Light Therapy for Cystic Acne
Cystic acne is incredibly difficult to deal with. It can cause self-esteem issues and may even eventually turn into disfiguring scars if left untreated. However, light therapy is a promising newer treatment that seems to help eradicate current cystic acne lesions and prevent new ones from forming. Does this Spark an idea?
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What is Light Therapy?
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Light therapy is a type of skin treatment that can be used for treating acne of various forms, including cystic acne. It works by penetrating the outer layers of skin and in some cases, drying up excess oil and shrinking the oil glands or killing acne bacteria. In either case, light therapy helps current acne heal much faster than it would on its own and prevents new breakouts from developing.
LHE Therapy
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LHE therapy is one form of light therapy that uses a combination of light and heat to treat active acne. The light pulsates and is administered with heat to kill acne bacteria and work to shrink enlarged and over-productive sebaceous glands at the same time. This can reduce the number of new acne breakouts over time as well as eliminate current breakouts.
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ALA + Light Therapy
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Another form of light therapy involves using the light along with ALA or 5-aminolevulinic acid. ALA is a chemical that makes the skin extra sensitive to light. After setting for up to an hour, the ALA is washed off the skin, then the light therapy is applied. The chemical makes the light therapy more effective and helps the skin slough off faster to reveal healthier skin underneath.
Blue-Light Therapy
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The most popular kind of light therapy is called Blue-Light Therapy. It works on many different kinds of acne, but is especially beneficial for cystic acne. It's non-invasive and is a safe way to change the texture of your skin without using a laser or dermabrasion. It works by killing active acne bacteria. Several treatments will be needed over the course of a month to reduce oil production, kill bacteria and discourage new blemishes from forming. Very few side effects are reported, the most common of which is dry skin.
Avoid UV Radiation
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The popular forms of light therapy for treating acne in the past relied on ultra violet radiation, usually UV/B, to kill acne bacteria and clear the skin. However, these treatments were show to do more harm than good, damaging the outer layers of skin, making you more prone to skin cancer and causing premature aging. Light therapy prescribed for acne now should be free of UV rays; however, it has proved to be just as effective.
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