×

This article on Epainassist.com has been reviewed by a medical professional, as well as checked for facts, to assure the readers the best possible accuracy.

We follow a strict editorial policy and we have a zero-tolerance policy regarding any level of plagiarism. Our articles are resourced from reputable online pages. This article may contains scientific references. The numbers in the parentheses (1, 2, 3) are clickable links to peer-reviewed scientific papers.

The feedback link “Was this Article Helpful” on this page can be used to report content that is not accurate, up-to-date or questionable in any manner.

This article does not provide medical advice.

1

Benefits of Light Therapy for Acne & its Side Effects

Acne is a common skin problem that most of the people face irrespective of age and gender. As such it is very important to treat acne. Light therapy is a very effective and noninvasive treatment for acne. Light therapy is used to kill certain types of bacteria on the skin. This type of therapy should be carried out under the observation of an expert dermatologist and should be carried out at the clinic or house of the dermatologist.

Benefits of Light Therapy for Acne & its Side Effects

Benefits of Light Therapy for Acne

As per the American Academy of Dermatologist, light therapy is very effective and a promising treatment in acne and hundreds of people got a significant improvement in their skin problem. Light therapy, especially blue light is used for treating all types of sun damages and premalignant skin conditions as well as acne. It is a therapy that helps in improving skin texture. It also helps to reduce sebaceous hyperplasia as well in cases of enlarged oil glands. Thus this therapy helps in removing sun spots, acne, and many other such skin diseases.

Blue light therapy is a quick treatment and is generally treated on an outpatient basis. It requires hardly 15 to 90 minutes for treating acne with blue light therapy. As such one major advantage of this treatment is that you do not need to get admitted.

The following are some other advantages of light therapy in treating acne:

  • This type of therapy is safe and gentle.
  • Light therapy for acne is a painless treatment.
  • This treatment is totally drug-free.
  • It is appropriate for all areas of the body.
  • In this treatment, there is no need to avoid sunlight.
  • Light therapy for acne does not cause any type of scarring and anyone can use it irrespective of age.

Apart from acne, Light therapy is also very effective in case of depression. Depression is one of the main causes of acne. Thus with blue light therapy, you can treat both depression and acne.

Side Effect of Light Therapy for Acne

Though blue light therapy is a very effective acne treatment it also has some side effect. After the light therapy, the area becomes red, swollen, tender and mildly bruised. Generally, it is seen that after the treatment the acne heals within 7 to 14 days. Though there is no serious side effect in this type of treatment the biggest risk for this treatment is its potential to cause skin infection. Sometimes, swelling may occur on the area.

Conclusion

Thus, it is seen that light therapy is a type of painless and noninvasive treatment for acne. This type of treatment is generally very safe and has very less side effect. Acne is a common type of skin disorder and people experiencing it, feels it to be very odd while they have too many acne on their face. It causes pain as well when the acne becomes larger in size. So, in case you have too many acne, you should consult with your dermatologist and can go for light therapy.

References:

  1. American Academy of Dermatology Association. (2021). Acne. https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/acne/
  2. Sadick, N. S. (2017). Handheld LED array device in the treatment of acne vulgaris. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 16(12), 1245-1250.
  3. Papageorgiou, P., Katsambas, A., & Chu, A. (2000). Phototherapy with blue (415 nm) and red (660 nm) light in the treatment of acne vulgaris. British Journal of Dermatology, 142(5), 973-978. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2133.2000.03481.x
  4. Gold, M. H., & Biron, J. (2017). Efficacy of blue light phototherapy in the treatment of acne. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 16(5), 462-467.

Also Read:

Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:August 16, 2023

Recent Posts

Related Posts