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ACNE SCARRING
Acne Treatment Tips
Acne treatment is the first step to preventing acne scarring. Sometimes
acne sufferers have spots that look like scars, but are not actual
scars. If a permanent change of the skin has occurred, technically that
is a scar. Many times scarring is improved with acne treatment.
Acne Treatment Tip #1
The following spots are not true scars and will disappear with time.
- Post Inflammatory Pigmentation - Or a skin discoloration
left by healed acne. Post inflammatory pigmentation happens most
frequently in sufferers with darker skin. Avoiding the sun and seeking
early acne treatment with a dermatologist may stop or minimize post
inflammatory pigmentation. This condition may last up to two years
before they disappear without a trace.
- Macules - Also known as pseudo-scars, are red, flat
spots that appear during the final stages of acne treatment. After the
acne flattens, macules may stay for sometimes up to six months through
a year. When macules disappear, they do so totally, leaving no trace
they were ever there.
Acne scarring forms when skin tissue is injured. As the skin heals, it
leaves the scar as a reminder that the skin received damaged. When a
body works to repair injured skin, white blood cells and other
inflammatory molecules race to the site to repair the skin and fight
infection. These are efficient healers, but sometimes they can leave a
mess in the form of a scar.
Acne Treatment Tip #2
There are only two true types of scars. The definition of "scar" is a
permanent change of the skin by 1) extra tissue formation or by 2) a
loss of tissue.
- Keloids or Hypertrophic Scars - Are caused by excessive
amounts of collagen that form extra tissue at an injury site. An acne
injury triggers production of collagen for skin repair. Excessive
collagen builds up to form a firm, smooth, fibrous mass. Keloids and
hypertrophic scars sometimes get smaller with time and acne treatment.
- Atrophic Macules - Are caused by a loss of tissue.
Atrophic macules are small, soft, wrinkled, and a little bluish. With
time and acne treatment, atrophic macules become less obvious.
- Depressed Fibrotic Scars - Are large, steep indentations
with clean edges. The base of the scar is firm. Acne treatment may help
depressed fibrotic scars.
- Follicular Macular Atrophy - Are small, soft lesions,
barely above the skin surface that occur most often on the chest or
back. They resemble whiteheads and may become less noticeable with acne
treatment.
- Ice Pick Scars - Are small with steep sides and a jagged
edge that typically occur on the cheeks of the face. Ice pick scars
resemble stabbing wounds as possible with an ice pick. Ice pick scars
vary in depth and feel. A common acne treatment for ice pick scars is
stretching the skin.
- Soft Scars - Are small and soft with edges that gently merge into non-damaged skin.
For more Acne Treatment Tips check out our other articles.
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