Scars caused by acne are very common . Most people have only mild acne scars . However, some will have scars that look significant even to others. The best approach is preventing the formation of scars by early treatment of acne as sometimes even mild acne can cause scarring. There are varied types of scars caused by acne. In order to get rid of, or minimize acne scarring, a combination of treatments provides the best results
Some times acne lead to spots that may look like scars but are not scars in the sense that no permanent change has occurred. Even though they are not true scars and disappear in time, they are visible and can cause embarrassment.
Macules or “pseudo-scars†are flat, red or reddish spots that are the final stage of most inflamed acne lesions. After an inflamed acne lesion flattens, a macule may remain to “mark the spot†for up to 6 months. When the macule eventually disappears, no trace of it will remain—unlike a scar.
Post-inflammatory pigmentation is discoloration of the skin at the site of a healed or healing inflamed acne lesion. It occurs more frequently in darker-skinned people, but occasionally is seen in people with white skin. Early treatment minimizes the development of post-inflammatory pigmentation. Some post-inflammatory pigmentation may persist for up to 18 months, especially with excessive sun exposure. Chemical peeling and laser treatment helps to hasten the disappearance of post-inflammatory pigmentation.
Scars form at the site of an injury to tissue. They are the visible reminders of injury and tissue repair. In the case of acne, the injury is caused by the body’s inflammatory response to sebum, bacteria and dead cells in the plugged sebaceous follicle. Different types of acne scars exist, depressed scars such as ice-pick scars, box scars etc… Sometimes raised thickened tissues confirm over the site which can become hyper-tropic scars or keloids.
When tissue suffers an injury, the body rushes its repair kit to the injury site to repair the damage and in the event may result in the formation of a scar. There is considerable variation in scarring between one person and another, indicating that some people are more prone to scarring than others. Scarring frequently results from severe inflammatory nodulocystic acne that occurs deep in the skin. But, scarring also may arise from more superficial inflamed lesions.
Some people bear their acne scars for a lifetime with little change in the scars, but in other people the skin undergoes some degree of remodeling and acne scars diminish in size.
People also have differing feelings about acne scars. Scars of more or less the same size that may be psychologically distressing to one person may be accepted by another person as “not too bad.†The person who is distressed by scars is more likely to seek treatment to remove the scars.
It is difficult to predict who will scar, how extensive or deep scars will be, and how long scars will persist. It is also difficult to predict how successfully scars can be prevented by effective acne treatment.
Nevertheless, the only sure method of preventing or limiting the extent of scars is to treat acne early in its course, and as long as necessary. The more the inflammation prevented or moderated it is more likely to prevent scars. Any person with acne who has a known tendency to scar should take treatment as early as possible.
Thus the most important aspect in the treatment of acne scars is the treatment of coexisting acne since those acne can again lead to the formation of scars. A wide variety of treatments are now available in the treatment of acne. Now very effective medicines are available in the form of creams , tablets and face washes. Effective combination of these treatments helps in controlling and curing acne. Besides these there are a wide variety of newer peels and lasers available which can be used in combination or sequentially for the treatmentof acne which doesnt respond to the usual modalities of treatment.
In Beau Aesthetica we offer a wide range of treatments for your scars including specific chemical peels , subcision treatments , laser treatments , dermaroller treatments and filler injections. A combination of these treatments are used judiciously improving the texture of your skin wiping away your scars and acne leading to a more beautiful / handsome you.