Acne scars can happen on your face, chest and back which affect your psychological distress, self-esteem issues and even interfere with your relationships. People who are in the age group of 11 and 30 will get acne at some point of time and one among those five people might develop those scars. It requires proper treatment to get rid of unwanted scars by taking either over-the-counter medications or one or more procedures done by our dermatologist.
Scars occur as your body tries to repair the acne. How your body responds to wounds will determine if and how much scarring you will haveIf there is too much collagen, then the raised scars may appear. Other scarring occurs due to tissue loss which creates indentations or pits in your skin.
Acne is of different forms and blackheads and whiteheads seem to heal smoothly. There are some types which causes scarring:
The skin consists of three main layers and these are – the epidermis, the dermis and the hypodermis. These layers can protect fragile inside from bacteria, ultra violet rays and produce Vitamin D with sunlight. Any area that has sebaceous glands is highly prone to acne which includes face, chest and back.
Acne scars occur due to the inflammation of acne blemishes. The acne pore swells and there is a breakdown in the pore wall. Some acne blemishes are really small and scars formed are shallow which heal quickly. Sometimes the contents of these blemishes spill into the adjoining tissue and might be the reason for deeper scars. The skin’s response is to repair these scars with the formation of new collagen fibers.
There are two forms of acne scars and these are when a scar develops due to tissue loss causing indentation in the skin surface or a scar develops that is raised on your skin surface. This type of acne scar indicates your skin is doing its job really well. The skin creates collagen to help with the healing process of the wound and the acne. The good news is that all acne scars are not at all permanent and there are treatments available for them. Some treatments’ can almost remove unwanted scars while others may help skin to heal itself with its own collagen.
If you have acne scars, you will probably have more than one of these types. Someone will rarely have boxcar scars or keloid scars only.
These lesions of the scar tissue occur when the fibrous tissues and the collagen in the skin area seem to overgrow. These scars are generally found on the chest, shoulders, back and jaw line and they seem to be tender, painful or itchy.
Our dermatologist will examine the condition of your skin and then determine whether you have acne scars and the type they are. Acne scars will probably stick around for the remaining life without proper treatment.
The dermatologist performs a visual examination to determine the diagnosis and checks how severe the scar is. The measurement system consists of four grades and they are – macular, mild, moderate and severe. Grade one, macular is a scar which seems red though flat. Grade two, mild, is a scar that can be covered easily by facial hair or makeup. Grade three, moderate, is obvious at social distance which cannot be covered by makeup or facial hair. Grade four, severe, is scarring that seems evident at a social distance more than 50 centimeters.
Yes, the skin needs to be blemish-free before you begin with the treatment for acne scars. Certain medications used on acne may interfere with medications and treatments used on the scars.
Over-the-counter creams are the most suitable choice. You need to check with the dermatologist about the best option for your skin type and your kind of scars. With different effective creams available, they include the following chemicals such as:
Sometimes, there is a minor surgery done for the treatment of certain kinds of acne scars. These surgeries can lift scar tissue closer to your skin surface for making indentations less visible. They may completely remove scar or break up scar tissue which enables new collagen to form and smooth out scar. The surgery is performed at your dermatologist’s office and you remain awake though the treatment area is numbed so that you do not feel any pain. The surgery will then be followed with other kinds of acne scar removal treatments.
Acne scars do not go away completely by themselves. Depressed acne scars usually become more visible with age when your skin loses collagen. But there are treatments available that can make acne scars less noticeable. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation or redness may lighten on its own within several months.
Acne scars range in appearance from mottled, shallow depressions, sometimes know as rolling scars to narrow and deep depressions.
It usually requires 3 to 6 months for these marks to disappear completely. However, if there is a scar and you face permanent skin damage, you will need proper treatment to get rid of the scars.
Most serious scarring occurs due to severe forms of acne with nodules which will more likely leave permanent scars than other kinds of acne. The most suitable approach is to get treatment for acne quickly after it appears to prevent further severe acne and more scarring.