Acne Treatment Q&A
92%
WORTH IT RATING
"Worth It Rating" shows the % of consumer reviewers
that stated the procedure was "Worth It" or not.
See more RealSelf Worth It Ratings
or Add Your Review

View Before and Afters
Average Acne Treatment Cost: $191
Learn about Acne Treatment
381 people and 133 doctors are talking about Acne Treatment
Get Free Email Updates
Acne treatment with Blue Light Therapy?
asked 3 years ago by Ninulya in New York, NY
Latest answer by Armando Soto, MD
Question viewed 1,270 times
Tags: blue light
How does it work on acne? Blue light helps with acne scars?
4 answers to Acne treatment with Blue Light Therapy?
+1
Blue light therapy works!
Blue Light Therapy is performed using a blue LED (light emitting diode) Light. The wavelength of the blue LED works to kill the p.acne bacteria implicated in acne, therefore reducing acne lesions.
This is a painless and extremely effective procedure.
I recommend having treatments about 1-2 times a week for 6 treatments. Some patients may require more treatments depending on the severity of their acne.
Unfortunately blue light therapy will not...
more
+1
Blue Light Therapy kills Acne Bacteria
Blue light therapy is a safe, effective option for inflammatory acne (red pimples, pus bumps). It can be considered a safe, long acting alternative to antibiotics. The spectrum of light (411nm) used with blue light therapy activates a chemical compound (porphyrins) found in the bacteria associated with acne (p. acnes bacteria). This chemical activation ultimately results in the death of the bacteria.
Results usually take 6-8 weeks to see their full effect, but...
more
Jeffrey C. Poole, MD
Metairie Dermatologic Surgeon
Metairie Dermatologic Surgeon
+1
Blue Light treatments can help acne
The Blu-U and other Blue Light devices like it help with acne by killing acne bacteria. We use the Blue Light treatments in combination with ALA (amino levulanic acid) for the treatment of severe acne to shrink the sebaceous (oil) glands. This treatment is typically used by our patients as an alternative to Accutane.
Blue Light treatments will not help with acne scars.
+1
BLU-U light therapy more useful when preceded by Levulan, namely Photodynamic Therapy (PDT)
The advantage of BLU-U light therapy is attributed to absolutely no downtime. However, BLU-U as a stand alone therapy is mildly helpful for acne and not at all for acne scarring.
On the other hand, photodynamic therapy (PDT) which is BLU-U, preceded by Levulan (a metabolite of hemoglobin in red blood cells) application can be a very useful adjunct for resistant inflammatory acne vulgaris as there has been documented eradication of bacteria responsible for triggering inflammatory acne as...
more