If you have any visible form of acne that has not responded to standard acne treatment you may be a candidate for Levulan.

Levulanic acid is found naturally in the body and is applied to the skin followed by a blue light laser treatment. Usually, an incubation period is required before the Levulan can be absorbed into a potent photosensitizer, protophorphyrin IX. It requires two hours or more before ALA (aminolevulanic acid) is absorbed onto the sebaceous cyst, which leads to shrinkage of the sebaceous glands. This shrinking causes acne to improve. If not enough incubation time is given optimal treatment may be limited. Often two to three treatments are required for severe or difficult acne.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What can I expect after the treatment?
You will have a feeling similar to being sunburned and the intensity will increase for the next few hours. Remember that heat is your friend and this heat causes a remodeling of the skin. You can manage the sunburn with a combination of ice and numbing cream that lasts 5 hours. You will be extremely red and moderately swollen for 3 to 7 days. Any sun exposure during this time can lead to severe burning and blistering and is to be avoided. After 48 to 72 hours the top layer of skin will begin to scale, flake and peel. The best approach is to settle in with a lot of good movies and a glass of wine or ice cream and realize that within the next five days your skin will show a transformation.

Because eye protection is needed during the procedure, the area around your eyes will be the natural color of your skin, which is magnified by the redness on the rest of your face. Often, numerous “whiteheads” begin to surface all over the treated surface. By day 4, things begin to clear up and by the 5th or 6th day you will be fine to go out in public with sunscreen.

Your skin will be smooth and fresh looking. There are virtually no blackheads and the scarring is greatly improved.