What is photodynamic therapy and how does it work?
Photodynamic therapy refers to the use of a medication called Levulan (20% aminolevulinic acid) which is applied as a clear liquid to the face. It is allowed to incubate for a given period of time and then it is “photoactivated” using specific wave lengths of light. The photoactivate Levulan then kills off rapidly-growing cells such as actinic keratoses (precancers) on the skin. It also acts to kill bacteria and reduces the size of oil glands and, therefore, has proven to be very effective in the treatment of acne as well. We activate the Levulan using a special Blue light but Levulan can also be activated using Intense Pulsed Light to provide an additional benefit in terms of reducing brown age spots and capillaries.
