The Best Treatment For Acne Scars And What You Need To Know First

Everyone who has suffered from acne wants the best treatment for acne scars, right?

No one wants to have to live with marks on their face if they can have a smooth clear complexion. But before you jump on the latest treatment for acne scars, here are some points for you to take note.

Things To Note Before Going For Any Scar Treatment

With several types of acne scar treatment available, you might just want to go for the latest and “best treatment for acne scars“. But before you do, these are some common sense tips for you to follow:

Be free from active acne
Educate yourself on the various types of acne scar treatment
Find a doctor you trust

Your face and skin needs to be clear of active acne before you perform any form of scar treatment. You do not want to do any type of resurfacing or surgery on inflamed skin that is still suffering from active acne as it may cause your acne to get worse.

The type of scar treatment that you choose also depends on the type of scars that you have. From pock marks on your face to keloids on your body, each type of scarring requires the appropriate treatment.

So How Are Acne Scars Formed?

Acne scars are typically caused when an acne cyst is formed. The sebaceous gland gets choked with bacteria, cells and sebum and starts to expand. After some time, the cyst ruptures and forces these “foreign elements” into your skin deep inside the dermis. When this happens, white blood cells are activated to fight against these intruders.

Depending on the location of the cyst, one of two things will happen. The collagen under the affected area is destroyed, causing the skin to collapse and form a pock mark or depression. This type of scar is seen typically on the face and occurs to both men and women.

The second thing that could occur is the formation of a keloid. Excessive scar tissue is formed as fibroblasts are triggered. This type of scarring is more often seen on men as compared to women.

When deciding on the best treatment for acne scars, it comes down to:

Location of the scars
Depth of the scarring
Size of the scar
Number of scars

Taken into consideration with your budget, comfort levels, any allergies or other conditions, you can then decide on the appropriate type of acne scar treatment together in consultation with your doctor.

Types of Scar Treatment

Now that you know what preparatory work needs to be done, here are the available types of acne scar treatment. Deciding the best scar treatment is ultimately dependent on what you are comfortable with.

These acne scar treatments are:

Laser Treatments
The use of Filler Substances
Punch Excision
Subcision
Dermabrasion
Microdermabrasion
Chemical Peels
Topical Treatments

Using Lasers To Treat Acne Scars

There are several types of laser acne treatment and more are coming onto the market as technology continues to improve. In general, there are two types of lasers used in treating acne scars:

Ablative (Where the laser is used to destroy the outer layer of your skin)
Non-Ablative (Where the laser is used to trigger changes within the dermis without affecting the epidermis)

Using Filler Substances

When the acne scar is a depression on the skin, filler substances can be used to “plump up” the affected area and smooth your skin out. The results of using filler substances can be seen almost immediately, however none of these are permanent remedies.

In fact, the best you can usually hope for is results lasting from anywhere between 3-6 months. Types of filler substances or products available for treating acne scars are:

Restylane
Cosmoderm
Cymetra
Fasciian
Artecoll
Bovine Collagen
Hylaform
Fat transplantation (where the patient’s own fat is used as the filler substance)

Another alternative to using filler substances is the use of Rodial Glamtox Day SPF 18. You can see results in as fast as 20 minutes. However, the drawback of using this product (where hyaluronic acid is injected) is you can expect the results to last between 24 – 36 hours.

Acne Surgery – Punch Excision & Subcision

With punch excision, you can treat ice pick acne scars where there are hard, irregular edges as well as irregular depth of the scarring. In essence, the doctor performs a simple excision and a sutured closure to bring the edges of the dermis together. The ragged edges of the acne scar are removed and what you are left with is a fine, uniform line that is used to close up the area.

The tiny linear scar that is left can either be removed via general resurfacing like dermabrasion or microdermabrasion. You can also perform laser resurfacing or chemical peels to remove the scar. In some cases, you may not even need to do anything and just allow the scar to fade on its own.

Dermabrasion

Dermabrasion is another form of skin resurfacing similar to ablative lasers. The skin to be treated is first anesthetized and frozen, before an extremely sharp and rapidly rotating blade is used to sheer away the damaged surface issue. However, this particular form of acne scar treatment is falling out of favor with the introduction of newer and more advanced techniques.

The use of dermabrasion leaves the skin very red and raw-looking, which can take several months to heal.

Microdermabrasion

While dermabrasion and microdermabrasion are essentially the same, microdermabrasion is a non-surgical procedure that abrades less deeply than dermabrasion. This means that recovery time is less compared to dermabrasion, but it is not as effective in treating deeper scars.

Compared to dermabrasion, the recovery time for microdermabrasion can be as fast as 1-2 days.

Chemical Peels

In chemical peeling, a high potency acid is applied to the skin area to be treated. It is used to improve and smooth the skin of the treated area by causing the dead skin to slough off and eventually peel away to reveal new and rejuvenated skin beneath.

The more potent the chemical being applied the deeper the peeling that takes place. While you can perform chemical peeling at home, it is better to approach a medical professional like a dermatologist for advice before going ahead with any sort of chemical peeling.

Types of chemical peels:

Alpha Hydroxy Acid peels
Beta Hydroxy Acid peels
Jessner’s peel
Retinoic Acid peel
Trichloroacetic acid peels
Phenol peels

Because you are using a chemical to cause the skin to peel off, it is strongly recommended for you to consult with a professional before embarking on any sort of peeling.