A wide variety of acne treatment choices exist. This provides patients with a number of choices fit specifically for their personal conditions, and at the same time, giving price options for those looking to save funds as well. Patients also select acne treatments based on safety ratings, though only few stand as FDA approved procedures.
Chemical Peels
This acne treatment utilizes the strength of highly powerful chemicals and natural ingredients to provide patients with a skin rejuvenating effect. In simple terms, chemical peels work to break down the skin's surface and replace it with brand new skin. In actuality, the patient grows a new layer of skin in place of the regions that are removed.
Although chemical peels work for things like wrinkle and sun spot removal, many peel products specialize in treating acne specifically. Some ingredients within chemical peel products stimulate healthy skin growth while killing off acne causing bacteria and cleansing the patient's pores in a thorough manner.
Creams and Lotions
Creams and lotions are often prescribed by dermatologists, much like how pediatricians prescribe antibiotics to patients with cold or flu symptoms. However, some of the lotions and gel-like solutions provided by dermatologists do more than just temporarily wipe out signs of acne. Some prescribed topical solutions will keep acne at bay as long as the patient follows frequency of use policies along with other maintenance guidelines.
Though effective in many cases, simple self-administered solutions like creams and lotions only provide positive results to some patients with moderate cases of acne. For patients who suffer from extreme cases of severe acne, higher degrees of treatment become necessary.
Laser Based Treatments
With advancements in medical technology, patients who suffer from the most severe cases of acne will notice a variety of laser treatments that work to rid the skin of bacteria and acne altogether.
Many laser treatments work differently from chemical peels and some creams in that rays of energy target oil glands. This type of laser treatment works to literally damage the glands under the skin that produce oil which clogs pores; clogged pores almost always cause acne. Other laser treatments work to eliminate the bacteria that cause acne.
Frequently, patients will find laser treatments that provide only one effect in either the removal of acne causing bacteria or the sedative effects on oil glands under the skin's outermost surface. Some laser treatments use a combination of the previously mentioned techniques. Laser treatments that eliminate bacteria and reduce the amount of oil produced from sebaceous glands generally provide the best acne removal results both short and long term.
Injectable Solutions
For the treatment of painful acne beneath the skin's surface, steroids are used to eliminate further growth and spreading of acne lesions. Injectable steroid treatments work by flattening acne lesions once a chemical-based solution kills off the bacteria causing the lesion to swell.
Dermabrasion
This acne treatment utilizes the power of physically moving instruments and not chemicals. Dermabrasion products work much like small sand blasters on the skin's surface, breaking down dead, infected skin and removing the separated pieces with a vacuum device.
