Acne leaves scars like any other injury to the skin. Severe cystic and nodular acne always leaves a scar while in some people mild inflamed acne also leaves scars. The scarring depends upon the individual's response to an injury. As we age, these scars become more visible because of loss of collagen in the skin. Scars look ugly and need to be prevented and treated. Let us find out more about acne scars.



When acne resolves, a dark spot forms on the skin. Most often it is PIH (Post Inflammatory Hyper-pigmentation). This dark color of skin is the result of natural body repair. PIH fades away in about a year. If PIH does not resolve during that period, you may have an acne scar that will need treatment.

Raised acne scars-

Acne scars can be either depressed or raised. Raised acne scars are formed in those people who develop keloids. Keloid is a growth of tissues at the site of injury. It is not easy to remove keloids by surgery. That may result into more new keloids. Keloids are treated differently.

Depressed acne scars-

Luckily the majority gets depressed acne scars. The depressed acne scars form as a result of loss of tissue at the acne site. The tissue is lost when the acne spreads inside the skin. Some collagen is lost in this process. After acne heals, the depression remains and new skin grows over the depression. That is a depressed acne scar.

These depressed acne scars may be classified into - ice pick, boxcar or rolling scars. Such acne scars do not fade away with time. Depressed acne scars are removed with surgical and physical procedures such as dermabrasion, chemical peeling, microdermabrasion, surgery, soft tissue filling, laser, etc. Some topical formulations are also available that reduce the intensity of acne scar and lighten it.

This article is only for informative purposes. This article is not intended to be a medical advise and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your medical concerns. Please follow any tip given in this article only after consulting your doctor. The author is not liable for any outcome or damage resulting from information obtained from this article.