Managing Acne Scars 101

Acne scars sound like a recurring nightmare from high school. 

And it is.

But, unfortunately, for the rest of us who are not stressing over how many times we’ve worn the same jeans in a week or if our crush is going to show up to the second period today – we’re not safe just yet. Acne is still around the corner, and so is scarring. Like the game of Checkers, made for all ages.

… acne scars are still capable of following us through puberty and into the days where buying an air fryer or a good vacuum seem to be all-the-rage.

So, Who Gets Acne Scars?

Everyone’s different. Some people are more likely prone to acne scarring. And the risk increases when: 

• A person has inflammatory acne such as acne cysts. This type of acne tends to penetrate deep into the skin, instead of forming as white pimples.
• A person delays treatment for inflammatory acne. The longer you wait to seek treatment for acne, the greater the risk of scarring.
• A person picks at, squeezes or pops acne. When popping a pimple, you push bacteria deeper into the pore. If we didn’t need another reason why not to pop a pimple, know that a scar could be the direct result of your actions.
• A person has a relative who develops acne scars. Your genetic makeup plays a large role in how much acne, and what type of acne you may develop. Trusted Source

How Can Acne Scars Be Managed?

Unfortunately there isn’t a cure – per-say – for acne scar removal. However, there are treatments available to help acne scarring fade over time.

Skin Resurfacing: this is better for scarring that is close to flat. These treatments could look like anything along the realm of micro needling, chemical peels, and/or microdermabrasion. These can help resurface the skin by removing layers which signals the body to produce new skin cells. 

Scar Surgery: this is great for a few depressed acne scars. This is where your dermatologist may lift the scarring up toward the surface of the skin which makes the depressed scarring less noticeable.

Dermal Fillers: these are best for depressed acne scarring. Your dermatologist will use these dermal filler treatments to plump up the depressed acne scars. However, this treatment tends to be temporary. 

Collagen-Induction Therapy: this treatment is meant for widespread depressed acne scars. Also known as micro needling. This treatment encourages your body to create more collagen and raise the depressed scarring. However, this treatment can take up to 9 months of treatment to see results.

Laser Therapy: this is ideal for all types of acne scarring. Laser treatment is a light treatment normally performed with a pulsed dye laser, to help reduce or diminish color, itch and pain, and flatten raised scarring. 

Having Concerns About Your Acne Scarring?

The board-certified dermatologists at Balshi Dermatology are specialists in acne, acne treatment and acne scar treatment. 

So What ARE Acne Scars?

You may be wondering why you have had acne and maybe have never had a scar? Or maybe you had a lot of acne and only that one nasty pimple right before your 18th birthday decided to leave its mark? To be clear, not every acne breakout will end up in a scar. Acne scarring happens when deeply penetrated acne damages the surrounding skin tissue. A scar is left when the acne disappears and the body tries to repair the skin with either too much or too little collagen. This is how you will see either a depressed or raised acne scarring. 

Depressed acne scars happen when there is too little collagen produced in the area that needed repairing. These kind of look like little pits as the skin heals. 

Raised acne scarring happens when the body produces too much collagen which forms a visible bump of scar tissue raised above the surface of the skin. 

Unfortunately, as we get older, these scars become more noticeable as our skin loses more collagen.

If you are struggling with acne scars or even just acne and other skin issues, check out the skin health experts at Balshi Dermatology in Delray Beach, FL for all your questions and concerns. 

If you struggle with acne, you’re not alone. Up to 60 million Americans develop acne every year. And it’s honestly really simple. There are a few things you can do to help prevent future breakouts at what are some of the most inopportune times in life.

Next time you’re looking to prevent a breakout, check these things off your list:

Try a new treatment every other week. If you are one to go through multiple acne treatments, wondering nothing is working? Stop! Nothing happens that fast! Acne treatments need to have time to allow for repair and take effect. This could mean 6 to 8 weeks before improvement. So have patience!

Don’t apply acne medication to the only pimple you see. Help treat current breakouts and prevent future ones by spreading a thin layer of acne medication evenly over the skin.

Clean your makeup brushes! Dead skin cells and acne causing bacteria, build up on those brushes. When you use them without properly washing them, you’re transferring acne-causing bacteria to be transferred onto your skin which closes the pores and causes major breakouts. 

Don’t sleep with makeup on! You must always remove makeup before going to bed! No matter how tired or long of a day, you have to clean your face before you go to sleep. Otherwise, a day’s worth of bacteria and grime and pollution find their ways into your pores at night while you’re sleeping. 

Don’t scrub your face! Be gentle with your skin when you are washing it. Don’t be tempted to scrub the day away. Gently rinse off your day with a mild cleanser, warm water and only your fingers. Then pat – don’t rub – your face dry. Never rub, always be gentle. 

Clean your cell phone! Yes, think about it. Your phone is one of the dirtiest objects you pick up every day.  It goes everywhere with you. To the bathroom, to the gas station, to the gym, on the floor, etc. Your phone is gross and you press it against your face. If you’re not cleaning all that off your phone, you are pressing in the bacteria from the phone to your face every day. This definitely creates breakouts. 

You Touch You Face! This is hard to keep track of… but you really do! From resting your chin to rubbing your eyes. Those subtle movements can cause breakouts. The friction of the phone rubbing against the skin transfers dirt and oil to your pores. 

You never change your pillowcase! Dirt and oil build up on pillowcases. Refreshing your pillow every couple of days gets rid of dirt and oil build up in the material. Especially bacteria that is blemish causing bacteria. 

Wash Immediately After A Workout. On the contrary from the old wives tale about sweat causing acne. However, if you workout and sweat – post workout, the combination of sweat and natural oils in our hair follicles can lead to clogging pores when everything isn’t cleaned properly. Shower and rinse away the bacteria.

If you find that you still develop unwanted acne and scarring. These preventions and safe and effective treatments are available. Look to diminish scarring that depresses the skin or look for treatment that can safely reduce raised acne scars. 

These treatments can be anything labeled above that include minor skin surgeries, fillers, chemical peels, and laser treatments. Talk to Dr. Balshi about these treatments and what may be right for you as a patient with specific acne scarring needs. 

It’s unfortunate that as we age, our acne scars often become more noticeable because of the loss of collagen in our skin. The key to maintain a high skin level and effective treatment is to select specific treatment for each scar type. 

Some patients may benefit from getting dermal fillers in their deep scarring which helps add volume to the skin, which could be coupled and followed up by laser treatments. 

Talk to your dermatologist not only about treatment for scarring but for help with clearing your current acne if any. It’s important! New acne breakouts can lead to new acne scars. With new breakouts and the inflammation that comes with an outbreak, the effectiveness of treatment of the acne scars will be reduced. 

To get the best results, let your dermatologist first examine your skin. It is often that some patients are surprised when they find out that their scarring is actually a different skin problem than they were aware of. 

Many people have had success with reducing acne and acne scarring over the years. In the case of stubborn scarring, one of the various medical treatments done in a dermatologist’s office, like Dr. Balshi at Balshi Dermatology, can help get rid of most of the scarring. 

Struggling with Acne or Acne Scarring, Call Dr. Balshi in Delray Beach

To schedule a consultation with a board-certified dermatologist in Delray Beach, contact Balshi Dermatology at (561) 272-6000 or send us a message on our Contact Page to set up your appointment