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.
But if the scars resulting from acne are deep, like the ones caused by nodular or cystic acne, the treatment is different. In such cases the severity of the outbreak and the type and sensitivity of your skin is taken into consideration by the dermatologist before suggesting any treatment plan. Such custom-made acne scar treatment plans are very effective in treating acne scars.
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:
Acne scars which are much more deeper need different other treatments. Dermabrasion is one of them. It helps to eliminate light or shallow ice pick scars caused by acne. Dermabrasion means sanding away the layers of the skin, as the new skin grows back it does not have the scars the previous one had. This treatment is most preferred when there is no acne or acne infection on the skin. Dermabrasion has superficial as well as deep methods. Deep methods involve the sanding away of the topmost layer of the skin, the epidermis and treat the dermis. The recovery in deep method is a much longer process than the superficial method.
Laser resurfacing is another effective acne scar treatment method. This method uses high bean of light with carbon dioxide to burn the top layer of the skin. This layer has the most scarring and removing this layer will remove the scars too. But this method needs care and precaution during the healing and regeneration process to avoid infection.
Surgical methods
Some scars are embedded deep into the skin. It is not possible to remove them via the above-mentioned methods. These scars are the deep ice pick, boxcar or rolling acne scars. There are many surgical treatments to treat these kinds of scars. A few them are discussed here in brief. Punch excision method uses a punch tool to take out the skin from within a deep scar and stitch it up to make the surface of the skin at a same level. Another treatment called subcutaneous incision is used to break fibrous tissue which cause rolling scars. This treatment after it is completed and the skin healed helps a vast improvement in the rippled skin.
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.
Once acne begins to heal, in minor cases, it in noticed that the area where the acne once was has a color, which is red. With the continuation of the healing process this coloration gradually darkens initially and within the next six months lightens slowly and vanishes to have an unmarked and clear skin. These scars are minor acne scars and using products such as Retinol or any other hydroxyl acid will help in fast healing of the area.
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 happen to be the most viable and effective treatment for minor acne outbreak cases. In this treatment method, chemicals are applied on the skin. These chemicals injure the skin around the dried acne temporarily and help in the growth and regeneration of new skin. This procedure needs to be repeated a number of times to obtain favorable results. The successive treatments sessions need to be spaced such that the skin has gets sufficient time to heal itself.
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 Method:
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.
Every acne scar treatment has its own positive and negative point. Consult your doctor and dermatologist for the right advice. Beside the above-mentioned measures, there are many other treatments that are known to effectively help the problem of acne. Each case is unique in its own way. The treatment depends upon the type of scar you have.
Both George Thomas & Jeremy Thompson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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