Acne

Other Treatment

Your doctor may suggest other types of therapies to treat acne or acne scars.

Other Treatment Choices

For acne scars, you may have:

• Collagen injections and gelatin implants, to improve the look of acne scars.
• Dermabrasion or dermaplaning, to remove scars.
• Chemabrasion, a chemical peel that removes surface scars.
• Microdermabrasion, a gentle skin buffing for mild acne scarring.
• Laser resurfacing, to remove the top layer of skin.

Chemabrasion, dermabrasion or dermaplaning, and laser resurfacing are techniques that remove the top layers of skin. This promotes skin regrowth and collagen production. The results are better-looking skin with less noticeable scarring. At this time, laser resurfacing is the most popular technique.

What To Think About

The FDA has approved a type of light therapy for acne treatment called blue light (or Clearlight) therapy. This treatment uses visible light, not ultraviolet light, so it does not increase the risk of skin cancer. But the method is expensive and its effectiveness and safety are not known. So blue light therapy is not recommended for acne treatment at this time.⁴

Doctors no longer use X-rays or ultraviolet light (from a sunlamp) to treat acne. These treatments may have more risks than benefits.

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Author:	Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS	Last Updated: February 27, 2009
Medical Review:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine Alexander H. Murray, MD, FRCPC - Dermatology
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