Is Laser Acne Treatment Safe for Teens?

If you have had to watch your child deal with acne you understand what a horrible journey it can be. Some acne treatments that work for other children may have not helped your child. You might have spent hundreds of dollars on treatments that offered no assistance. Worst of all, your child might have lost some self-confidence or even withdrew from their social life due to severe acne. At some point you might wonder if topical treatments are not an option. How do you know if laser acne treatment is right for your teen?

Is Laser Acne Treatment Right For Your Teen?

Laser acne treatment is normally not your first resort. Most parents help their children deal with acne in a similar manner. Your search for an acne treatment may have started at a local drug store where you purchased a variety of over-the-counter products with low levels of benzoyl peroxide. If that step seemed unsuccessful you might have booked an appointment with your local dermatologist. After prescription treatments and oral antibiotics, most acne cases can be controlled and successfully treated. Depending on your child’s form of acne, once the pesky pimples are gone another problem may arise. Acne scarring can be just as daunting to deal with as acne and more than often the solution is just as complex.

Laser Acne Treatment for Scars

Once pimples disappear, your teenager might find ice pick, boxcar, hypertrophic, or rolling scars. Each one of these individual types of scars is caused by severe acne that damages the skin. There are a wide variety of scar treatments ranging from microdermabrasian to chemical peels to lasers. It is important to remember that the topical acne treatment your teen used to treat acne will often not treat acne scars.

In general, lasers are used to remove a layer of skin so fresh new skin can take its place. Normally, a local anesthesia is used and the procedure can take anywhere from several minutes to an hour depending on the size of the area. Choosing to attempt laser acne treatment is not an easy or simple decision. It is a decision that should be made between you, your teen, and your dermatologist. Only your dermatologist will be able to suggest the right form of laser for your teen’s acne scars.

Do Your Research on Laser Acne Treatment

There are a handful of facts that you should be prepared for prior to any dermatologist visit regarding laser acne treatment. Be prepared to spend! Laser acne treatments are not cheap and you often have to endure several visits and multiple treatments. You might even have to return for continuous treatment over the years depending on the scars and the skin type. You also should understand and talk with your dermatologist about the healing process. Again depending on your scars and laser acne treatment the healing time can vary and be even up to several weeks.

Laser acne treatment is an important decision and a large commitment for just about everyone involved. Take time to make this important choice and weigh all the positive and negative attributes associated with it.