Some skin experts are warning about laser technology that's supposed to get rid of acne. They say it's new and unproven.

Lasers have been used for more than a decade to treat acne scarring and wrinkles but doctors have now discovered that it can also get rid of active acne.

Some skin treatment centres have been using lasers on active acne for about a year.

Vanessa Culver in laser treatment

"It appears that the pulsing of a laser on the acne lesion heats it and actually destroys the acne," says Dr. Gerald Boey of the Arbutus Laser Centre.

• MARKETPLACE: Accutane

Boey is seeing more patients who are looking for drug-free acne treatment.

"I found the topical treatments wore off after two months and didn't work anymore," notes Vanessa Culver who says laser treatment is her last resort. "I was on Accutane for a month and one of the side effects was depression."

Harvey Lui

Other dermotologists say the treatment may not work for every form of acne. Simple whiteheads and blackheads may be better treated with topical creams. Lasers may not be effective on very deep acne.

"If you have a patient...who has a lot of deep cysts and deep nodules, and these can be very disfiguring once they heal, then I'm not sure...that the lasers can reliably improve those," says Dr. Harvey Lui, the head of dermatology at the University of British Columbia.

No studies have looked at the long term effects of zapping zits with a laser, but burning or scarring can occur. There's also a chance of pigment change, leaving the affected area whiter or darker than the rest of the skin.

Culver says she's happy with it.

"After three weeks, I could see the change. It's really promising when you can see the effects."