Acne is a skin condition that causes acne scars. Acne scars are the red or brown marks that acne leaves behind. You can have acne on your face, neck, and body. Scars from acne on your face and neck will cause you to feel self-conscious about how you look in public.
Acne scar removal treatments come in many forms, including prescription medications and home remedies like tea tree oil treatment for acne. There are also non-invasive treatments such as laser therapy which reduces the appearance of acne scars over time without having to undergo surgery or injections of any kind. To know more about these procedures, you can visit Sozo Aesthetics, one of Singapore’s leading dermatological clinics.
In this blog, we will talk about acne scars and how to get rid of acne scars. This includes a list of the most popular acne treatment methods that work best for each type of acne scarring. The types are ice pick scars, boxcar scars, rolling scars, and hypertrophic or keloid marks.
What are acne scars?
An acne scar is known to be one of the most challenging aspects acne sufferers have to deal with. If you are reading this article, your acne scars are likely making their presence known, and they may be preventing you from enjoying life as much as you used to before acne showed up on your face.
Acne is a skin concern many experiences where pores become clogged with oil and dead skin cells, leading to breakouts in the form of acne lesions (whiteheads, blackheads, pimples). If these acne-causing blockages aren’t prevented early on or treated quickly enough once they appear, your body’s immune system will send white blood cells to fight it off.
The result? White spots may develop into scar tissue if inflammation continues for too long. These scars can be acne scars that are left behind after acne lesions heal, or they can show up even when you do not have acne.
What causes them to develop?
Acne is caused by several factors, including hormone changes, bacteria, and genetics. Some types of acne cause more acne scarring than others do. The most common type of acne that results in many different kinds of acne scars is cystic acne which typically appears deep inside the face rather than on the surface level, where other forms of acne appear as blackheads or whiteheads.
Acne scar development can be prevented, but it requires a combination of proactive steps to keep your skin healthy as well as a quick reaction time when acne does occur. Keeping acne under control will help you avoid developing acne scars in the first place or at least lessen their severity if they do appear.
Types of acne and their symptoms
Here are the four common types of acne scars, and such include:
Ice pick scars
The first acne scar type is ice pick acne scars which appear as very deep holes in the skin. Ice pick acne scars are caused by severe cystic acne, and they will remain after acne lesions have healed.
Boxcar scars
The second most common acne scar type is boxcar acne scars, where your skin appears to be indented around a central area of inflammation or infection rather than having one defined edge like icepick marks do. Boxcar acne scars can occur on their own or alongside other types of acne, such as icepick and rolling acne scars that result from milder forms of inflammatory acne breakouts.
Rolling scars
The third form of acne scarring is shallow depressions along the skin rather than at a deep level like ice pick acne scars and boxcar acne scars. Rolling acne scars are often found on the face in high numbers, and they can be caused by all types of acne, including blackheads, whiteheads, and cystic acne, which typically appear as indented marks that form around acne lesions instead of forming raised spots.
Hypertrophic scars
The fourth type is hypertrophic (or keloid) acne scarring, which usually appears after severe inflammatory breakouts such as cystic pimples. These tend to occur most frequently along with genetic conditions where your body overproduces collagen, such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, for example.
Treatment options for removing acne scars
Several acne scar removal treatment options can help you get rid of acne scars for good. However, acne scarring isn’t always completely preventable, and the best way to treat acne scars is first treating your acne breakouts as quickly as possible, so they don’t become inflamed enough to cause permanent damage.
Lasers
First, we have acne scar removal treatments using lasers. Laser acne treatment is the most invasive approach to acne scar removal, but it can also be an ideal treatment in getting rid of acne scars for good by removing tissue damage which sometimes cannot heal on its own.
Dermabrasion
The second option is dermabrasion, a surgical procedure that involves sanding away the top layers of your skin with an electrical machine until your damaged tissues are gone, and new ones grow back. This method requires general anesthesia as well as extensive recovery time after surgery, so you will need plenty of support from loved ones throughout this process if you choose this type of acne scar removal treatment.
Chemical Peels
Another acne scar removal treatment is acne chemical peels which can be equally effective in removing acne scars. The main difference between laser resurfacing and acne chemical peel treatments is that the latter only scrubs off the outer or top layer of the skin while lasers go deep down to remove damaged tissue below it. This means you will experience less downtime, but also, more acne scars won’t disappear for good with this option like they might if you choose dermabrasion or laser acne surgery instead.
Links:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/inflamed-acne
https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/acne/what-to-know-about-ice-pick-scars
https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/laser-treatment-for-acne-scars