Using a 405nm laser to treat acne?

does this get rid of black heads too? lol i use these- http://www.amazon.com/Biore-Perfect-Cleansing-Strips-strips/dp/B0009EILKS for blackheads but using a laser sounds more fun

Lmao i just tried it now and they do glow faintly pink. xD Oh what boredom pushes you to do.
arcaneinsomniac: It doesn't hurt if you move it fast, it seems it burns a very thin layer without reaching the nerves, or perhaps vaporizes the superficial oils of the skin.

I think i'll keep my hat on for now !!! :tinfoil:

SerpantSlayer said:

does this get rid of black heads too? lol i use these- Amazon.com: Biore Pore Perfect Deep Cleansing Pore Strips , 14 nose strips: Beauty for blackheads but using a laser sounds more fun

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I have these too, but I find that they only ever get up to about 1/3 of them on my nose, and never quite pull the entire one out... (sorry for all the gross details guys, but i dont have people to discuss these topics with IRL) so I rarely bother with it.

I'm thinking about making an attachable "shroud" of sorts to mount on my 405 unit, so I can just push it up against an area and then switch it on. It would be much easier to prevent eye damage this way. Though to really do it right I'd want a host with a side momentary switch (rather than tailcap reverse clicky).

UV light only takes a few seconds to kill bacteria, if you look at how water/UV systems work they have a UV generating bulb surrounded by flowing water, if it can kill the bacteria while the water is flowing past I think you should have no problem by leaving it in one area for only a couple seconds.

I would suggest a different UV source something uncollimated, again this seems like a very good candidate> http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultraf...d-flashlight-with-clip-1-18650-2-cr123a-15456

SerpantSlayer said:

does this get rid of black heads too? lol i use these- http://www.amazon.com/Biore-Perfect-Cleansing-Strips-strips/dp/B0009EILKS for blackheads but using a laser sounds more fun

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It seems you need a way to make black-heads roll...

Email me and we can talk about a prescription...I'd rather call something in for you that works and is safe than see you burn your face or eyes off....if you haven't tried some antibiotic gels yet that would be a good start...I know it's cool to try to DiY acne with your laser but I really think the risks are too high considering all the safe alternatives out there that really work.

Bad idea.

Jmillerdoc said:

Email me and we can talk about a prescription...I'd rather call something in for you that works and is safe than see you burn your face or eyes off....if you haven't tried some antibiotic gels yet that would be a good start...I know it's cool to try to DiY acne with your laser but I really think the risks are too high considering all the safe alternatives out there that really work.

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Nobody is burning their face or eyes off. It's light, not a blowtorch.

The idea that antibiotics and drugs are safe has led to massive repercussions. The "oh, here's a pill for that," attitude has fostered countless resistant strains that continue to evolve. We're to the point of chemotherapy to clear up some of the more vicious infections.

I'm just saying that the idea that antibiotics are "safe" is problematic. Even something like a gel that doesn't affect every cell of your body can still knock out colonies of good bacteria that are holding yeast and fungal infections in check. I suppose a laser could too, but the precision with which they can be applied limits the effect. If a laser is a rifle, antibiotics are atom bombs.

Go for it then!

Laser and LED acne treatment is already out there, and available for purchase. (quick google search has alot to offer) Plus I saw an ad on TV last night for the new laser acne-skin revitalizer. 405-420nm seems to be the best for acne, while 600's for skin care.

zap

Have also seen the new laser hair removal ones for purchase to the general public. I would bet that is where some of these new diodes are and/or will be harvested from.

But there are some specific power requirements and such as to not harm your skin. Some more research will give you all the info on that you need. But it will for sure work if you get it right.

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Refer to my signature below, it surely applies, LOL.

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Jmillerdoc said:

Email me and we can talk about a prescription...I'd rather call something in for you that works and is safe than see you burn your face or eyes off....if you haven't tried some antibiotic gels yet that would be a good start...I know it's cool to try to DiY acne with your laser but I really think the risks are too high considering all the safe alternatives out there that really work.

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Lol you are being all nice and they diss you off :tsk:

proud2deviate said:

..... If a laser is a rifle, antibiotics are atom bombs.

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I wouldn't want either of those going off in my face

So it's been several months since I've applied this homegrown treatment and I have to say that overall my acne situation has *significantly* improved.

I only did it for about 2 weeks on a not very regular basis of just passing an unfocused 405 beam over the skin quickly. I stopped because it was just too frickin dangerous. The problem is you can't close your eyes cuz you have to see where youre pointing the thing. I guess it's possible to just feel where its being aimed by feeling the heat generated. The problem is the skin is much less precise in its ability to locate where heat is being felt compared to touch for instance. Really, using a laser to do this just isn't a good idea at all.

At first it didn't really improve things much. But in the months since then there has been a consistent absence of new breakouts. The skin on my face basically just looks normal now and there is some scarring from acne from before, but it might as well be freckles. The key is there's no more red inflamed acne. I bet in a year the scarring will be mostly gone.

I have not been bothering to use any of the regular benzoyl peroxide treatment either (which attacks the bacteria by oxygenation).

Of course there could be many other factors which contributed to this result but I suspect the 405nm light did make a difference.

Now I must reiterate for those of you out there who are in the situation I was in who are contemplating doing something like this: Don't risk damaging your eyesight. Ask your doctor, try it with a near-UV flashlight, don't point lasers at your face like I did. I did it in the name of science, I came out fine but I never should have done it in the first place.

I don't know about treating acne but I used my ~100mW 405 on a toenail fungus infection on my left great toe with teriffic success. I had read about how toxic some of the prescription treatments are so I thought I'd try some very intense near UV light on the fungus. I played the unfocused laser output on the infected area of the toenail once a day for a week then I waited for the nail to grow out and sunuvagun if the nail didn't grow out normally without the discoloration and 'knobbyness' the fungus was causing. Ah, the miracles of coherent light

That's amazing. Did you even read anything to indicate that that wavelength of light is known to affect the organism that was causing the infection?

That's so cool, I have to tell my dad about this now because it might cure some of his problems. I don't see what can go wrong shining an uncollimated beam at your foot.

Basically what I did is I did a bit of research online because I had read about light therapy for acne, and it turns out the common bacterial culprit is vulnerable to overheating by light of just the same range of wavelengths as my 405 laser.

This is probably the most profound way technology has been able to improve my life so far (since I haven't gone for laser eye surgery yet) and it's just so amazing to see real results. Just like the computer tech we have these days, it is almost completely magical to the uninformed. I swear the future is already upon us.