Years ago, my brother went on Accutane for moderate acne. It was considered the best treatment at the time! And it was brutal. Accutane has such harsh side effects, and for the months he was on it, he struggled a lot. Skin so dry it was painful, sun sensitivity, and more.
When I also struggled with acne a few years later, my mom decided against Accutane for me. After seeing what my brother had gone through, she decided not to do it to me. So I made my way through my teen years treating my acne as best I could with Proactiv and Clearasil. (Why I am always talking about Proactiv on this blog, lol.) They weren’t great solutions, but I didn’t experience the same side effects that my brother did.
Anyway, all this is to say that I’m so excited to see new acne treatments come out with fewer side effects! This post is about the neoclear acne laser treatment, a very new acne treatment that promises a significant improvement in acne in a single treatment.
My acne resolved in my twenties. But I have kids who are approaching their tween years! It’s so exciting to see that there’s a powerful acne treatment without prescription medications side effects. I don’t want to put them through what my brother went through!
This post will quickly summarize the neoclear treatments, then collect reviews of the treatment. I plan to update this post every few months as people post reviews!
I want to emphasize that this post is NOT sponsored and there’s no affiliate relationship. I am not being paid by Neoclear or any medspa office. I’m just really interested in this treatment.
What is the Neoclear laser?
The Neoclear laser by Aerolase is a laser treatment that is specifically targeted at mild or moderate acne. They take patients of all ages and treat acne on three levels: the laser
- kills the p acnes bacteria that causes the acne,
- reduces the inflammation from the current breakout,
- and reduces sebum production, lowering the oil output for future breakouts.
What I love about this approach is that it’s not like getting a cortisone shot when you have a pimple. Because the Neoclear acne treatment is zapping the acne-causing bacteria and reducing oil production, that’s going to reduce acne going forward in the long term! You can clear current acne breakouts and get long-lasting results at the same time.
If you like the technical stuff: according to their published research, it’s a nd:YAG laser. It’s the same type of laser used for anti-aging, sun damage, and tattoo removal. However, for acne they’re using it at a different frequency, and the Neoclear device specifically bills itself as firing for a shorter amount of time, measured in microseconds.
Are lasers safe for tweens and teens?
So, if I had any acne whatsoever I would have been in this chair already, because I think this process is SO interesting. But currently, I don’t. And my kids are not experiencing acne yet, though they probably will because both my husband and I did.
I think many parents will feel reluctant to give their kids a laser treatment for acne, and I understand that. I might feel the same way if I didn’t see my brother go through Accutane — that was eight months of really struggling, vs. 10-30 minutes with a laser.
I’ve had a nd:YAG treatment with the Cutera laser to address some sun damage and broken capillaries. I found it to be a tolerable pulse of not-quite-pain. They compare it to getting a rubber band snapped gently on your skin. It hurt the most on my forehead and the least on my cheeks. Based on my experience, I can imagine setting my kid an appointment if she was struggling with moderate acne.
Every parent will make their own decision, but to me, long-term oral medications like Accutane or antibiotics seem much more risky to my child than the laser therapy does. I would not select this treatment if the acne could be managed with skincare, and I would have my child try Differin or Tretinoin before trying the laser. But to me, this is less harsh and more humane than Accutane!
What does the research say? And Neoclear before and after.
Okay, before we get into their research, I gotta note that Aerolase paid for the research!! That doesn’t mean it’s fake or that they lied, but it does mean that the study had a focus and the focus was making the treatment look good.
With that said, scroll through this article and look at the before and after photos.
I’m reprinting the one above under Creative Commons to show a moderate case, but there are many photos in the article that show more severe cases and milder cases. But I think this young lady looks like a typical kid who might get referred for Accutane, and her improvement is so significant!
There’s not a lot out there yet on this new treatment (as of my writing this post for the first time in 2024–I am going to keep updating!). But there are some reviews online!
Neoclear laser acne treatment reviews
user emilyspys:
“I was fortunate to receive 7 weeks of life changing sessions with the Neo Clear laser. I am a 28yo/F with troublesome, cystic acne since puberty. Even with the most regimented treatments, prescriptions, silk pillowcases, you name it, etc, NOTHING cleared my skin like this laser did. I even turned my sister on to it and I plan on awakening as many people as possible to this treatment. THANK YOU, AEROLASE”
Hi! I’m a 26 year old female and I believe the first Aerolase treatment I got was last year (age 25) at my dermatologist. To be fair, I currently do and always have had a pretty clear complexion, but my rosacea seems to progressively get worse as the years go by (broken capillaries), hence why I opted to try Aerolase (shown to help broken capillaries collapse and therefore disappear). I’ve completed two treatments and I do think it makes a difference!
I’m terrible at keeping up with them (every 3-4 months) so I think the results would be even more potent, but even still, my rosacea flare ups are not as obvious and they subside more quickly. Also, I’ve noticed my skin looks more youthful and bright! So beautiful.
Doesn’t hurt much. Just hot and red for a few days. If it’s uncomfortable for you, tell your dermo to slow down or not use as high of a laser setting. Take before and after pics! Expensive but I think it’s worth it.
Post updates
I’m going to continue updating this post every few months, because I think it’s so important to raise awareness about alternatives to Accutane! I’m hoping to find more reviews going forward about the number of treatments people need. I’d also like to see accounts from people with severe acne or younger patients. So I’ll be back soon with more info!
