How to Best Treat Acne Scars

Active breakouts are frustrating enough, but the scars acne can leave behind can be frustrating. The good news is that acne scars can be treated.

But before treatment can start, you first have to get rid of any acne once and for all since new breakouts can lead to new acne scars.

Some of the scar treatments below can’t be done alongside typical acne medications, and the inflammation caused by breakouts can also reduce treatment effectiveness.

Pictures of acne scars

Scars are formed when a breakout penetrates the skin deeply and damages the tissues beneath it.

Before you try to treat your scars, it’s important to know what type they are. Each type responds to treatment differently, and some treatments are better for particular types than others.

Additionally, your skin tone can also be a factor. For example, for darker skin types, deeper skin laser treatments will not be recommended due to higher chances of scarring and pigmentation.

Most darker skin tones will be pretreated with 4 percent hydroquinone (bleaching cream) prior to treatments like microneedling, peels, and lasers.

Atrophic or depressed acne scars

Atrophic scars are most common on the face. A depressed scar sits below the surrounding skin. They’re formed when not enough collagen is made while the wound is healing. There are three types of atrophic scars:

These are wide, U-shaped scars that have sharp edges. They can be shallow or deep. The shallower they are, the better they respond to skin resurfacing treatments. Microdermabrasion and gentle peels are great for almost all skin types.

But laser resurfacing has to be done cautiously because more scarring and pigmentary changes in darker skin tones, like post-inflammatory pigmentation. It’s best to pretreat darker skin types with a 4 percent hydroquinone for at least 4-6 weeks prior to starting these treatments.

Ice pick scars are narrow, V-shaped scars that can go deep into the skin. They can look like small round or oval holes, like a chickenpox scar. These are the most difficult scars to treat because they can extend far under the surface of the skin.

These are wide depressions that typically have rounded edges and an irregular, rolling appearance.

Hypertrophic or raised acne scars

These scars are most common with chest and back acne. They stand above the surface of the surrounding skin and are caused by too much collagen during healing.

Discoloration left behind after a zit has cleared isn’t a scar. The purple, red, or brown marks will fade over a few months on their own.

Before you start any treatment for acne scars, it’s important to be seen by a dermatologist or a healthcare professional. They can help you determine the best method to reduce the appearance of your scars and also make sure that the marks on your skin are actually scars and not another condition.