Aviclear vs Accutane
AviClear is a laser that shrinks the oil glands over three visits. There is no drug, no tablets and no monitoring. Accutane clears acne more completely than any other treatment. It is a course of tablets that runs about five months, with regular blood tests and a monthly check-in programme. Most people who pick AviClear pick it because they cannot take Accutane, or do not want to.
What you actually do
Each one takes about half an hour. You sit in a chair, the handpiece moves across your face, and you leave.
You take a capsule with food, see your prescriber every month, and have blood tests along the way.
How it works
The laser passes through the surface and heats the oil glands underneath so they make less oil. Less oil means fewer blocked pores.
It is a form of vitamin A. It reaches the oil glands from the inside and shrinks them, and it also calms inflammation and slows the bacteria involved in acne.
How long until you see a change
Improvement carries on for months after the last session. The finished result is not the result at visit three.
Many people break out worse in the first month or two before it turns.
How well it works
In the manufacturer's own study, 87% of people had at least half their acne clear by six months. Half clear is a real improvement. It is not the same as clear.
Nothing else in acne comes close. For deep, scarring, stubborn acne it is the treatment other treatments are measured against.
How long it lasts
Oil glands recover slowly. Some people go back for a top-up session later.
About 1 in 5 people see their acne return and some of those take a second course. The rest are done.
What you have to keep up with
No blood tests, no monthly appointments, no pharmacy.
You enrol in a programme, see your prescriber every month, and have bloods checked. It is the main reason people rule it out.
The downside
It stings during the session, a bit like a rubber band snapping. Your skin looks flushed afterwards and settles the same day. You can wear makeup the next morning.
Dry, cracked lips almost always. Often dry eyes, dry skin, and aching muscles after exercise. It all lifts once the course ends.
Cost
Insurance does not cover it. You are quoted for three sessions, so you know the total before you start.
The drug itself is usually the cheaper of the two by a wide margin. The cost is your time — monthly visits and blood draws.
The at-home or drugstore version
Home light masks are not small AviClears. They put a fraction of the energy into the surface of the skin, and the oil glands sit several millimetres down. A mask cannot reach them. It is a different thing wearing a similar name.
Adapalene gel is a retinoid you can buy without a prescription, and it genuinely helps mild acne. But it is a cream on the surface. It does not shrink an oil gland the way a tablet taken for months does.
Who each suits
The honest answer on which is better
Accutane is the more effective treatment: That is not close, and no laser has changed it. If your acne is deep and leaving scars, it is the treatment that gives you the best chance of never dealing with acne again.
AviClear exists for the people who will not take it: Some people cannot take isotretinoin for medical reasons. Many more simply do not want a drug, cannot commit to monthly appointments, or have tried it and hated how they felt on it. Before AviClear, those people were left with creams and antibiotics.
No trial has compared the two head-to-head: Every number you see for each one comes from a study of that treatment on its own, so they are not measuring the same people or the same acne.
What neither one fixes
Neither one removes acne scars: They both stop new acne forming. Dents, pits and raised scars from old spots stay where they are. Those need a separate plan — microneedling, lasers, subcision or fillers — and that plan starts after the acne is under control, not during.
Neither one is instant: Both take months. If you have a wedding in six weeks, neither of these is the answer, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling.
Before you book
Ask how bad your acne actually is. If a dermatologist uses the word scarring, that shifts the answer towards Accutane.
Ask what happens if AviClear does not work for you. Three sessions are paid for whether or not they deliver.
Ask whether your insurance covers isotretinoin. For most people it does, and that changes the cost comparison completely.
Ask about a top-up. AviClear results fade for some people, and you want to know the price of that before you start, not after.
