Procedure

1726 nm Laser

A laser tuned to heat and shrink oil glands. It is the first laser class cleared to treat acne itself, and it works on all skin tones. Three sessions, and results arrive slowly.
Dr. Schwarz, MD · Board-certified dermatologistLast reviewed August 23, 2026
A gloved hand holding a laser handpiece against the cheek of a woman with acne as she lies on a treatment bed

Start here

This is the first laser that treats acne itself, not the marks acne leaves. Three sessions, no drug, no bloodwork, and it works on any skin tone.

What the marketing leaves out: it usually flares before it improves, most of the gain arrives three to six months after the last session, and the headline numbers come largely from studies funded by the device makers. I would try a topical retinoid plus an oral option first, because a course here costs more than a year of most acne medications and insurance never covers it.

— Dr. Schwarz, Board Certified Dermatologist

Key Facts

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Also calledAviClear, Accure, sebaceous gland laser, 1,726 nm laser
DowntimeNone to 1 day of redness and mild swelling
Sessions3, spaced 3 to 4 weeks apart
Typical costAbout $2,500 to $4,500 for the three-session course in the US; varies significantly by city and practice
Results timelineOften worse before better. Most improvement appears 3 to 6 months after the last session
PainDeep snapping heat, strong. Built-in cooling, optional numbing cream
Skin tone safetyCleared for all skin types including the deepest, because the wavelength targets oil rather than pigment

What It Is

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A laser emitting infrared light at a wavelength of 1,726 nanometers. Sebum — skin oil — absorbs that wavelength more than water does, so the energy heats oil glands while surrounding skin stays cool. Two devices are FDA-cleared in the US, AviClear and Accure, both cleared in 2022 for mild to severe inflammatory acne. It is the first laser cleared to treat acne itself, not its aftermath.

How It Works

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Acne starts in the sebaceous gland. The 1,726 nm beam passes through the surface, the oil inside the gland soaks up the energy, and the gland is damaged while a cooling plate protects the skin above. Damaged glands shrink and make less oil, so fewer pores clog and acne bacteria have less fuel. Accure adds a thermal camera that reads skin temperature thousands of times a second and adjusts each pulse. Because the target is oil rather than pigment, it works on deeper skin tones, unlike most acne lasers.

Skin is about two millimetres thick on the face. How deep a treatment reaches decides what it can change, and whether it treats all of the skin or scattered columns of it decides how long you take to heal.

How it works
Compare
Skin basics
EPIDERMISDERMISFAT0.05 mm — pigment0.5 mm — texture + pores1.0 mm — collagen1.5 mm — deep dermisPEELNEEDLINGNON-ABLATIVE LASERABLATIVE LASERREACHES THE MID DERMIS

This works around one to one and a half millimetres down, in the middle of the dermis where collagen is made. That is the depth that changes scarring and firmness, and it is also why the downtime is longer and the result takes months to appear.

A peel or a scrub takes the skin off evenly from the surface down. Everything above the line goes and nothing below it is touched, which is why peels suit surface pigment and rough texture, and why the whole face flakes for a few days after.

Needles make hundreds of separate channels and leave the skin between them untouched. That untouched skin is what heals the rest, so recovery is quick — but a needle only injures the skin to start repair. It removes nothing.

The light passes through the surface and heats a column underneath it. The surface stays whole, so you leave red rather than raw — and it takes a course of sessions rather than one.

The laser removes columns of skin outright: the white gaps here are tissue that is gone, and new skin grows in from the sides. The strongest of the four, and the longest to heal.

The outer layer, and the only one anything in a jar reaches. It renews itself constantly: a cell made at the bottom takes about a month to reach the surface and flake off. Most of what a skincare product does, it does here.

The living layer underneath, holding the blood vessels, the nerves and the collagen. It is where lasting change happens and it is hard to reach: most of what is sold for the skin never gets this far.

What It Treats

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Close-up of a cheek with inflamed acne. Raised pink-red bumps, a few with yellow-white heads, sit in a patch of redness, and the skin between them is dry and flaking.
Acne
Moderate evidence
Heats the oil glands themselves, which is a genuinely different approach from everything else on this page. Trial results out to about six months are good, it works across skin tones, and it is expensive and rarely covered. Long-term data is still limited.

Not the Best For

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Two skin close-ups side by side, labeled Whitehead (Closed Comedone) and Blackhead (Open Comedone)
Blackheads and whiteheads
Doesn't work
The laser shrinks the oil glands. A pore already plugged stays plugged, so clogs need a topical alongside it.
Close-up of the cheek, nose and mouth of an adult with light skin, turned three-quarters away from the camera against a pale blue background. The surface of the cheek is uneven, dimpled with shallow depressions and small pits that catch the light. There are no active spots — the change here is in the texture of the skin rather than its color.
Acne scars
Doesn't work
This wavelength is aimed at oil glands, not scar tissue. Resurfacing lasers are the ones that work on scars.
Close-up of a cheek with inflamed acne. Raised pink-red bumps, a few with yellow-white heads, sit in a patch of redness, and the skin between them is dry and flaking.
A guarantee it is permanent
Doesn't work
Most people hold their result for a long time, but it is not a promise, and touch-up sessions are normal.

Pros and Cons

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Pros
  • It treats acne, not just marks The only laser aimed at the cause.
  • Works on all skin tones Melanin does not absorb it.
  • No drug, no monitoring No pills, blood tests or pregnancy program.
  • Results keep building Improvement continues for months.
Cons
  • Expensive More than a year of medication, uncovered.
  • It flares first Most people break out for a few weeks after each session.
  • Evidence is young Mostly manufacturer-sponsored.
  • Not a cure Acne can return, and repeat timing is unknown.
  • It hurts Deep, snapping heat.

How to Prepare

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3 to 5 days beforeOn the day
Retinoids
3 to 5 days before
Stop topical retinoids for 3 to 5 days if asked.
Clean skin
On the day
Clean skin, no makeup. Numbing cream goes on 30 to 60 minutes before, so arrive early.
Before the visit
Avoid sunburn. A tan matters less here than for pigment-targeting lasers.

What Happens

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ArrivingThe treatmentLeaving
Arriving
Photos matter here, because progress is gradual. Consent covers the expected flare. Numbing cream for 30 to 60 minutes is common but optional. Your provider will ask about these things.
The treatment
Eye shields on, the handpiece pressed on section by section. Each pulse is a deep, hot snap against a cold plate. A full face takes about 30 minutes, often with a faint burnt smell from surface hairs. It hurts more than most laser facials, and numbing cream only takes the edge off.
Leaving
Red and slightly swollen, like mild sunburn. Presentable but noticeably flushed.

Recovery

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First 24 hoursDays 1 to 3Weeks 1 to 4
First 24 hours
Redness, warmth and mild swelling for a few hours to a day. Skin feels sunburned. Cool compresses help.
Days 1 to 3
Redness settles; skin may feel rough or dry. Makeup is fine after 24 hours.
Weeks 1 to 4
New spots are common, especially after the first session. Expected and temporary.

Aftercare

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24 to 48 hours3 to 5 days1 week
Makeup and exercise
24 to 48 hours
Makeup after 24 hours, and keep heat and sweat off for 24 to 48 hours.
Actives
3 to 5 days
Restart retinoids and acids after 3 to 5 days, once skin stops feeling sensitive.
Sun
1 week
SPF 30 or higher daily, no deliberate sun for a week.

Risks

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Used correctly, side effects are mild and short-lived.

A flare still worsening past 6 weeks
Reassess rather than finish the course.
Dark patches
Heat can still cause post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation on deeper skin tones. Treat early.
Small blisters or crusts
The settings were too aggressive. Turn them down next session.

Combining Treatments

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Same day
Topical acne creams
Retinoids, benzoyl peroxide and azelaic acid all continue.
Same day
Oral acne medicines
Antibiotics, spironolactone and hormonal birth control continue.
Same day
Cortisone injections
Still fine for individual cysts.
Same day
Pigment creams
Added between sessions for post-acne marks, which this laser does not treat.
Wait 2 weeks
Peels
Between sessions, about 2 weeks either side on the same area.
Wait 2 weeks
Microneedling or laser
About 2 weeks either side on the same area.
Wait 6 months
Isotretinoin
Most providers wait about 6 months after finishing.

Insurance Coverage

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Insurance does not cover it — acne is medical, but this counts as elective. Some practices offer payment plans.

Ask Your Doctor

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If you are pregnant or breastfeeding
Ask the doctor managing your pregnancy or breastfeeding.
If you have an infection or cold sore
Anything active in the area is treated first.
If you finished isotretinoin recently
Most providers wait about 6 months.
If you are photosensitive
A photosensitivity disorder or photosensitizing medicine needs discussing first.
If you have a deeper skin tone
Heat alone can still leave dark patches. Ask for conservative settings and daily sunscreen afterward.
If you scar with keloids
Discuss it, and consider a test area.
If you have severe nodulocystic acne
Isotretinoin is more predictable for the most severe disease.
If you have a deadline
The timeline runs in months, with a flare in the middle.

At-Home Versions

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No home version exists
Bad alternative
There is no home device at this wavelength or energy. Anything sold as an at-home version of it is something else.
Blue light masks
Okay alternative
These target acne bacteria at the surface, not oil glands. Modest short-term benefit in mild inflammatory acne, and a completely different mechanism.
Topical retinoid plus benzoyl peroxide
Good alternative
Cheap, well studied, and the standard first step. Slower and needs daily use, but the evidence behind it is far stronger.

How It Compares

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Isotretinoin
Better
The other treatment that shrinks oil glands, far more effective and far cheaper, at the cost of months of tablets, blood tests and strict pregnancy rules. Avoiding all of that is the laser's case.
A rectangular LED panel in a white frame, angled on a white background, its face filled with a dense grid of several hundred small blue lights all lit, casting a blue glow onto the surface beneath it.Diagram: how Photodynamic Therapy works in the skin
Photodynamic therapy
The same
Also targets oil glands and works faster per course, with a week of genuine downtime each session and more caution on deeper skin tones.
An amber prescription bottle lying on its side on a white background with a plain white label reading Spironolactone, and six small round white tablets spilled out in front of it.Diagram: how Spironolactone works in the skin
Spironolactone
The same
A daily tablet that turns down oil production in adult women for a few dollars a month. It has to be kept up; the laser course ends.
Fractional laser
Different job
Different target. It resurfaces scars and texture and does nothing to active acne, so it is a later step rather than an alternative.

Finding a Provider

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Both devices are sold to physician practices, and who may operate a laser varies by state. Ask how many acne courses the provider has run on the device, whether they treat your skin tone routinely, and to see their own before-and-after photos. Red flags: a promise of clearance, no mention of the flare, a single-session offer, and pressure to prepay before a consultation.

Questions Patients Ask

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Is AviClear or Accure better?

No head-to-head trial exists. Both use the same wavelength with similar results. Accure adds real-time temperature monitoring; AviClear has been in use longer. Operator experience matters more than the device.

Does it replace Accutane?

Not for everyone. Isotretinoin is more reliable and durable for severe acne, and far cheaper. The laser suits people who cannot or will not take it, or whose moderate acne failed topicals.

Why did my acne get worse?

A flare in the first few weeks is expected — damaged glands empty out and inflammation rises before it falls. It usually settles by week 4 to 6.

How long do results last?

Improvement holds out to one and two years in many patients, but the data is limited and mostly industry-funded. Some need maintenance. Nobody can promise permanence yet.

Can it be done on deeper skin tones?

Yes. It targets oil, not pigment, so it is one of the few acne lasers cleared for all skin types including the deepest. Heat can still leave dark patches, so settings and aftercare matter.

References

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