Acne Skin Care Treatment using a blue light
Levulan Photodynamic Therapy (LPT) is a relatively new acne treatment. Levulan PDT results in significant improvement in mild to severe acne and an improvement in the appearance of acne scars. Levulan has been approved by the FDA since 1999 for the treatment of sun damaged skin. LPT can work in patients who have used Accutane unsuccessfully.
Levulan Photodynamic Therapy is also used for:
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Removing precancerous skin lesions
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Preventing skin cancer
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Improving wrinkles
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Improving pores
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Improving skin texture
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Improving pigmentation
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Treating moderate to severe cystic acne
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Treating sebaceous hyperplasia
Blue Light Levulan Acne treatment involves three mechanisms of action against acne:
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Deactivates the bacteria that trigger acne
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Exfoliates the skin to unclog pores
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Shuts down the sebaceous glands in the skin by shrinking them. Sebaceous glands are the root cause in the formation of acne.
The Process
Levulan Photodynamic Therapy involves the application to the skin of the photosensitizing agent, Levulan. After an incubation/absorption period, the Levulan is activated with a blue-light for 8-12 minutes. This results in significant improvement in moderate to severe cystic acne. The skin will be extremely red and slightly swollen for 3-7 days after the surgery. Any sun exposure in this time can lead to severe burning and blistering and should be avoided if possible. After about 48-72 hours, the top layer of your skin will scale, flake, and peel.
Having a Dermasweep treatment before the Levulan is applied enhances the results and may reduce the total number of treatments needed. Some acne will improve after 1 treatment. Multiple treatments (2-4) are often needed to clear moderate to severe acne. The price of a Levulan Acne therapy treatment ranges from $500 - $800.
The science:
Levulan is a 20% Aminolevulinic Acid (ALA), a substance that is found naturally in the human body. After Levulan it is applied and absorbed into the skin it is converted into a potent photosensitizer, protophorphyrin IX. Because ALA absorbs into sebaceous glands it selectively targets them. The blue light then activates these protophorphyrins which leads to shrinkage of the sebaceous glands. By shrinking the sebaceous glands, acne is improved. It is also notable that blue light treatments alone (not in combination with the Aminolevulinic Acid) are effective in combating acne, however they have to be used several times per week. Studies have shown that a twice weekly blue light treatment will eliminate about 75% of all active Acne Legions.
A personal experience from an Internet Blogger:
I am currently 28 years old, and I have had mild to severe acne since I was 17. I did a cycle of Accutane when I was 22, which cleared up my acne for about 18 months. More recently, I have taken an oral antibiotic (Minocycline) in combination with Clindamycin gel and Tazorac. Putting all that medicine on is no fun. My skin was dry half the time, no matter how often I applied moisturizer, and I still had periodic breakouts that drove me absolutely nuts. When I heard about Levulan, I immediately got a treatment. My skin was bright red to the point where it was embarrassing to be in public for about three days. Because I wore goggles during the treatment, the area around my eyes remained the natural color of my skin. This contrast between this area and the surrounding red areas magnified the redness of my skin. When I wore sunglasses, it was not nearly as noticeable. The top layer of skin starting peeling off about 50 hours after the surgery, and it was completely gone 90 hours after the surgery. For the first 48 hours after the surgery, tons of little whiteheads surfaced all over the treated area. I'm not sure if these would have been future zits. They were easy to get rid of; they practically popped themselves and didn't leave any marks whatsoever on my face. On the fourth day things looked better and by day five I was fine to be in public.
On day five I noticed something else: my skin looked GREAT. It was so smooth and fresh looking, I couldn't even believe it. There were virtually no blackheads on my face, and the scarring which had been bothering me for years was gone! I was hoping that Levulan would clear up my active acne, which it did, but I did not realize it would make my skin look so fresh and young. I had good skin!
Since the treatment, my skin has been relatively problem free. I do still get occasional pimples, at a much lesser rate than before the treatment. My only regret is that I didn't find out about Levulan years ago.
Is this treatment for you?
If you have read this far, in my opinion the answer is yes. If you have any form visible acne that has been recurring for longer than 2 months, you should try a Levulan treatment. Over time, even mild acne can leave scars and be damaging to your self esteem. With Levulan Acne Therapy -- aside from 3-4 days of down time where you won't want to go in public because your skin is red -- there are no major downsides to the treatment.
Levulan Blue Light Acne Therapy will clear your skin up for 12-18 months. No more zits, pimples, or blackheads. Levulan will also smooth your skin and remove or mitigate scaring. In my opinion, if you have even mild acne it is worth doing a Levulan Blue Light treatment. You won't want to be seen in public for three to four days, but that is a small price to pay for 18 months of vastly improved skin.
Why use Levulan instead of standard Acne medications?
It is more effective than oral antibiotics and topical medicines like Retin-A, Tazorac, Benzyl Peroxide, etc, combined. Antibiotics are not something you want to take if it can be avoided. Topical medicines are a pain to put on every day, and irritate and dry out your skin. Why deal with the hassle of all of these medicines when you can do a Levulan treatment and have your skin clear for 18 months? The 3-4 day downtime is clearly worth it. An Accutane cycle takes 6 months to complete, wreaks havoc on your skin, can cause birth defects, prevents you from consuming alcohol, can affect your liver, can cause depression, can cause hair loss, and is generally a very powerful drug that is no more effective than Levulan.
The bottom line is that Levulan will make your skin clearer than medication with fewer hassles and side effects.
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