No, not the kind where you go under anesthesia, say good bye to everyone and hope to wake up hours later. We're talking about surgical-type options for acne, the kind that are done in-office, are relatively painless and that don't require you to go to sleep at all.



In fact, most of the surgical treatments for acne aren't really surgery at all. They are often the same kinds of treatments that women get at a dermatologist's office to improve the look of their skin. So while you might be a little concerned about this kind of treatment, you shouldn't be. They are common.

What kinds of things can you have done that take a surgical approach to acne? Let's look at a few.

Chemical peels

Chemical peels are just strong chemicals that are put on your skin and when removed, give your skin a smooth look and even color. If your acne isn't really bad, the basic peel will work to smooth your skin (make it look better and hopefully put off how long it takes for acne to return). If your acne is more serious, the chemical peel will go deeper. Most chemical peels don't require a recovery period, but the deeper peels can take up to two weeks to fully heal.

Microdermabrasion

This is a popular procedure for many people, not just those with acne, but it is really effective for those with acne. In this procedure, the doctor uses a vacuum tube to (gently) get the top layer of the skin off, which helps to stimulate new (hopefully healthy) cell growth. If you have mild acne scarring, microdermabasion is a good option because it's designed for light to moderate scarring.

If your scarring is more serious, you can still get microdermabrasion, but the doctor will actually cut out the scar tissue with a small needle. Then he'll stitch up the hole. Then he treats the area so the acne won't return.

Usually microdermabrasion is done over the period of several visits to a doctor, rather than during just one visit.

Laser skin resurfacing

This is a popular treatment for people with older skin, but it's been found to be really effective for acne, too. In this procedure, a laser (almost like the ones that are used as laser pointers) literally vaporizes the top layer of your skin, which lets the new skin grow. Sometimes the trick to getting rid of acne is getting rid of the dead, damaged top layer of skin. That's what the lasers can do.

See? They might be called surgical options, but there's nothing truly surgical about them, other than their success rate. If you're serious about getting rid of acne, these types of treatments are worth looking into.