Blue Light therapy for Acne: How It Works

Blue light therapy for acne was first developed as a treatment for cancer, but recently was approved by the Food and Drug Administration as an effective treatment for the kind of acne caused by the P. acnes bacteria, commonly referred to as acne vulgaris or common acne.

Other forms of acne (and there are many conditions that can cause pimples to form on the skin) may or may not be effectively treated with acne light therapy, so it is important to talk with a dermatologist about which kind of acne you have before trying blue light therapy for acne.

The blue light therapy procedure has to take place over 4 to 8 sessions, and these sessions can be expensive. If you don’t have common acne, you might want to discuss other options first, or at least have your dermatologist give you the OK to try blue light acne therapy. Each case will be different, but generally it is common acne that responds best.

Common acne, or acne vulgaris, is actually an infection of the oil-producing sebaceous glands in the skin by the bacteria P. acnes. The P. acnes bacterium thrives in oil, so when it is present on the skin and gets into the sebaceous glands, it grows rapidly, causing pockets of inflammation and infection known as pimples.

Many factors can contribute to acne. The P. acnes bacterium is only one factor. Others include heredity, stress, poor diet, make-up and allergies, and the use of harsh facial cleansers that actually aggravate the condition instead of helping it.

Blue light therapy for acne works by killing the P. acnes bacteria on the skin and in the sebaceous glands so it can’t multiply and cause pimples.

Blue light acne treatments are given once a week for 4 to 8 weeks, depending on how fast healing of the skin progresses. Often blue light therapy for acne will be combined with the application of a topical cream that helps maximize the effect of the laser light.

Blue light therapy for acne is gentle and produces few side effects. Most people experience little or no redness or swelling and can return to normal activities immediately. Surrounding tissues are not affected by regular blue light therapy for acne, and some mild cases of acne can even be successfully reversed using this type of treatment.

On the down side, blue light therapy for acne is very new, and it can be expensive; as much as $75 to $120 per session. It may not help all kinds of acne, and it may not help immediately. Results are usually visible over the course of several months.

Finally, blue light therapy for acne may have to be repeated to remain effective. Even so, for people suffering with stubborn common acne that seems impervious to other kinds of treatment, blue light therapy for acne can sometimes be a real miracle.

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