Acne Magazine

Hmm, good question.  I just was reading up on what some of the newer acne treatments are that might be showing some promise as the new wave of next generation in alternative acne treatments and medicines unrolls as it assuredly was expected to, seeing all the interest in treating acne and our complexions and the attention to skin in the media lately.

I’m sure you’ve heard of light therapy, or red light therapy, which is a gentle pulsed light that is supposed to heal acne and speed overall skin healing before, and I know that we did talk about that type of alternative acne treatment here on this blog before, but this photodynamic treatment is a little different from that, and it is admittedly not for everyone according to its practitioners.

A medication that is called Levulin, which I had never actually heard of, is brushed on to the skin and kept on for about 30  minutes prior to the light therapy.  Then, after the Levulin is washed off of the face, the patient then sits in front of a blue light for about 10 minutes to allow the Levulin to penetrate deeply. 

What does it do though?  Well, Levulin, combined with blue light therapy is supposed to actually help minimize the oil glands below the surface and prevent them from doing so much damage to the acne patient’s skin by reducing their ability to over-secrete the oil that is wreaking havoc on the patient’s face. 

Practitioners say that patients should expect to clear up after about four treatments, which will run them around a little over $1,000, depending on where they live, since geography definitely dictates what one will pay for cosmetic skin care and other cosmetic procedures.  Patients are also not allowed to go in the sun right after treatments, as their skin may be hyper sensitive to the sun’s damaging rays, but this is the same as with chemical peels, many acne antibiotic treatments, Retin-A, and quite a few other acne medications as I understand it, so it is no different in that regard.