The Different Types of Laser Acne Treatments

Laser Acne Treatments have started to get more and more popular as they become a more reliable and painless replacement to other harmful acne scar treatment procedures such as dermabrasion and chemical peeling. With its growing popularity, several types of acne laser skin treatments have been introduced for surgeons to use. These different types solely depend on the type of laser being used in the procedure.

All types of laser acne treatments employ a procedure known as laser resurfacing. What happens in this type of surgery is that a laser is being fired into the skin and actively eliminates damaged cells while preserving the healthy ones. While different lasers can be used in treating the acne scars, all of them have penetrative power in accurately getting rid of the damaged areas.

The types of lasers used in solving acne problems vary in properties, most notably in their wavelengths. Wavelengths generally determine the penetration of the laser and what exact areas need to be targeted in killing the acne bacteria or shrinking the oil producing sebaceous glands to get rid of the acne scar. The following lasers that will be introduced here are FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved for laser acne scar treatments.

The first type of laser resurfacing used in performing common acne blemish laser treatment procedures is the carbon dioxide (CO2) laser skin resurfacing. It uses lasers with a high wavelength of 10,600 nanometers.

With its high wavelength, CO2 lasers are capable of vaporizing more skin, but still manage to leave alone the unaffected skin. They are best known for vaporizing by the layer and letting fresh new skin replace the vaporized damaged skin. Because it is less accurate and covers a wider range, CO2 lasers started to get more popular for treating wrinkles, scars, pimples, and damage from the sun.

The CO2 lasers have a few side effects such as higher levels of pigmentation and skin discoloration. As long as there is a very skilled surgeon who can control the accuracy of the CO2 laser, CO2 lasers can be very effective in getting rid of those unwanted acne scars.

For even more accurate procedures, Erbium or YAG lasers need to be used instead. Erbium lasers have a much smaller wavelength of 2940 nanometers, which in turn vaporizes less skin. These lasers are highly favored by surgeons because of the accuracy and therefore require much more skill for usage.

The ways Erbium lasers work are quite similar to the CO2 lasers. While it can also be just as effective for repairing sun damage, Erbium lasers can penetrate more allowing the moisture content and water molecules in the skin to absorb and scatter heat. Erbium lasers prove to be reliable in treating zits as well.

Erbium lasers started to get more popular than the CO2 lasers as newer models developed. They have far fewer chances of causing the side effects that the CO2 lasers have and are great for moderate facial wrinkles and acne blemishes.

Article Source: http://www.bluearticles.com

Tony James writes about Laser Acne Treatment Online. Visit his site to learn more about How To Get Rid Of Acne.

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