Why am I getting a lot of acne since my Halo laser treatment?

Thank you for the great question and I'm sorry you're having this issue. The good news is that this is only temporary! What happens in some patients is that the swelling from the laser treatment causes the pores to close up and acne to form. As the swelling goes down and the pores open up again the acne should improve. The frustrating part is that this process may take 4-8 weeks to resolve after the treatment, but it will get better!. Hang in there!~Dr. Sieber

Thank you for your question.  I'm sorry to hear that you are experiencing an acne breakout after your Halo treatment.  This is not an uncommon side effect of laser resurfacing treatments - I suspect that it occurs due to pores being blocked by some combination of (often heavy and greasy) numbing creams and the swelling from the laser treatment itself.  I would recommend following-up with your dermatologist or plastic surgeon - these breakouts often respond to a short course of oral antibiotics.  Best of luck! 

This is quite common, especially in patients who have occasional acne for it to flare after any form of fractional laser. It is in part due to the occlusive balm that you are wearing, but also just happens. Contact the office that performed the procedure right away and they should be able to start you on an antibiotic like doxycycline and get you on to a less pore-blocking moisturizer. With those steps, it usually clears right up.