Blue Light Therapy Is Effective And Safe

Acne is the most common skin affliction known to man. All over the world, various cultures have found their own ways of acne treatment and in many cases, these have worked for some of the acne sufferers treated while disappointing quite a few. No single treatment, save for strong medical creams and pills have been able to control acne effectively and over a long-term so far; and these treatments are often expensive and come with a bundle of side-effects which force the patients to seek the help of dermatologists for additional reasons as well. Even then, these treatments are still not effective for some people, and many acne sufferers are forced to try several alternatives before finding one that actually helps.
Overview
Blue light treatment is a relatively new procedural treatment - approved by the US-FDA - for the treatment of acne conditions of any severity. The best thing about this treatment is the fact that it requires no medical prescription or pills and no topically applied cream or other substance (save for the occasional use of harmless photosensitizing solutions). It involves treatment sessions of a few minutes each for a few days a week - where the effected skin (face, back etc) is exposed to a blue light source emitting blue light of 405-425nm wavelength - using large intense blue light sources at clinics or even smaller hand-held blue light sources for self-treatment at home.
Blue-light attacks the bacteria that cause acne as it is absorbed into elements of the skin connected to the bacteria. The light is easily absorbed by the bacteria and is therefore destroyed. Clinical trials have shown that treatment can easily clear up 90% of the bacteria and when continued over a course of time, can completely remove it as well.
Treatment and Effectiveness
The effectiveness of blue light (or photodynamic) treatment may vary from patient to patient - the intensity of the acne may require a customized schedule (frequency of the treatment, intensity of the light used and the time period for each treatment) for the patient, however, typical treatment is conducted; a patient is typically exposed to a the blue light for periods of between 15 to 20 minutes a few times a week (usually 2 to 3 times) for a treatment period of up to six weeks (and sometimes even up to three months). The treatment is painless and leaves no lasting damage to the skin or eyes (although safety precautions are necessary to protect the eyes in this case, as the brightness of any type of light can do damage to the vision). Blue light contains no elements of UV light, which are harmful for the skin and is therefore not known to have caused any lasting damage to skin cells.
Previously conducted clinical trials by the American and British Academies of Dermatology have demonstrated the effectiveness of this type of therapy in about 80% of the cases tested.
References:
MED SCAPE: www[dot]medscape[dot]com/viewarticle/572288_4

Wikipedia

www[dot]skincarephysicians[dot]com/acnenet/article_lasers.html