Do Non Ablative Laser Peels Really Work for Acne Scars?

While ablative lasers like erbium , regular Co2, or fractional in various combinations may give the most dramatic results, they all have significant downtime. Our group has treated many hundreds of satisfied acne patients with non ablative lasers. The two most commonly used have been the smooth beam laser and Fraxel repair ( which technically is partially ablative). You need a doctor who is well trained with these lasers and feels comfortable with using the higher energies required to see... more

And therefore, they must "work" at "least a little," right? Please check my answer elsewhere on this forum for "What is the best laser for skin resurfacing?" I will include edited parts of the answer here for your review. I have taught laser surgery, including resurfacing, for over twenty years, nationally and internationally (Korea, Canada, Caribbean), and have performed thousands of laser cases in my practice. (I am in private practice, and do not have... more

Successful treatment of acne scars often requires a combination of treatment options to obtain an optimum result. Non ablative fractional resurfacing will improve mild acne scars after multiple treatments. More significant scars such as deeper rolling scars, pitted scars, hypertrophic and keloid scars, pigmented and red scars all take a different approach. It is important to see and expert who understands the best way to treat all of these scar type. One treatment... more

The acne scars are scars of various shapes and depth. Any collagen stimulation by non-ablative lasers are minimal and the improvement achieved are hardly noticable. Acne scars need to be removed by any means such as surgical dermabrasion, deep chemical peels or Co2 laser in order to get a noticable improvement. Minimal treatments produce minimal results.

Fractional Lasers (CO2 or Erbium) are more efficient. There will be more crusting though with these lasers. 

Laser Peels are an option to improve acne scarring.  However, it is a slow process and require multiple treatments.  Ablative lasers such as profractional or erbium laser resurfacing may be better for acne scars, espcially if the scars are deeper.

  Acne scars go very deep into the skin and are caused by loss of collagen due to the acne infection. Improving an acne scar requires the production of new collagen deep in the dermis, to plump the skin. Ablative lasers and chemical peels do not go deep enough to really improve acne scars. The non-ablative fractional Erbium laser (Lux1540, Fraxel Restore) can go very deep into the dermis and promote new collagen production to plump acne scars. You will need multiple treataments 5-6... more

Over time, non-ablative laser treatments repair and improve acne scars by the remodeling of collagen under the scars - old collagen is broken down and new collagen formed. This process does take time to occur - typically about 3 months - AND a series of non-ablative treatments are needed to produce enough collagen remodeling to be clinically evident in most scars -so the real improvement seen with the non-ablative lasers can take some time to be apparent. For many acne scars, especially the... more

In our opinion, depth of penetration is the key to results. This is true regardless of the technology used be it laser, chemical or mechanical. The skin is composed of 2 basic layers: the epidermis and the dermis. The dermis is the foundation and where thinning occurs with aging and scarring with acne. The key to any skin tightening procedure is how it affects the underlying foundation. The greater the effect on the dermis, the greater the result. All treatments technically cause a... more