Microdermabrasion

Acne treatment is incomplete without removing the dirty looking acne scars. Acne may go away but the scars remain for a lifetime. Many treatments are suggested for treatment of acne scars. Out of these chemical peeling and laser are very popular. Let us compare both of them.

Acne scars- treatment with chemical peeling-

Chemical peeling is one of the popular cosmetic procedures to remove old skin and get a fresh new skin. Chemical peeling is also called derma-peeling or chemexfoliation. As the name implies, in this procedure, the skin is peeled off with chemicals and when the new skin grows it is fresh and with lesser sun damage and wrinkles. Depending on the strength of the peeling chemical, the peeling procedure may be called- superficial, medium-depth or deep. The name refers to the depth of the skin to which the chemical peels off the old skin.

The common chemicals used for chemical peeling are alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), trichloroacetic acid and phenol. Your doctor may also choose other chemicals to get the desired result. With superficial peeling, you can go back to work immediately while after getting medium or deep peeling done, you may have to let the new skin grow for some days before you go out. The pain and trouble associated with peeling also depends on the depth to which peeling is done. Superficial peeling will remove fine lines, wrinkles etc. while with deep peeling, deep scars and pre-cancerous sun damage gets removed.

Acne scars- treatment with lasers

A laser is focused high energy light. The scientific name of LASER is ‘Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation’. Ordinary light emits photons in all the directions and consists of many wavelengths. Unlike that, laser emits photons in a single direction and consists of a single wavelength. Laser therefore has very high energy and can be focused on any object or in any direction. In laser skin resurfacing, the laser burns away the unwanted skin tissues bloodlessly and gives a new shape with precise control.

Laser resurfacing is a bloodless process and doctors can control the resurfacing more accurately with it. The risk of infection is also low with this procedure. With latest lasers available, this process is revolutionizing the procedure of facial resurfacing and scar removal.

Both lasers and chemical peeling give good results. Lasers are more expensive than chemical peeling. Lasers can also be controlled much better than chemical peeling. But chemical peeling is much cheaper.

By: CD Mohatta

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Now that you have managed to get rid of your acne, what do you do with those ugly scars? If you have mild scarring, you can try several acne products and medicines that can treat them. However, for severe acne scars, they must be treated by a dermatologist, using a combination of surgical procedures and skin resurfacing therapy.

Available Acne Scars Treatment Options

The following methods are quite effective at treating acne scars: laser resurfacing, dermabrasion, and chemical peels. You should consult with your dermatologist to choose the most suitable treatment for you.

Treating Acne Scars with Laser Resurfacing

Laser resurfacing is one of the most advanced methods for treating acne scars. This treatment works by shedding the top layers of the skin that is damaged. The skin heals and newer, smoother appearing skin replaces the damaged layer. Treatments usually take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour. The skin usually will completely heal after 3 - 10 days. This is an effective and promising treatment since the laser can precisely control the depth of penetration into the skin.

Your skin will experience redness and swelling after the treatment and proper post operative care of the skin must be followed to ensure success.

Treating Acne Scars with Dermabrasion

Another popular treatment option for acne scars is dermabrasion. This method works by physically scraping off the top layer of the skin using an abrasive disc. As the skin heals, a new and smoother layer replaces the abraded skin. It takes between 10 days and three weeks for skin to heal between treatments. If you want a less invasive treatment option, you may opt for a microdermabrasion, which effectively scrapes off a very thin layer of the skin. As a result, recovery time is shorter.

Acne Scars Treatment with Chemical Peel

With chemical peel treatment, different tpes of acid are applied to the skin to remove the top layer so that smoother and newer layer can surface. The procedure usually takes about 20 minutes or so. This method is ideal for mild cases of scars. It takes about a week or more for the skin to heal after the treatments. Reddening and discomfort may occur during the healing process.

Other Acne Scars Treatment Options

Other treatment options for acne scar may include surgery or collagen. For severe cases of acne scars, your doctor may recommend plastic surgery. This is an expensive option however.

As you can see, effective treatments are available for your scars and you should not leave your scars untreated. Do some research, talk to your dermatologist and skin care specialist to find out which treatment is suitable for your skin conditions. You too can have beautiful, smooth, youthful looking skin like Hollywood movie stars if you know how to care and treat it.

By: Susan Bienize

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DERMABRASION

In dermabrasion, a wire brush or diamond fraise is used to “abrade” the epidermis and papillary dermis.

Disadvantages of dermabrasion include hypopigmentation, bleeding, and, as compared with laser resurfacing, decreased precision. In addition, aerosolization of blood and of viral tissue particles occurs.

MICRODERMABRASION

This relatively new technique involves the use of aluminum, salt, or diamond microparticles to bombard the skin and a suction apparatus to vacuum away the most superficial layer(s) of the epidermis.

There is minimal to no recovery time, but the results are extremelyappropriate for treating atrophic scars that are relatively few. The technique requires minimal recovery time, but its results are temporary.

Risks include allergic dermatitis, lack of response, and, rarely, overcorrection.

One of the latest trends, hyaluronic acid injections, is perhaps more appropriate for the aging face than for acne scars. This technique is widely used in Europe and Canada, but it awaits approval by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States. Autologous fat transfer is another increasingly popular technique.

The first filling agent was free silicone, injected in microdroplets.

It was very effective, but the Food and Drug Administration banned it.

SUTURE-ASSISTED RESURFACING

A new, innovative technique, suture-assisted resurfacing combines two modalities in one treatment session. It is ideal for patients who had miliary acne, which leaves scarring that consists of numerous tiny pits less than 2 mm in depth. The CO2 laser is used to resurface the entire face or affected area with two passes. Afterward, each military scar is incised with a triple bevel 18-gauge needle. A single 7-0 nylon or polypropylene suture is then meticulously placed to oppose the wound edges. The sutures are removed in approximately six days. Risks of suture-assisted resurfacing are similar to those of laser resurfacing. In addition, sutured areas may dehisce, or the wound edges may not oppose perfectly.

ELEVATED OR HYPERTROPHIC

FORMS OF ACNE

The above techniques are most applicable for the correction of indented and/or atrophic acne scarring.

The elevated or hypertrophic forms of acne scarring that most commonly occur on the chest, shoulders, back, or mandible are best treated with topical corticosteroids, intralesional corticosteroids, silicone gels/sheets, the pulsed-dye laser, or other vascularspecific lasers.

TAILORING TREATMENT

As with most of today’s cosmetic procedures, clinicians and patients are discovering that the best results are often obtained by combining several modalities and tailoring the treatment to each individual patient.

Perhaps the best example of this approach is the suture-assisted resurfacing procedure, in which two separate strategies are employed on the same day. Other examples include subcision, fat transfer, or punch grafting months before laser resurfacing.

Microdermabrasion is a relatively new technique that involves the use of aluminum, salt, or diamond microparticles to bombard the skin and a suction apparatus to vacuum away the most superficial layer(s) of the epidermis. The results are extremely subtle and require many treatment sessions. Today, more acne scars are treated with laser resurfacing than with any other method. Laser resurfacing allows for more precise ablative control than do traditional techniques.

Read More: acne-stop.com

By: Jojo Michelle

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