Vitality News Health Articles

Commonly, the mild type of acne occurring in most people does not produce scars, or if it does, the scarring heals naturally over time. But people suffering from severe types of acne such as nodular cystic acne might be left with deep scarring in the skin.

There are also marks and pigmentation associated with acne that are not precisely scars but resemble them in appearance. These disappear eventually but are visible enough to produce embarrassment. Macules are similar to pseudo- scars, which are usually left behind by an inflamed acne lesion. These flat red spots are just the last stage of any inflamed lesion. Unlike a scar, a macule might take time to fade, but once it vanishes, it leaves no marks behind.

A discoloration of the skin my occur after the healing of any inflamed acne lesion. It is more frequent in dark skinned people, but might occur in white skin also. This is called “post inflammatory pigmentation.” It can need treatment by a dermatologist.

Scar treatment possibilities

Based on the shape of tissue, acne scars are divided in two categories. One kind of scar consists of increased skin tissue, and the others are recognized by the decrease in tissue on the site of acne. Overgrowth of scar tissue is known as Keloid and is more pronounced in African-Americans. The profound, linear scar formed by acne is called the ice-pick scar. These are very deep and eliminating them is difficult.

One more cause of acne scarring is the pinching and squeezing of acne. This expands the infection to surrounding skin and damages unhealed tissue, which results in pit-like scars.

Treatment of acne scars ranges from simple acne scar cream to laser therapy, skin graft, and painful dermabrasion. Filling agents are also applied to eliminate acne scars. Most filling agents are temporary, like collagen. For deep ice-pick scars, the best treatment is to cut the scars and replace them with a skin graft taken from behind the ear. This technique is known as punch grafting.

Dermabrasion is almost the opposite of the cutting down technique. Here, the healthy skin is eliminated to bring the acne scar to a lower level. In this case the scar remains the same but the level of rest of the skin varies, making them shallower. It gives skin a softer surface.

In acne scar therapy, another method is laser surgery. In this treatment, carbon dioxide is applied, which removes skin very finely, layer by layer, thus reducing the harm to healthy tissue. Like dermabrasion, this method also leaves skin red for months.

In peeling treatments, chemicals are used to eliminate the external layer of skin, the epidermis. To reduce different types of scars, superficial peels, medium-depth peels, and deep peels are used. These are mostly helpful for shallow, superficial scars. Scars produced by cystic acne and acne rosacea are treated by this method. Peeling is a long procedure that needs a preparation period of many weeks before the actual intervention.

The biological components found in our new skin care product guarantee the healing of scars, imperfections and a wide range of skin conditions, without producing allergic reactions.

- Danna Finnerand