Acne Scar

For some sufferers of mild acne, acne scar formation never happens. In cases of severe acne, a legacy may remain: serious acne scars which result in long term emotional suffering and even depression and poor self-image. However, modern techniques mean that anyone with an acne scar does not need to live with it forever.

Avoiding Acne Scar Formation

It may sound obvious but the first step in acne scar treatment is to avoid acne scarring altogether. This means actively seeking treatment for acne before scarring ever occurs. Try to seek treatment for acne as soon as you possibly can before the acne becomes severe: there is a relationship between the severity of acne experienced and the likelihood of acne scar damage to the skin.

Causes of Acne Scarring

As acne cysts develop, affected sebaceous glands in the skin swell as they fill with bacteria, dead cells and oil from the glands themselves. This blockage or cyst eventually leads to its collapse whereby the entire bacterial matter contained within the sebaceous glands is forced deeper into the skin. This matter is attacked by white blood cells that fight off infection.

Types of Acne Scar

As aggressive inflammation occurs under the skin (as a consequence of the acne) there are potentially two acne scar types that may arise.

Collagen is damaged, and as a result the skin that covers the area collapses inwards resulting in a small depression in the skin. The resultant pock mark or ice-pick acne scar is generally more typically found in cases of facial acne in both male and female acne sufferers.
An excessive type of scarring called keloid acne scar tissue may form. Keloid acne scarring results as fibroblasts are activated (fibroblasts are the cells in the skin that make collagen). Keloid scars, which generally affect men, are lumpy acne scar formations that are reddish in colour.

Age and Acne Scar Tissue

As we grow older the collagen in our skin begins to diminish. From 40 years onwards it is estimated that we lose one percent of our collagen each year. Consequently, as collagen loss increases and skin tone reduces acne scar tissue can gradually become more visible.

Acne Scar Treatment

What is the best acne scar treatment? Well in many cases there is no singular best treatment for all cases. Skin colour and tone, age, race, severity and type of acne scar tissue, location of the acne scar and how the sufferer perceives the scarring all play a part in determining what the best treatment for acne scarring in a particular case should be. Also factored into this should be how the acne scar sufferer is prepared or can afford to pay as some treatments can be quite expensive. Some acne scar removal therapies can also be painful and require many months of treatment before the sufferer has reached a level he or she is happy with. Having said this, be positive because there are many acne scar treatments that can really make a difference.