Acne medications work for many people. Topical creams, oral antibiotics, retinoids—these drugs have been in the market for decades, and they have literature backing their effectiveness. Yet more and more people are turning to laser treatment instead—even when medications are at their disposal. It’s not that laser treatment is better but that it’s a better solution in certain situations, and it’s a better solution that matters to certain populations.
Thus, exploring why people make that choice highlights what’s lacking about medications and what laser treatment attempts to address differently. For some, it’s side effects. For others, it’s an ease of lifestyle acceptance. And for many, it’s the nature of their acne and how it responds to differing solutions.
The Medication Fatigue Factor
Medications become exhausting after a while. Taking pills at a certain time during the day, with or without food requirements. Applying topical treatments morning and night, timing expectations between sunscreen or moisturizer applications and makeup.
Adherence becomes a challenge for people. The National Institute of Health Research shows that while many people on acne medications do not take them, it’s not due to their apathy but instead due to their inability to keep up with the admittedly tedious routine. A few days skipped, and all progress potentially goes down the drain.
Laser treatment offers something different in that no action is required between visits. No medication, per se—at least no active role on the patient’s end. Patients come in for laser treatment every few weeks, take the prescribed steps of keeping the face clean without makeup immediately after—and then they’re good to go until the next appointment.
For people who cannot adhere to rigid expectations day in and day out for years on end, laser treatment fits the bill.
Side Effects That Make It Difficult to Maintain Normal Life
All medications come with side effects. For acne treatments, side effects are easier to deal with than dangerous effects. Oral antibiotics can cause nausea, sun sensitivity, gut health issues; isotretinoin (Accutane) is a miracle drug but comes with extreme chapped lips, depression in some cases, and pregnancy prevention expectations.
Topical treatments add their complications too—benzoyl peroxide bleaches sheets but provides less skin sensitivity; retinoids peel skin and make it aggressive to sun exposure but don’t stain clothes.
These side effects are not end-of-the-world choices, but they complicate quality of life and confidence—a paradox when one is getting treatment for acne that can otherwise present poor confidence from an appearance perspective.
For people looking for something aside from traditional medications, AviClear Laser Acne Treatment is effective without the side effects of oral medications or topical issues.
When Other Medications Didn’t Work
Many people who try laser treatment do so because they’ve already received a litany of prescriptions in the past. Their acne responds a bit here, a bit there; it gets worse again only to respond at other alternatives. Or they receive a prescription for an entirely different issue that accidentally resolves their acne for a bit until things compromise once again.
Acne that doesn’t respond well to antibiotics or topical treatments responds well sometimes to laser treatment because it operates differently. Rather than killing bacteria on the surface or working systemically on oil production prevention, laser treatment targets the glands beneath and functions differently.
Therefore, those who seek out laser treatments often have no choice—they first try all conventional options. They’re not simply dismissing familiar and proven options without reason; rather they’re looking for alternatives after experiencing the limitations of standard options.
Lifestyle Considerations
People whose jobs make it challenging to take medications do better with occasional appointments for laser treatments instead. Those who travel frequently find it hard to maintain daily dosages; athletes concerned about gut health also look for alternatives outside of traditional medications.
The episodic approach aligns better with people’s lifestyles who find laser treatment easier as they come for laser treatment every few weeks rather than having consistent daily medication routines. It’s easier to schedule a handful of appointments over several months than consistent twice-a-day application over several months.
The Timeframe of Treatment is Different
Traditional acne medications work as long as you take them. Stop taking them—they don’t work anymore; stop applying topical retinoids—and watch the acne mount back up. There’s no endgame; you’re always in treatment mode.
Laser treatment works over time—that is the goal—and a regimen helps achieve that goal effectively within a few months’ time. Over several sessions, patients can expect results that require minimal upkeep unless they’ve developed adult hormonal acne or subsequent issues that may stem from drastic changes in the body.
The expectation is there that after several months and several sessions, results will be long-term; temporary results are more of a concern if no other sessions were applied in the beginning than if maintenance are ultimately needed down the road.
Thus, the psychological differentiation from traditional medications works because at least there’s a definitive start and finish—not an indefinite possibility forever.
The Cost Comparison Works Differently
Cost doesn’t matter immediately when one must pay out of pocket for initial medication costs or for treatments covered by insurance; laser treatment is far more expensive than many medications as an upfront cost—but over time?
Over time, that’s where cost considerations add up—years of prescriptions add up. Years of creams add up. Years of dermatologist visits add up.
Insurance complicates this because many insurance policies will cover medications but not laser treatments, and while that may seem like an extreme difference at first glance—a person who pays out of pocket anyway finds both options ultimately equal in price (if they have little insurance help).
When Hormonal Factors Complicate Treatment
Adult acne is often hormonal—and many of these won’t respond well to topical treatments or antibiotics or even hormonal medications (ie: birth control pills).
While birth control pills can be beneficial as hormonal treatments, many women don’t want to take them—or men can’t take them, either. Laser treatment operates on a system that’s non-hormonal-dependent to alleviate potential issues in acne created by hormonal imbalances—but if one were looking for non-hormonal options only, this works as well.
In Conclusion
Ultimately it’s not that one is better than another; it’s that laser treatment is superior if it fits the person’s situation better at the present moment—for who knows what reason? People’s reasons matter when determining how they feel about concurrent options versus clear-cut options.
Those who choose laser treatment often do so because they’ve experienced specific limitations in medications—side effects they cannot deal with, medications that don’t work well enough or at all, lifestyle factors that make it nearly impossible for daily use.
Choosing one method over another has nothing to do with judging the latter option in comparison but instead acknowledging it’s specific situational factors that warrant change from conventional options that still work well for many who choose them.
Therefore, understanding them helps explain why lasers work as a legitimate alternative and not just a last resort—because in some cases they help the very people who never consider such lasers even if traditional medications are doing fine elsewhere.
