Acne is a skin disorder found in many people especially among teenagers and young adults. Acne occurs when sebaceous glands get clogged. Millions of Americans are affected annually by this disease, which is also known as pimples or zits.
Acne scar is found on various parts of the body including the face, back, neck, shoulders, and chest.
Acne can be treated using various methods like hormone therapy, laser treatment or simple household methods. Though
acne scar gets healed completely without leaving any scars behind, for majority of the people acne leaves behind ugly scars, which can be deep or superficial after treatment. It is however, difficult to analyze whether the type of
acne will leave behind any scar or not and whether it would be deep or superficial.
Acne scars are usually of two types depending upon the tissue response to the inflammation of acne. They are
- Increased tissue formation and
- Loss of tissue
Acne scars resulting from tissue formation are caused by building up of collagen in the skin, which are called hypertrophic, and keloid scars
There are various types of scars resulting from loss of loss of tissue.
Ice pick acne scar- This is a very common type of acne scar which looks like deep pits. They may be deep or superficial; hard or soft and resembles like an ice-pick wound.
Depressed fibrotic acne scar- They are large
acne scars and similar to chicken pox scars.
Superficial and deep soft acne scar- They vary in size and give a rolling or wavy outlook to the skin.
Atrophic macules- Macules are flat scars that tend to fade with time.
Acne scar treatment:
All cases of
acne scars are unique and therefore what one treatment works for some might not be effective for others. The treatment therefore varies from case to case. Some of the more popular and effective acne scar treatments are listed below:
Surgical treatment:
- Microdermabrasion method:
Microdermabrasion is effective for removal of mild acne, and hyper pigmentation and helps in improving the skin texture and opening of the clogged pores. It is used for treating both hypertrophic and deeper scars. Earlier dermabrasion was not considered effective for ice-pick scars but today a combination of dermabrasion and “punch” excision makes it possible to treat ice-pick scars.
- Chemical peels treatment:
Chemical peels treatment is very useful for small and depressed scars. In the United States, it is one of the most popular treatments used for scars. This procedure takes about 15 minutes and its effect lasts for several months.
- Laser resurfacing:
This is one of the latest treatments for acne scars and has been found highly effective in several patients. Laser resurfacing uses laser to remove old skin so that new skin can be formed in its place. Your doctor can opt between the CO2 laser and the erbium (YAG) laser to treat acne scar depending upon the type and complexity f the scar.
- Augmentation:
Augmentation is used to correct atrophic scars or loss of tissue. Injecting materials like subcutaneous fat or collagen are used to bring the scar to the surface level.
- Subcision:
This is another latest technique used where the scar is removed from the deeper tissues.
- Non-surgical treatments:
Various non-surgical treatments like using skin fillers, tropical creams, and ski camouflage are used for treating acne scars.
