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As acne resolves, it leaves a hyperpigmented spot on the skin. This is the result of natural healing process. This hyperpigmentation mark slowly fades away and sometimes it takes up to a year. If after a year also you see a mark, you have an acne scar. Let us discuss about the type of acne scars in detail.
Acne scars are of two types - keloids and depressed scars. Keloids are raised scars. Keloids form in few people and a keloid is a mass of tissues that grows on the site of the injury. Keloids are difficult to treat and look very ugly. Keloids are more commonly found on male torsos. Other type of increased tissue formation scar is called hypertrophic scar. Hypertrophy means overgrowth.
Majority of people form depressed scars. The depressed scars form as a result of loss of tissue at the acne site. The tissue is lost when the acne spreads inside the skin and gets attacked by the white blood cells. Some collagen is lost in this process. The new skin grows over the depression and a depressed scar forms. The depressed scars are classified in to three types- ice pick scars, boxcar scars and rolling scars.
Icepick scars - Icepick scars are commonly deep scars. They may also be superficial. They look sharp as if the skin has been cut with an icepick. These scars are difficult to treat with laser or dermabrasion as they go deeper inside.
Boxcar scars - These scars do not have sharp edges unlike icepick scars. Boxcar scars are oval or round and commonly they are not very deep.
Rolling scars - When the scarred skin looks rolled, the scars are known as rolling scars.
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.
All of us dread getting hurt or succumbing to viral infections, they always leave a scar that is very obvious and makes us subject to ridicule or torment from friends and others. Chicken pox is another disease that all of us fear, not because it puts us under house arrest or brings about ugly boils all over our body, but because it is likely to leave scars, reminder for what we went through. Similarly, acne too at times will leave nasty scars on the skin surface as it fades away. There are no creams available that would make it vanish without a trace. However, some people are lucky enough to not have any scars whereas others will have crater like scars on their face, especially in the cheek area.
Acne scar, for many, leads to de-moralizing oneself and low levels of self esteem and at times even depression in people across the world. Acne scars look like small flattened discs on the affected areas, be it the face, fore arms, buttocks and other parts of the body. Yes, acne does appear on the posterior region ever so often and it is primarily because that part of our body does not get much of air and is prone to bacteria the most. If a survey was to be done, you would find that nearly 90% of the world population suffers from this skin condition and at least 70% of them are in the age group of 13-22 years. Their hormones are changing and they have no way of controlling the natural reaction their body has to this process.
For some, the scars mean distortion of their appearance and they would try to remove them as soon as possible. Since the scars don't disappear on their own, people go in for treatments or surgeries if need be. The conditions on which the removal of acne scars is based are,
1. Severe scarring on the face or somewhere visible
2. Medical history of the person and their present health condition
3. The Type of acne that the person is suffering from
4. The patients preference on mode of treatment
5. Are they allergic to any particular medication or products that could go into an acne care ointment
The kind of treatment adopted will depend on the patient and what is their reason for the removal procedure chosen. If they have a profession that expects them to look good at all times or work at a high profile corporate job and cannot afford to have scars on their face. How severe the scar is will determine the medium used for making it vanish. If the scar is mild, it can be treated with gels or ointments, but if it is harsh, and skin deep, there would be surgical procedures or skin grafting that might need to be done to correct the condition.
Keeping in mind the person's mental and physical condition, the dermatologist will advise a scar removal process. If the patient accepts the prescribed mode, it will be carried out else an alternative will be sought. But whatever you decide, keep your age and future consequences in mind before taking the plunge.