Acne is a distressing skin condition that commonly affects younger people and teens. If your skin has clusters of red, painful pimples typical of acne, visit John Scaffidi, MD, FABOM, FACOG at Lehigh Valley Weight Loss in Allentown and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He offers cutting-edge acne treatments, including photorejuvenation using intense pulsed light (IPL) energy and fractional laser skin resurfacing. For advanced acne treatments, call Lehigh Valley Weight Loss today or request an appointment online.
A common skin problem, acne affects many teens but can also persist into adulthood. When you have acne, painful red pimples come up on your skin, often in clusters. Because acne tends to be worse on your face, it can severely affect your self-esteem.
Acne develops when you get infections in your skin’s hair follicles. These follicles are minute pouches that produce an oily liquid (sebum) to lubricate your skin. They also contain your hair roots.
If your follicles produce too much sebum, the hair can clump together with dead skin cells. Bacteria trapped inside the follicle multiply, creating an infection, which causes swelling, redness, and a rash of pimples on your skin.
It’s not clear why some people get acne while others don’t. However, you’re more likely to get acne if you have fluctuating hormone levels, which is why puberty and menstruation tend to trigger outbreaks. Emotional stress and certain medications can also increase your risk of getting acne.
Your Lehigh Valley Weight Loss provider might prescribe antibiotics to destroy the bacteria responsible for your acne. Medications such as isotretinoin can help ease inflammation and reduce sebum production.
The right skin care routine helps, too, by keeping your pores clear of excess sebum and dead skin cells. Your provider can advise you on suitable products for your skin type. They also offer several cutting-edge, noninvasive treatments that help reduce acne.
One of the most effective acne therapies is photorejuvenation, which uses intense pulsed light (IPL) energy. The advanced Stellar M22™ IPL system at Lehigh Valley Weight Loss eradicates bacteria from your skin and pores and decreases inflammation. That reduces redness and prevents frequent acne break-outs.
Photorejuvenation also speeds up the healing of existing pimples and promotes healthy new skin growth. Treatment takes 30 minutes, with a typical schedule being three to four sessions between two and six weeks apart.
Even better results are achievable by combining photorejuvenation with Stellar’s ResurFX™ fractional laser skin resurfacing for a photofractional treatment. ResurFX penetrates the deeper layers of skin, stimulating collagen growth without causing damage to the skin’s surface. ResurFX is ideal for reducing the appearance of scars left by acne.
You can also take advantage of iViVa Radiance IV vitamin therapy that fights acne and makes your skin smoother.
To find the most effective acne treatment, call Lehigh Valley Weight Loss today or book an appointment online.