Acne occurs when one of the skin’s natural oils – sebum – is unable to leave the skin because the hair follicle is blocked. This may result in a blackhead, or a whitehead, and can lead to the growth of bacteria below the surface of the skin. Inflammation can occur, and the rupture of an inflamed area can lead to scarring.

Our IPL treatment of inflammatory severe acne vulgaris works by directing well-controlled pulses of light into the upper skin layer. The light is absorbed by the body’s own natural chemical – haemoglobin – in the blood vessels that feed the sebaceous glands. Our IPL treatment works by reducing the blood supply to the sebaceous gland, which slows down the production of the body oil sebum.

The haemoglobin converts the light energy into heat, which damages the walls of the vessels supplying blood to the glands. This technique has the name “Selective Photothermolysis”. The visible light is carefully controlled to produce the correct pulse length and the right amount of energy to reduce the acne without damaging the surrounding tissue.