Acne (Vulgaris) is a chronic, but common,
inflammatory condition of the pilosebaceous duct. The
over production of sebum clogs the follicles causing infection, the blockage
traps oil in the follicle where the bacteria (Propiobacterium Acnes) will thrive
on the anaerobic conditions.
Acne affects the areas of skin with the
largest population of sebaceous follicles; which include the face, shoulders
chest and back.
Acne is the actually the most common skin
disorder, and whilst it usually appears in adolescence, adults can get it
too. The four basic mechanisms
contributing to acne are hormones, increased sebum production, changes inside
hair follicles, and bacteria. When the
body's immune system tries to destroy the bacteria, inflammation results.
About 70% of infected people go into
spontaneous remission after 4 to 5 years but about 30% continue into adult
life. However, acne scarring can occur throughout
this time.
Acne can be treated using laser and pulsed
light, which help to destroy the bacteria, reduce redness and scarring and
initiate skin healing response. This
treatment is highly effective, even on individuals who have had limited/no
response to oral antibiotics, topical creams, micro-dermabrasion, chemical
peels and laser resurfacing.
Exposure to yellow light has been
clinically proven to result in an improvement of active acne. Light treatments directed against acne are
comparable to the effects of oral antibiotics, but offer a faster solution and
fewer long term side effects! By
targeting the chromophores (a light absorbing part of the bacteria), and
sparing injury to the epidermis, light based treatments are more promising in
terms of being capable of inducing longer term remissions as well as reducing
the scarring caused by acne, even if the scars have been present for many
years.
It has been long proven that acne can
improve in condition on exposure to sun light alone (partly due to the drying
out of the skin), but we also know that short wavelengths of light (yellow –
blue) have strong anti-bacterial properties, and longer wavelengths of light
(orange – red) have noted anti-inflammatory properties. A combination of these wavelengths can have
an even better effect than a single wavelength of light alone.
Light based therapy has proven to be a safe
and effective model for the treatment of mild to severely inflamed acne by
providing oxygen into the skin, the application eliminates any bacteria –
results = Great skin!
