Acne Scar Effects And Resulting Acne Scar Treatment

As acne heals, the skin around the hair follicle gets hyper pigmented and turns red. This red area slowly darkness initially and then over about 6 months time fades and gets same as the skin color. These types of scars are usually formed during minor acne outbreaks. These scars are preferably treated with Retinol or some hydroxyl acid to aid in fast healing of the skin.

Unlike the minor out break scars, scars due to nodular or cystic acne are very deep and more discolored. In this case what should be the best plan of action? The treatment in this case very much depends upon a number of factors. These are the severity of the outbreak, type of skin, condition of skin and finally the dermatologists finding and suggestions.

Chemical peels:

Chemical peels are used when the scars are mostly on the topmost layer and do not go very deep into the skin. This method involves application of chemicals on the skin to injure the acne scar. This helps in the development and regeneration of new skin. This process may need to be repeated a number of times to reap favorable results. There should also be adequate space between the sessions so that skin has sufficient time to heal and grow back.

Dermabrasion and Laser Resurfacing:

Dermabrasion and laser Resurfacing are very effective treatments for acne scars that are light or shallow. In dermabrasion, the skin layers are removed which helps in the development of a new skin layer free of blemishes. The scar marks are thus removed with the old skin and the new skin will grow blemish less. Dermabrasion is most effective when there is no acne as well as no other skin infection. There are various types of dermabrasion, superficial and deep dermabrasions are important among them. Deep dermabrasion removes the epidermis layer from the skin and reaches the dermis layer. This type of dermabrasion requires a longer healing time because the skin has to now generate a whole new protective epidermis layer.

A high beam of light with CO2 is used to burn off the top most layer (epidermis) of the skin in laser resurfacing. This layer has most of the scars, so removing this layer removes the majority of scars when a new top layer is formed. Laser resurfacing is a very effective method but the person undergoing this treatment needs care during recovery, as the risk of infection is very high.

Surgical methods:

The deep scars left by acne are deep ice pick, box scar or rolling acne scar. There are various surgical methods for treatment for such kinds of scars. A punch tool is used to extract the skin inside a deep scar and sew it. This creates a level surface on the skin. This method is called punch excision. Often bands of fibrous tissues are formed under the skin due to deep acne scarring. It is important to break this band. This is done by minute subcutaneous incisions. After healing, this treatment has great effect in reducing or completely doing away with the rippled skin caused by the deep acne scars.

Treatment of acne scares is different for different cases. Every treatment has its own positive and negative aspects. These should be weighed properly and discussed with the dermatologist before opting for any one treatment option.