Photo: Bluelight Acne Treatment
Acne is a condition that most of us encounters at one point in our lives. It occurs when oil that is normally produced by our sebaceous glands gets trapped in our pores or hair follicles. This oil causes the walls of our follicles to bulge and when bacteria leaks into the surrounding tissues, pimples are formed. Acne is most prevalent during our teen years because it is during this period that hormonal changes cause our glands to produce more oil, thus increasing the chances that the oil gets trapped in our pores.
There are a variety of factors other than puberty that can dictate how long you suffer from acne. While most people outgrow them in their late teens, there are some who have to suffer from the condition through their adult lives. Acne treatment in the past has been limited to topical antibacterials, astringents, exfoliants and oral antibiotics. Today, however, there are more advanced and reportedly more effective treatment methods available.
One of these latest methods is blue light acne treatment. To help you decide whether this is the right treatment for you, we will discuss in detail how blue light works and what benefits it offers. Patients undergoing the treatment are asked to sit in front of a blue light delivery system for about 16 minutes per session. Sessions are usually spaced at weekly intervals and the total number of sessions required will depend on the severity of your condition.
The blue light system works by killing the acne bacteria in your skin. Once the bacteria are killed, your skin can begin to heal. The system can also be used in combination with an application of aminolevulinic acid or ALA, which aids in the reduction of skin lesions and pustules. When undergoing blue light acne treatment in combination with ALA, you will be asked to first sit with the ALA solution for about 30 minutes and then in front of the blue light system for another eight minutes. Treatment interval in this case is every two weeks.
After undergoing an average of four weekly treatments, most patients report not only a reduction in the severity of their acne case, but also a reduction in the number of pustules that appear on their skin. But probably the best thing about the treatment is that it is very gentle and it does not harm the surrounding tissues.