IPL Laser Acne Treatment

Of course, we understand that acne doesn’t just affect the face it often affects the chest and back as well. We have treated these areas many times before.

We do say that typically the treatments are best for someone with a mild to moderate acne (i.e could have a range of blackheads, spots and oiliness) as they spots become more cystic and boil sized we are more limited and find that in this situation it is best to see a dermatologist.

There are a few options for active acne and then we have another few options for acne scars. We mainly treat active acne in three stages; products, peels and light (ipl or LED). It may be that you only need one or two of those options depending on your acne. Allot of people don’t like the term acne and prefer to think that they just suffer from a few breakouts.

This of course is entirely up to you the Gp/dermatologist can recommend some great solutions that for many people may work well these can be; topically applied solutions (benzyl peroxide, salicylic acid, anti-biotics or retin A), oral solutions (anti-biotics, contraceptive pill, Roaccutane). Often we find people come to us because they exhausted many of the solutions above with little success. But whatever treatment that is tried, you must be aware it takes time (often 3-6 months) and no treatment is a cure. 

This one is so hard to answer! For some people yes and for some no. It’s all about what is best for you and what works. We often talk about avoiding the triggers of acne; stress, diet, sleep, age.

This is a very good question and it is an important thing to consider. We often will advise products that need to be adhered to for good results and to help the treatments work, with products alone we have seen some very good improvements. 

But we also must consider lifestyle to, we know that acne is related to hormones so as a teenager we understand why we get acne. But as adults it is much harder to comprehend it. Be aware that genetics can be a big influence, but also; stress, diet, sleep, contraception, pregnancies, menopause, and exercise. Stress can affect our hormones and we produce too much cortisol, diet has been suggested for many years the old eating too much chocolate. Certainly sugar can exacerbate and dairy has been linked due to the hormone levels in this produce, sleep is important as our skin repairs at night-time, and exercise whilst generally very good for us and should help to minimise stress and bring blood flow therefore nourishment, over exercise or high level’s of strength training can also change our hormones.

Thinking about your lifestyle and any changes you can make will not only help your results alot but also make the long term risks of getting acne again less likely.

The treated area can become quite red immediately after treatment but this usually disappears within a couple of hours. Most people experience no other side effects but very rarely a small blister could form or the skin may become temporarily lighter or darker.

The number of treatments necessary varies from person to person, but typically 6 Intense Pulsed Light and 6 exfoliating treatments will result in a significant improvement.