If you have tried all convenient means of getting rid of acne scars such as acne scar creams or collagen injections, then you might want to consider acne scar laser treatment. However, acne scar laser treatment is quite costly and since it is categorized under cosmetic or optional surgery, it is not covered by health insurance companies. It is therefore important that you first think over your particular situation and get a good idea of what acne scar laser treatment involves.

Laser Resurfacing

One type of acne scar laser treatment is laser resurfacing, which can either be performed in a dermatologist’s office or in a cosmetic surgery. A good analogy to explain how laser resurfacing works would be leveling your skin surface by rubbing sandpaper over it so that all of the rough surfaces will be smoothed out. In the actual procedure, an intense ray of laser light is focused on the affected area to burn damaged tissue and at the same time promote the growth of healthy ones.

A person who undergoes this kind of acne scar laser treatment should have anesthetic since this is rather painful without. While successful operations can eliminate acne scar damage up to 80%, a lot of people have also frowned at laser resurfacing since it sometimes removes a lot less. But while this particular acne scar laser treatment cannot guarantee complete removal of acne scars, it can definitely make acne scars less prominent. The relatively short healing time required after laser resurfacing, usually less than two weeks for facial surgery, is seen to be its major advantage.

Fractional Therapy

Laser fractional therapy is a newer, more expensive kind of acne scar laser treatment that is touted to have much less healing time than that of laser resurfacing. Unlike laser resurfacing, laser fractional therapy only requires one session, although one still needs to get a good deal of anesthesia before the procedure.

This type of acne scar laser treatment tries to smooth out underlying skin layers while leaving the skin surface by itself. Some brand names of machines that perform laser fractional therapy are known to many people. In fact, brand names like TotalFX or Fraxel are advertised on the Internet and television more than the acne scar laser treatment procedure itself.

You need to keep in mind that before finally deciding to get an acne scar laser treatment, it is important to seek the advice of a dermatologist who can tell you the best course of action and may even refer you to an excellent laser surgeon. A dermatologist will also give you guidelines regarding post-operation care, a period that usually lasts a couple of weeks after the acne scar laser treatment and requires a good deal of painkillers.