Acne Scar Laser Treatment

People with severe acne often develop long-term unsightly scars. These scars are many times considered disfiguring, embarrassing and unacceptable and may cause serious social and self-esteem issues. Even after you have cured acne, these scars are there to make you remember about it.

Fortunately, today there is a wide variety of laser techniques to help you get rid of this problem. The acne scar laser treatment stimulates the skin under the scar to make it develop fibroblasts and start to divide again. Laser treatment also increases the production of collagen, thickening the skin under the scar until it almost look the same to the surrounding skin.

Does Acne Scar Laser Treatment Hurt?

Acne scar laser treatment is not at all painful. Most patients using it do not need anesthetic. A few people have indicated that it provokes a slight tingling similar to the snap of a rubber band against the skin.

What Are The Results?

The results of an acne laser treatment may vary from one patient to another and are not immediate. The effects are gradual and sometimes require more than one treatment. If you get good results after the first treatment, the second one is generally as good as the first, while the third gives slightly less visible results. About 70% of all patients get significant improvements from laser treatment. To enhance the effects, some dermatological surgeons recommend to use a glycolic acid or tretinoin cream treatment before and after the treatment.

A dermatologist is usually able to tell you whether your scars can be improved through acne scar laser treatment and what are the results that you should expect.

Does Acne Scar Laser Treatment Really Work?

It has been proved that laser technology has a good effect on eliminating red and raised scars by stimulating the production of collagen. Additional studies have revealed that further improvements happen over a period of time after the laser treatment, ranging from 3 to 6 months. Even in patients where the initial results are not significant, there was an up to 50% improvement after 6 months.

Does Acne Scar Laser Treatment Cause Discoloration?

In some cases, the skin that surrounds the treatment area may be red for a period up to two weeks, but generally there is no discoloration or marking left on the skin. Laser treatment uses low power only to stimulate the skin and does not hurt any healthy tissues.

Who Does Acne Scar Laser Treatment Work Best For?

The patients that respond get the best results from acne scar laser treatment have the following characteristics:

Fair skin complexion

Light pigmentation

Shallow acne scars

Note: If you have pigmentation disorders, dark pigmentation, dark tans or a history of Vitilago, you should get a skin test before the laser treatment.