Acne Scars 101: A Complete Guide to Getting Smooth Skin Again
Are acne scars making you self-conscious or embarrassed about your skin?
While some people are fortunate enough to have blemishes that come and go without leaving a mark, others are left with visual reminders of their past breakouts, which can take a real emotional toll.
As if acne isn’t bad enough, a scar that develops after a pimple can take weeks or months to fade — if it fades at all, notes the informational website KidsHealth.org.
If you think there's no hope for stubborn scars, think again. The upside is that many treatments can remove or fade these scars, making them less noticeable and helping you regain your self-confidence.
Why Do Acne Scars Occur?
Why do some people have acne scars, while others don’t?
The reasons vary, but genetics is one risk factor for scarring. If a blood relative struggles with acne scarring, you might, too, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). Also, scarring tends to happen more as the skin loses collagen with age.
Because collagen plays a role in the healing process, your skin produces new collagen as it repairs itself after a breakout. But sometimes, it produces too little or too much, resulting in a scar.
Keep in mind that acne is an inflammatory condition. Scar development has a lot to do with the extent and duration of skin inflammation, so delaying acne treatment raises the risk of scarring, according to the AAD.
“Acne scars result from a complex and abnormal inflammatory response, which results in poor wound healing,” says Kara Shah, MD, a board-certified general and pediatric dermatologist with Kenwood Dermatology in Cincinnati.
Because scarring is a complication of acne, anyone who experiences a breakout can have temporary or permanent scars, according to the NHS; yet scarring is most common in those who suffer from inflammatory acne characterized by numerous pimples and cysts, says Dr. Shah.
What Are the Signs of an Acne Scar?
“The types of scarring seen in acne include keloids or hypertrophic scars, which appear as red, firm, raised papules [bumps],” Shah says. Atrophic scars appear as depressed or “sunken in” areas, and may be larger, broad scars (boxcar scars and rolling scars), or small pits (ice pick) scars.
Identifying an acne scar from other types of scars isn’t too difficult, because an acne scar occurs in the spot where a pimple was.
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