Can Celluma help to control the red-faced acne-like condition of roseacea? There are signs in the research literature that it can.
Roseacea isn’t life-threatening, but it is a serious condition. It makes people feel embarrassed and self-conscious, undermining their confidence in social situations and often leading to withdrawal and depression. I wish I could tell you what causes it, but nobody knows. And since nobody knows what causes it, nobody knows how to cure it. The best you can hope for is to figure out what your triggers are, take care of your skin, and try to control its symptoms.
Medication or Photobiomodulation?
A number of medications have been recently approved by the FDA for use against it, including oxymetazoline hydrochloride cream, which was approved in 2017. The Mayo Clinic also suggests a gel containing the drug brimonidine. It constricts blood vessels to temporarily reduce the redness. You’ll need to apply it every day. Beyond the topicals, doxycycline pills seem to help control inflammation. And for severe cases, doctors may prescribe isotretinoin, a powerful drug generally used for acne.
Any treatment, however, has to be tailored to the individual patient because roseacea varies so significantly from one patient to the next.
Mainstream medicine, as usual, is focused on medications. But you can find some information about photobiomodulation (PBM) around the edges of the roseacea discussion. PBM is known to reduce inflammation, and roseacea is a particular form of inflammation. At Peak Recovery & Health Center, we offer full-body PBM, but we also offer Celluma, which is a targeted PBM technique.
How PBM Helps
PBM’s ability to improve skin has been recognized for at least six years. A comprehensive review of photobiomodulation published in Seminars in Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery describes how light in specific wavelengths can cause skin to rejuvenate. The article cites a number of studies that showed when skin cells absorb photons in those wavelengths, there are two major effects: 1) it stimulates production of a chemical known as ATP, which is the source of a cell’s energy, and 2) it increases cell membrane permeability, which increases intercellular interaction.
A study of 136 volunteers published in 2014 — not specifically about roseacea — found that PBM “significantly improved skin complexion and skin feeling, profilometrically assessed skin roughness, and ultrasonographically measured collagen density.” These improvements were confirmed by clinical examination of anonymized photographs of the participants. Those findings alone suggest Celluma works for roseacea.
Test Celluma for Roseacea Yourself
Despite its potential, PBM is still not the major topic in roseacea research. But you can find some dermatologists who are studying it. Fortunately, you don’t need to see a dermatologist to get access to a laser facial. At Peak Recovery & Health Center, we offer Celluma. Celluma is FDA-cleared, and dozens of clinical studies and thousands of applications have shown it is non-toxic, non-invasive, safe, and painless. It requires no recovery time and can be used on all skin types. That makes it safe to test as a part of your management of your own roseacea.
Book a 30-minute Celluma session at Peak and see for yourself if it helps.
