Skincare: What Are Acne Scars? Know Treatment Options

For healthy and glowing skin, you need to follow a healthy diet and lifestyle along with a proper skincare routine. You also need to choose right skincare products according to your skin type. But irrespective of these steps many face several skin issues and acne is one these. Acne or pimples or zits in easier terms represent one of the most common problems that many suffer. It is an ever-growing cause of concern especially because it leaves an indelible mark in the form of acne scar in its most severe form.

What are acne scars? Know treatment options

Acne is actually an inflammation of the pilo-sebaceous units present in the skin. Acne most often but not always is followed by the formation of a scar. That means that the inflammation and infection leads to scar formation, but if treated early and in the correct manner then acne scars can be prevented. An acne scar forms when the acne is healing and the superficial layers of the skin are damaged leading to adhesion of the area to the deeper layers.

In the early years because the skin is tighter, these scars may not be that visible but as you age and the collagen content in the skin reduces, these scarred areas become more noticeable. These scars are classified on the basis of their appearance. Rolling scars which are shallow, ice-pick scars which are narrow but deep and box scars which look like punched out healed skin.

These days, several treatment options are available to get rid of can scars. Some of these are-

1. Laser Resurfacing: Laser Resurfacing for treatment of acne scars is a treatment which has been since many years. This treatment requires multiple sessions and skin slowly improves in texture, lessening the scars.

2. Microneedling: A set of fine needles are used to create channels in your skin which stimulate the skin to produce its own collagen. This procedure helps in reducing the scars and improving the general health of the skin. This can be combined with various growth factor or radiofrequency treatments available.

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3. Peels: These have been used since a long time for acne scar betterment. These are chemical substances that are applied on the face or other body parts as required to cause exfoliation of skin and thereby lessen the appearance of these scars. However, superficial peels do very little for the scars which require deeper peels to show a positive effect.

4. Subcision: It is a process which literally acts by lifting the scar from underneath. The acne scars are 'stuck' to the underlying tissue which are lifted off thereby reducing the depth of the scars. This can be combined with filler or fat grafting to be done under the scars so that they remain lifted up and do not stick back again.

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5. Dermabrasion: This is the procedure a single session reduces the scars to a reasonable extent. However, this is a procedure for which the patient selection has to be good. It is not a treatment to be offered to everyone who suffers from acne scars. Hyperpigmentation can be intense and this requires one to stay out of sun exposure for at least a couple of weeks. The procedure involves the scraping away of the external skin layers so that new skin can regenerate. In experienced hands this offers a very good result in a single session.

6. Surgical removal of acne scars: In very deep scars none of the above treatments may work to the satisfaction of the patient and some scars may be needed to be removed surgically followed by a couple of laser sessions. This gives a very good result for selected scars and is a single session based treatment for a given scar.

(Dr. Shilpi Bhadani, Plastic and Aesthetic surgeon, Director and Founder SB Aesthetics, Gurugram, India)

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