Acne Scars – Types, Prevention And Treatment

July 27, 2010

Acne is a common skin problem that affects majority of the individuals in their teenage and twenties. The hyper-pigmented marks that are left behind once the acne lesions heal are known to gradually develop into acne scars.

Preventing the occurrence of acne lesions is the best way to prevent post-inflammatory acne scars. Understanding the factors that cause acne and treating it accordingly with the best suitable treatment is the primary step towards treating acne scars.

There are few medications and practices that facilitate a better healing process in case of acne lesions thereby preventing occurrence of acne scars.

· Applying a good quality sunscreen allows protection from exposure to sunlight, which otherwise is known to delay healing and cause further skin damage.

· Use of tretinoin ensures quicker skin remodeling process.

· Apt formulations of Beta-Hydroxy acid and Alpha-Hydroxy acid with proper concentrations and appropriate pH also help remodeling of skin.

· Pricking of scabs needs to be avoided. Scabs are known to protect the remodeling process and pricking them can interfere with the healing procedure thus leading to prolonged recovery.

Various types of acne scars

Ice-pick scars are narrow and sharp scars that give an appearance to the skin as if being pierced with an ice pick. Laser resurfacing or dermabrasion treatments are able to treat the scars effectively.

Boxcar is oval to round depressions with pointed vertical ends. These are shallow scars that can be treated with conventional resurfacing treatments.

Rolling scars are a result of tethering of skin which gives an undulating or rolling appearance to the skin. These scars need to be treated by breaking up the subcutaneous fibrous tissue bands.

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