For some people, acne scars are inevitable, as they result from years of battling with pimples. Some people are weighed down with this problem from their early teen years, when pimples seem to be taking over their social lives. This problem continues later in life when the scars that the pimples leave behind are prominent and are unfortunately, permanent. This article discusses various treatment options available for acne scar treatment.
Causes of Acne Scars
When excess sebum, dead cells and bacteria get filled in the sebaceous follicles, they result in inflamed blemishes. Inflammation is the factor that can help in determining the scarring. Greater the inflammation, higher is the chance of skin acne scar. Also deep breakouts take a long time to heal and increase the chance of scar formation.
Two types of acne scars exist:
(1) depressed or atrophic areas such as ice-pick scars formed due to loss of tissues, and
(2) raised thickened tissue such as keloids or hypertrophic areas formed by production of excess collagen during the healing process.
Prevention of Acne Scars
Since the root cause of acne scarring is acne, preventing the inflammatory break-outs in the first place is the best way to avoid scars. But even if you already have acne, it is still possible to prevent acne scars from forming.
(1) Avoid exposure to harsh sunlight unprotected as it causes more damage to the skin.
(2) Don’t pick or squeeze a pimple because picking can force debris deeper into the dermis, spread infection to other tissue and worsen inflammation.
(3) Also avoid picking at scabs as it prolongs the healing process and increases chances of scarring.
Try speeding the healing process as much as possible. The faster your acne lesion heals, the less time the connective tissue framework has to overgrow and leave scars. Tretinoin and various alpha- and beta-hydroxy acids are helpful in speeding the skin’s healing, reducing inflammation and preventing acne scars from forming. But in case scars develop, there are several modalities that can be helpful in acne scar treatment.
A number of acne scar treatments are available. The type of acne scar treatment selected should be the one that is best for you in terms of your skin type, the cost, and what you expect to accomplish after acne scar treatment
Natural Medicine for Acne Scar Treatment
A good home remedy for acne scar treatment is to apply a mixture of ground nutmeg and milk on the scar left from the pimple.
Applying lemon or cucumber juice directly on the scars helps in acne scar treatment by improving the appearance of dark acne scars and blemishes by lightening them.
Massaging olive oil on the scarred skin softens the skin's texture and reduces visibility of acne scars, thus very useful in acne scar treatment.
Honey is another natural moisturizer that can help in acne scar treatment.
Chemical Peels for Acne Scar Treatment
Chemical peels are often used to minimize superficial scars. The top layer of skin is removed with a chemical application to the skin. By removing the top layer, the skin regenerates, often improving its appearance.
Collagen Injections for Acne Scar Treatment
Fillers such as collagen can be injected into the site of an acne scar, raising the skin surface to reduce the appearance of pockmarks. These are not permanent acne scar treatments, however, and will require re-injection every 3-6 months. They usually do not work very well for ice-pick scars and keloids.
It is an extremely popular and fast method of acne scar treatment. It works by burning a precisely measured upper layer of skin. New skin then grows over the wound, leaving mostly unscarred skin visible. It usually takes between 3 and 10 days for the skin to heal completely.
Punch Excision for Acne Scar Treatment
This procedure is only effective on certain types of acne scars. Under local anesthesia, the acne scar is excised with the punch tool and the skin edges are sutured together. The newly produced scar eventually fades away. If there is any scarring left after the wound heals, it can be more easily treated with laser resurfacing than the original larger scar.
Autologous Fat Transfer for Acne Scar Treatment
Fat is taken from a different site of your body and prepared for injection into your skin. The fat is injected beneath the surface of the skin to elevate depressed scars from nodulocystic acne. Because the fat is reabsorbed into the skin over a period of 6 to 18 months, the procedure usually must be repeated
Dermabrasion for Acne Scar Treatment
This is thought to be the most effective method of acne scar treatment. Under local anesthetic, a high-speed brush is used to remove surface skin and alter the contour of acne scars. As the skin heals, a new smoother layer replaces the abraded skin. It usually takes between 10 days and 3 weeks for skin to heal.
Skin Grafting for Acne Scar Treatment
Dermabrasion sometimes unroofs massive and extensive tunnels caused by inflammatory reaction to sebum and bacteria in sebaceous follicles. Skin grafting may be needed to close the defect of the unroofed sinus tracts
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