What is photodynamic acne therapy? How does it work to help my acne?

Photodynamic therapy, is a relatively new acne treatment that uses a combination of a drug called 5-amino levulinic acid (ALA) and blue light or mixed blue and red light for the treatment of moderate to severe acne. This is in contrast to those older ultraviolet light acne treatments that are kwown to provide only transient improvement, added to that the prolonged use of especially of ultraviolet A, may worsen those with comedonal acne (i.e. mostly blackheads and whiteheads). Also, the increased risk of skin cancer and photoaging makes the older ultraviolet light acne treatments even a less desirable acne therapy.

What the dermatologist does is to apply the 5-amino levulinic acid to the affected areas for about 15 to 30 minutes, this followed by using either a pulsed light device or pulsed dye laser to activate the areas where the 5-amino levulinic acid was applied. The results have shown that it is great for those with severe forms of acne condition. It is learnt that photodynamic therapy are also being used to treat certain types of skin cancer.

Am I a good candidate for laser acne therapy if I have darker skin type?

As we may or may not know that acne is quite a common concern in people with darker skin. In fact, lasers have been avoided for acne treatment for those with darker skin because of the risk of potentially disfiguring complications such as acne scarring, keloids, and skin discoloration.

However, the advances in technology today have made laser treatments for acne safer for those with darker skin types. For instance, there are some acne treatments, i.e. using both lasers and intense pulsed light devices that are being tested and have shown encouraging results for acne on the face and on the chest and back for those with darker skin. It is important to note that as with other skin types, maintenance acne treatments such as by using retinoids, topical acne antibiotics, and benzoyl peroxide, are usually needed to minimize the recurrence of acne.

It was reported that lasers and intense pulsed light devices that are being used to treat acne for this purpose, i.e. in people with darker skin included:

• ClearLight (blue: 405 to 420-nm);
• Aura laser (532-nm KTP laser, green light); and
• Aurora (an intense pulsed light/radiofrequency kind of combination device)