Acne is a very common problem among individuals of all age groups, especially teenagers. It is formed when the hair follicles on your skin gets clogged with dirt and oil. The body tries to repair to this damage by changing the collagen (protein) fibres in the skin. Scars are formed when the acne heals.
Acne scars poses a serious cosmetic concern to people and many are emotionally affected by the appearance of the scars.
Depending on how much excess collagen the skin has formed or lost, acne scars are formed either Hypertrophic or Atrophic.
Hypertrophic scars/Raised scars– These scars are caused due to excess of tissue and are raised from the skin surface.
Atrophic scars/Depressed scars– These are caused due to loss of tissue and are depressed from the skin surface. Further, they can be of different types- ice pick, boxcar and rolling scars.
Treatment for-
Hypertrophic scars & keloids-silicon gels, cryotherapy and injections to reduce and flatten the scar. Co2 laser can also help to reduce hypertrophic scar & keloids caused due to acne.
Atrophic scars-
Chemical peels– Chemical peels can reduce the appearance of depressed acne scar and hyperpigmentation around a healed acne wound. It improves the texture of the skin.
Dermabrasion– This technique uses a high speed brush or other instrument to resurface the skin and reduce depth of scars. Afterwards, it takes the patient several days to heal completely.
Microneedling– In this technique, the acne scars are improved using a set of microneedles. derma roller or dermapen can be used for this.
Laser resurfacing – Ablative lasers like CO2 fractional or erbium yag can be used to remove the outer layer of skin & improve the scarring. This technique requires multiple sessions to produce visible results.
Non-ablative lasers can also be used for milder scars and have a shorter recovery time compared to ablative lasers.
Soft tissue fillers – A substance such as hyaluronic acid, fat or collagen can be used to fill out certain types of deep, depressed acne scars. Since fillers are eventually absorbed into the skin, the patient requires repeat filler injections after a certain period of time depending on the product used.
Surgery – The acne scar can be removed by surgically cutting out the scar & then the cut is repaired with stitches or a skin graft.