You may be glad you don’t get acne anymore, but what if you’re left with acne scars? While some people don’t have any lasting effects from acne, many find that their skin ends up with scarring that doesn’t even seem to heal. There are several ways to take care of this problem, however, and your dermatologist can help you find out which one may be right for you.

Common Types of Acne Scars

The first step toward dealing with you scars is determining just what type of acne scars you have. Your dermatologist may tell you that you have a specific type of scar, and you may not understand what this means. There are several varieties, which can be either raised or indented, or characterized by discoloration. The raised kind, which may be hypertrophic or keloid, is usually caused by too much collagen that has collected within the skin. There are more varieties of acne scars that happen due to loss of skin tissues, which may look like dents in the skin. Many of these types of scars are seen in certain shapes and have special names.
Icepick and boxcar scars are oval or straight-line scars that are deep pits in the skin, and can be either very soft or quite hard. Soft scars are easier to heal than hard ones. Rolling scars are caused by tissue growing together beneath the surface of the skin. Hypertrophic scars are red and inflamed. The simplest type of acne scars are discoloration, which is also the easiest type to repair.

Types of Treatment for Acne Scars

The various types of scars may require very different types of treatment. Some may require more than one. The easiest type of treatment is used on discoloration scars, which can be either red or darkly pigmented. Some acne scar creams are available over the counter, or your dermatologist can prescribe something stronger.

Other treatments may include chemical peels, microdermabrasion, or laser treatment. All of these work by removing the top layer of skin, though they use different methods to do it and are useful for removing different types of acne scars.

Surgery is a final option. Rolling scars can be treating surgically, which usually involves inserting a needle or scalpel under the skin to break up the improper growths and allow blood to flow. It may be followed by a microdermabrasion or other treatment.

Whatever treatment method you and your doctor decide upon, you will be glad to be free of your acne scars.

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