Acne Scars and Treatment - Which Type of Treatment is Most Suitable for You

So you have got rid of the acne, but what do you do about
the scars?

With acne affecting about 25 percent of adults – and
roughly 80 percent of people in their teens and 20's – the
desire for an effective acne scar treatment is widespread.
Many people recover from acne without any permanent
effects, but others are left with disfiguring acne scars.
There are a variety of acne products and medicines that can
improve mild scarring, but sever acne scars must be treated
by a dermatologist, using a combination of surgical
procedures and skin abrasion therapy.

Acne occurs when pores in the skin become plugged with oil,
bacteria and dead skin cells. Bacteria grows inside the
plugged follicle, creating red, pus-filled red bumps.
Hormonal changes during the teen years (exacerbated by
stress in both teens and adults) cause increased oil
production that contributes to the problem. Most serious
scarring is caused by the more severe forms of acne, with
large pustules that are more likely to leave permanent
scars, even with regular acne treatment. The best way to
deal with adult acne is to begin using acne products as
soon as the acne appears, this preventing more acne and
more scarring.

After an acne lesion has healed, it may leave a red mark on
the skin. This, however, isn't a scar – it's a
post-inflammatory change in the skin's pigment as it goes
through its healing process, and will slowly fade over
approximately 6 to 12 months. If a good acne treatment
program is followed and no more acne develops in that area,
the skin can heal normally. Only if a change remains after
a year is it considered a scar.

The best way to prevent scarring and pigmentary changes
from adult acne is to is to prevent acne from occurring in
the first place. If you have serious scarring from adult
acne, however, you have a acne scar treatment options. The
most state-of-the-art method for treating acne scars is
laser resurfacing, which can be done by your dermatologist.
The laser removes the damaged top layer of skin, leaving
skin smoother. Treatments can take anywhere from a few
minutes to an hour, and the patient is given a local
anesthetic to lessen pain. It usually takes between three
and 10 days after a treatment for the skin to heal
completely.

The more traditional acne scar treatment treating acne
scarring is dermabrasion, which uses an abrasive disc to
wear down the surface of the skin, much like when you sand
down a piece of wood. As the skin heals, a new, smoother
layer replaces the abraded skin. It takes between 10 days
and three weeks for skin to heal between treatments. Both
of these types of treatments will take multiple trips to
the dermatologist, and will cause the skin to turn red
several months. Acne cannot be active – meaning you can't
have any pustules or blackheads – when these treatments are
done. Depending on the severity of your scars, your
dermatologist may also suggest a mild chemical peel or
microdermabrasion as an acne scar treatment, both of which
are done in the doctor's office.

In some cases, a doctor may recommend surgery for deep acne
scars, or collagen injections that displace the damaged
tissue. It works well on the scars that are not too deep,
but the treatment has to be repeated periodically. In the
most severe cases of acne scars, your doctor may recommend
plastic surgery. Plastic surgery as an acne scar treatment
is an expensive option, and it has the added problem that,
should you have problems with acne in the future, you have
less layers of skin and new scars could be even worse.

Whether you choose dermabrasion or a chemical peel, they
all work by removing the top layer of skin. So right after
treatment, the skin is sensitive and unprotected. This can
be an issue if you need to go outside a lot. Dust and
strong winds can damage newly abraded skin as well. After
acne scar treatment, you should only use acne products
specially formulated for sensitive skin. There are many
effective acne scar treatments and there is no reason to
leave your scars untreated. Do your research, make an
appointment with your dermatologist and be sure, that there
is a treatment that can remove your acne scars or make them
much less noticeable.

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