Acne scars are a common occurrence in people who have suffered from acne. Acne is caused by subcutaneous bacteria, which clogs pores and causes pimples to form. These bumps may heal within weeks, or they can take months to subside. However, the aftermath of an acne breakout leaves behind something more permanent: scarring.
Luckily, there are acne scar treatments like subcision that can effectively eliminate those stubborn scars. If you’re curious about these treatments, visit quality and reliable aesthetic clinic like Sozo Clinic. They have a variety of facial, skin, hair, and body treatments.
Before anything else, you must know how acne scars develop and what treatment options exist for them so that you can make your way through this process with as little discomfort as possible!
So let’s get started!
What are acne scars?
Acne scars are the result of acne pimples that have come to a head and then healed. When acne blemishes heal, they often leave behind scars in one or more places on your skin’s surface.
The two most common types of acne scars are ice pick lesions and boxcar lesions:
- Ice Pick Lesions: develop when an acne lesion is deep enough to puncture all the way through your skin down into its underlying tissue but doesn’t go far enough for it to break out onto the surface of your skin at least partially, leaving a very thin depression with deeply indented borders; these may be associated with some degree of inflammation.
- Boxcar Lesions: This type of acne scar is a depression in the skin where acne lesions were once present; they are often wider and shallower than ice pick acne scars.
How do they develop?
The acne scarring process begins with acne. Acne is a condition in which the hair follicles and pores of your skin are clogged by acne bacteria, oil, dirt, or excess dead cells from old acne breakouts. The result can be blackheads (also called open comedones), whiteheads (blocked comedones), pimples/zits or pustules that may burst outward to form scars when they heal over time.
In addition to these common types of acne scars mentioned above, there’s also hypertrophic acne scars. These happen when an acne lesion does not heal completely and leaves behind tissue changes such as thickened skin on top of the original red spot where the blemish was located; this can leave you with a scar that’s noticeably raised above the surface of your skin.
Different types of treatments for acne scars
There are a lot of specialised treatments for acne scars, and it depends on what type of acne scar you have as to which one would work best. There are topical treatments that can be applied directly to the acne lesion, such as Retin-A or Differin.
Some people choose to use lasers in order to minimise their acne scars – these targeted light sources help reduce inflammation and promote cell turnover by speeding up natural skin healing processes while removing excess oil from pore clogs; this leads to a smoother surface with fewer visible marks left behind.
Fractional laser treatment is another option for atrophic acne scars: small beams of energy delivered into your skin create tiny columns within the outermost layer so that more collagen is produced under affected areas over time; this causes smoothing and acne scarring reduction.
Another treatment is subcision for acne scars which works by removing the acne sticking up from your skin. This allows acne scars to be pulled down and filled with collagen over time, so it’s a great option for both ice pick acne scars and boxcar acne scars.
Lastly, there is also laser hair removal as another treatment method that can work well on acne scarring because many people who have this type of acne find their dark hairs growing back after they’ve healed fully. Not only do these new growths look unsightly, but they can worsen existing marks by rubbing against them during shaving or other types of friction-based activities.
Acne scar prevention tips
If you don’t want acne scars to form, it’s important that you take care of your skin so that acne doesn’t develop in the first place. Also, be on the lookout for any other issues with your skin, such as dryness, red spots or sores – these can all lead to acne forming and cause scarring if left untreated.
Here are some tips to reduce the possibility of scarring when you have acne:
- Use acne treatments as soon as you start to notice acne.
- If acne does break out, put a fresh coat of antibiotic ointment on it and then use an acne spot treatment such as Differin or Retin A until the acne goes away.
- Gently cleanse and wash your face with warm water in the morning and night. Cleanse skin using non-abrasive soap that has salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, glycolic acid, lactic acid or sulfur products; follow up by moisturising thoroughly after washing.
- Avoid picking at acne lesions because this can lead to scarring when it’s left untreated over time.
Tips to reduce the appearance of acne scars naturally
If the mentioned acne treatments are not effective or you’re looking for a more natural acne scar remedy, then some other things can be done.
Certain foods such as green tea and lemons help flush out toxins from the skin, which leads to clearer acne-free skin. You can also use topical and oral supplements to get rid of acne scars by improving your body’s ability to produce collagen – vitamins C & E both work great for this because they contain antioxidants with an anti-inflammatory effect on the cells. Vitamin A boosts cellular production while zinc has been found to reduce redness/inflammation; these two additions should always be paired together if possible since it works better than using just one alone.
Finally, omega-fatty acids such as those found in fish oils and olive oil are also helpful for acne scarring because they help to reduce acne lesions by reducing inflammation.
