Do you have a lot of acne scars and don’t know what to do with them? You have tried all the home remedies and creams, but nothing works for those scars. Pimple scar laser treatment is the best option for clear skin. Laser treatment for scars focuses light on the top layer of your skin to break up the scar tissues. The treatment also encourages healthy skin cells to grow in place of the scar tissue.
While this treatment does not remove the scars, it can reduce their visibility. However, this treatment may not work well if you have active acne, highly wrinkled skin, or a darker skin tone. Only a dermatologist can tell if laser scar removal is a good option for you.
How Many Sessions are Needed for Pimple Scar Laser Treatmen?
A laser treatment session takes less than an hour and its results are not immediate. It will take you 7-10 days to see the laser scar removal before and after results.
Many sessions are required to reduce the appearance of acne scars. Your healthcare provider plans the number of sessions. Your doctor will check for the severity or the type of acne scarring present first. Then they will decide the number of sessions required so that the patient gets long-term results and experiences maximum improvement on their pimple scars.
How Does It Work?
Lasers for scars work in two ways. First, the heat from the laser removes the top layer of the skin where you have the scar. This makes your skin appear smoother and the visibility of the scar reduces.
After the scar tissues get peeled off, laser heat and light also help healthy skin cells grow there. The laser’s heat targets blood vessels in the scar, which increases blood flow and reduces inflammation.
Types of Laser Treatment
The most common types of laser for scar treatment are erbium YAG lasers, carbon dioxide (CO2) lasers, and Fractional lasers. Each of these has a way of working to target the type of scarring you have:
- Ablative Laser Resurfacing
Ablative lasers use an erbium YAG or carbon dioxide CO2 laser. This laser treatment removes the entire top skin layer of your acne scars. It can take up to 3 to 10 days for the redness from the laser to reduce.
- Non-Ablative Laser Resurfacing
This type of laser treatment uses infrared lasers to target acne scars. The heat from these lasers stimulates collagen production and encourages new cell growth to replace the damaged scarred tissues.
- Fractionated Laser Treatment
Fractional lasers target darkly pigmented cells underneath the top skin layer of your acne scar. Boxcar and ice pick scars are treated well with this kind of laser.
Preparation for the Treatment
Here are the ways in which you can prepare yourself for this treatment:
- You may have to adapt to a lifestyle if you want to qualify for laser treatment for scars for an effective treatment.
- Take no aspirin or blood-slimming supplements two weeks before the session.
- Say no to smoking two weeks before the therapy.
- The use of products containing retinol for face skin care should be stopped two weeks before the procedure.
Risk and Side Effects
Acne scar laser treatment can cause some adverse effects that differ depending on the type of laser used for acne scarring, your skin type, and the number of sessions needed. The pain usually disappears after one or two hours. However, the redness can persist for up to 10 days. In case of any swelling, pain, or fever after treatment, you should contact your doctor for further instructions.
Conclusion
To sum up, laser treatment gives outstanding results in terms of minimal side effects. Nevertheless, bear in mind that you should be patient enough to observe the results, which might occur in a few days or even months. More importantly, the therapy may not apply to all. Therefore, it is very important that one consults an expert before embarking on any of these processes. A skin analysis by the healthcare provider will be performed prior to determining whether pimple scar laser therapy is appropriate.
