Our skin loses collagen as we age, and acne scars tend to become more noticeable. The key to effective treatment is to choose the best solution for different types of scars. For example, patients with deep-pitting scars may need facial fillings to increase subcutaneous volume to see significant improvement. After that, laser treatment is needed.
Before treating acne scars, the first important step is to remove acne. New acne may cause new acne scars. Acne also means skin inflammation. Inflammation will reduce the effect of treating acne scars.
Types of acne scars
Sunken
Most acne scars cause sunken or pitted skin. Doctors often call them "atrophic" scars or use the name of a specific sunken scar.
Raised
These acne scars are more common on the back and chest. The medical term for raised scars is "hypertrophic scar".
Factors that increase the risk of severe scarring
Inflammatory (swelling, reddish, tingling) acne, such as acne cysts and nodules
This type of acne easily penetrates into the skin and damages the skin.
Delay or untreated inflammatory acne
The longer a patient has had inflammatory acne, the greater the risk of leaving a scar.
Pick, squeeze, and press acne
This can aggravate inflammation and increase the risk of scarring.
Although we know what increases a person's risk of acne scars, it is impossible to predict who will have acne scars. Even people with all these factors may not have acne scars. Fortunately, acne scars can be effectively prevented with effective acne treatments. If acne is not treated for a long time, it will become more serious, which may cause the scar to get deeper and spread.
