne laser treatments that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
There are two different types.
The first type works on the sebaceous glands themselves and the second one targets the bacteria in acne.
The Smooth beam acne laser treatments target the sebaceous glands by shrinking them.
The treatment is done over four sessions.
The sessions are done from two to four weeks apart from each other.
Some people see results after the first treatment while others do not see a difference for up to 12 weeks.
Not everyone will respond to the acne laser treatments but those who do get results that last over a year.
The second type is a blue light laser acne treatment that targets the bacteria in acne.
The light wave activates bacteria products in the skin.
The activated products kill the acne bacteria and your acne gets better.
A laser called the Clear Light is the most common but there are many others.
This type of laser treatments are less expensive than the Smooth beam because the Smooth beam requires more treatments.
The results with such laser acne treatments are not as long as with the Smooth beam since bacteria can reappear.
Photodynamic Therapy, the "Blue light Plus" uses it with a chemical.
A chemical called aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is topically applied to the acne.
Then up to 45 minutes later the blue laser activates the ALA.
During the 45 minutes the chemical changes the bacteria in the sebaceous glands to a form that can be activated by it.