ACNE

Acne is the most common skin condition with over 90% of adolescents troubled by it. It can appear at any age however and persists in some people right into their fifties.

What causes acne?

Acne develops as a result of blockages in follicles. Formation of a plug of keratin and sebum is the earliest change. Enlargement of sebaceous glands and an increase in sebum production occur with increased androgen production during puberty.

Comedones (blackheads) are the direct result of sebaceous glands' becoming clogged with sebum, a naturally occurring oil, and dead skin cells.

In both these conditions, the naturally occurring bacterium Propionibacterium acnes causes inflammation, leading to inflammatory lesions (papules, pustules, or nodules) in the skin around the comedone, which results in redness and may result in scarring or hyperpigmentation.

Treatment

Until recently, patients with persistent, moderate acne have been treated primarily with topical or systemic antibiotics. Laser triggers endogenic porphyrins that naturally destroy P. acnes bacteria. Laser also works well in conjunction with some antibiotic treatments although antibiotics of the tetracycline family can cause light hypersensitivy so cannot be used with Laser therapy.

Within eight brief acne laser treatments, over just four weeks, Harmony®XL's AFT can provide significant improvement. This is up to three times faster than common antibiotics and topical treatments. Patients should achieve 80% clearance and treatments for acne take only a few minutes. 

We use the HarmonyXL AFT laser handpiece. Intense blue light in the range of 420-950 nm target the porphyrins produced as part of the normal metabolism of P. acnes bacteria. The interaction of the intense blue light and the porphyrins creates singlet oxygen that rapidly destroys the bacteria without damaging the surrounding tissue.

We recommend using Laser in conjunction with a tailored skin treatment package for best long term results.

What does the treatment consist of?

A cold gel is applied to the area to be treated. After which the hand-piece is gently applied to the skin and pulses of light are applied.

You should feel no more than the sharp snap of a rubber band against the skin. The treatment is fast and an area of the face such as the cheeks may take less than 5 minutes to treat whilst the full face may take just 20 minutes.

After the treatment slight redness of the skin may be visible. Because this treatment does not damage the outer layers of the skin, there is no healing time and normal activities can be resumed immediately. However, you should stay out of the sun during the treatment and for two weeks before and after treatment.

With repeated treatments you will notice a steady improvement in skin texture and appearance. Improvement is sometimes evident from the first couple of treatments and continues throughout the treatment program. We normally recommend 8 treatments over 4 weeks.

Prices