Blue/Red light therapy for acne.

Charliezoo

Has anyone tried blue/red light for acne?

I've tried so many different treatments with no significant improvement.

I've seen one particular make of lamp that seems to have very positive reviews - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beauty-Skin-Acne-Treatment-Light/dp/B000ZH9G44

Its expensive but they're on ebay for about £50 which is still risky for me as I'm skint at the moment:(

I'd love to hear any experiences of this type of acne treatment.

PinkPeach

Hi, I have one of these lamps that I'm actually going to sell on Ebay as I've found it made no difference to me. I think this may be because I suffer from PCOS and therefore my acne isn't really 'normal' but more to do with too many hormones jiggling around.

My lamp came from Ebay and before I purchased it I contacted as many sellers as possible to ask their honest opinions of the lamp. I felt that I did get a true response as several said that the lamp didn't work for them as they had cystic (think thats how you spell it) acne, which won't respond to light treatment and others had the same problem as me, hence the sales. I bought a lamp anyway but must admit I found it difficult to make time everyday to sit in front of it for 15 minutes - probably because I found this very boring as you have to sit very close to the lamp so can't watch tv/read a book whilst using it. (However, the timer does allow you to just do a few mins at a time throughout the day if you want).

The results can take approx 4 months so to be fair I probably didnt' give it a good enough go to start with. I've now decided started getting facials every 2 weeks in the hope of helping my skin but I'm not really seeing an improvement from that either, so think it may be just my rubbish skin . This option however is going to cost me far more than the lamp!

If you do decide to buy a lamp I think you'd still make your money back on it if you wanted to sell it again as there aren't always many on Ebay from non-business sellers. The business ones tend to have higher prices I found. For a rough guide, I paid £70 for mine and that was inc £12 postage.

I hope if you do get one you get on with it ok, I think the key is to persevere with it and make sure you are doing a good skincare routine as well...I wasn't, so thinking about it all of these factors combined probably set me up for a fall anyway!

KittyPryde

I too had cystic acne for a very long time. I think I have PCOS as I have the symptoms but haven't asked the dr's about a diagnosis.

I have tried a million thing over the years and the only thing that has ever helped is the pill I am on now (Dianette). The reason nothing else has ever helped is cuz my acne was hormonal so trying to treat it from the outside never helped. Been on Dianette since feb and things have greatly improved !!!!!!!! It's a contraceptive pill so no good if you are male but there will be alternative medication if you are male. My bf's bad teenage acne was treated with roaccutane and it dissappeared and has been fine since. Just read up about medications as some can have side effects.

I never tried blue/red light treatment but I did have one of those expensive acne zapping hand held machines (similar to the ZENO) but it didn't really help and it hurt a lot lol!

I think speaking to your DR will be the best thing,

good luck.

Charliezoo

I've been on long courses of antibiotics and a topical gel called Isotrex neither of them really made any difference.

I've been on the Yasmin pill now for 2 months and my skin cleared up after the first week which I was over the moon about but then went back to normal during the 7 day break and has been bad ever since I know I probably need to give it a bit more time but I have 9 months before my wedding and I'm starting to panic! I had bad skin as a teenager which was cured by a year of Dianette and then had 10 blissful years of near perfect skin but then at the age of 25 it just broke out and hasn't gone back to normal...so weird!

The reason why I ask about the blue/red light is that I do find my skin improves when I go on a sunbed but want to try not to use these for obvious reasons.

Hopefully I'll find a solution one day...

P1R4T3

I've tried a lot of things in my time, my acne only started when I was about 16 and I had hoped it would have stopped by 18.. no such luck. I was recommended contraceptive pills by the Doc, but this never worked.
I've found the best treatment I've ever used is PanOxyl which they sell over the counter at Boots pharmacies, you start on the lowest level 2.5 and if acne seems to clear slightly you can work your way up to a 5, then even a 10 if it is still persistent! Results are fairly quick too and it only costs about 3-4 quid.

ALSO it comes in 3 different creams, Aqua gel (water based), Acne gel (alcohol based?) and a cream based one which I use as I think it works best if you're wearing make-up.

Best of luck!

KittyPryde

I'm exactly the same as you, went on dianette for a year as a teenager which was wonderful then it came back a few years after stopping taking it. I tried to fix it for ages by other means and nothing worked so I went back for Dianette. A male dr wasn't really interested and put me on the normal microgynon pill and it made things worse. So i went back to speak to a female dr who was understanding and let me have dianette again. Can you not ask to be put back on Dianette for the next year then (or six months) as you know it's worked for you before? I'm a bridesmaid in october which is why I went back on dianette too.


I know dianette isn't licensed as a contraceptive so you have to pay for it but you get a 6month supply for the prescription charge so it's not bad.

Dianette took around 3 months to work for me both times i've had it. x

Charliezoo

KittyPryde wrote: »

I'm exactly the same as you, went on dianette for a year as a teenager which was wonderful then it came back a few years after stopping taking it. I tried to fix it for ages by other means and nothing worked so I went back for Dianette. A male dr wasn't really interested and put me on the normal microgynon pill and it made things worse. So i went back to speak to a female dr who was understanding and let me have dianette again. Can you not ask to be put back on Dianette for the next year then (or six months) as you know it's worked for you before? I'm a bridesmaid in october which is why I went back on dianette too.


I know dianette isn't licensed as a contraceptive so you have to pay for it but you get a 6month supply for the prescription charge so it's not bad.

Dianette took around 3 months to work for me both times i've had it. x

Thanks for that, I'm thinking about giving Yasmin another couple of months (I have read some good things about it) but if I don't get results I'll see if the GP will allow me to go on Dianette, even if just for the run up to my wedding so I'm not a blotchy bride:o

PinkPeach

We sound exactly the same Charliezoo. I developed acne suddenly at 25 and am also getting married very soon hence suddenly being in a mad panic about my skin. I don't want to be a spotty bride!

If it's any help I've just been to the doctor for some antibiotics to try and clear it up a bit by September, when I'm getting married. They've given me a tablet called Erythromycin so I'm hoping that works.

On a slightly different subject, I've found that mineral make up works really well at covering my acne, especially the red scarring that I have all over my cheeks. I'm doing my own make up on my wedding day and will be using Elemental Beauty products, so if you are in the same situation that may be worth having a look at.

Hope you manage to solve your skin problem and have a fantastic wedding day :T

xxvickixx

I was on dianette as contraception and for my acne and I didn't have to pay for it, as long as my doctor put the secret symbol (the female symbol in my case!) on the prescription. as far as I know if it's prescribed as contraception it' free but if it's solely for an acne treatment then you do have to pay [prescription charge. It worked wonders for my acne but I can't take it now so I have been referred to a dermatoligist in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping for some fabby new treatment that will make my skin lovely!