Does IPL treat acne scars?

The question about whether or not IPL will treat acne scars depends very much on the type of acne scars being treated. There are textured (bumpy) acne scars as well as pigmented (colored brown or red) acne scars. For textured acne scars there are rolling scars, ice pick scars, boxcar scars, etc. Each type of acne scar may have several different
treatment options including lasers and/or surgical procedures (punch excision, dermabrasion, etc.). To determine if you are a candidate for IPL treatments, we would need to know more about what kind of acne scars you have. Generally we do not suggest IPL treatments for acne scars because we believe lasers will work better. For each of the different types of acne scars described above there is a different lasers that would be work best. We suggest you look for a laser dermatology facility that has access to many lasers rather than just an IPL so that the practitioner can customize the treatment plan to the type of scars you have.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

Yes, IPL can be used for most types of acne scars. You would need a consult to be sure you have the correct type of scar for this treatment. It works best for pink and brown scars. You should not treat dark skinned patients with IPL.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

IPL will show only minimal improvement in acne scarring unless the "scarring" is just pigmentation. For true acne scarring there are much better ways to spend your money. My preference is to use a fractionated CO2 laser. I use the Lumenis ActiveFX/DeepFX.

Published on Jul 11, 2012