Acne scars are challenging to many and can negatively affect confidence, self-esteem, and mental wellness. These scars are a result of intense inflammation from severe acne, as your skin swells and breaks down the walls of your pores.
Scars from acne are often so widespread due to the infection of other pores surrounding the infected pore. This article will look at some of the challenges people with acne scars face and the best ways to treat them.
What Are Acne Scars and What Causes Them?
Acne is one of the most common skin conditions in adolescents. However, it can also occur in adults. Dead skin cells clog pores and then become infected and inflamed. Therefore, severe cases of acne can cause prolonged adverse effects on the skin.
Because acne occurs on the face, it is nearly impossible to shield the condition from others. Therefore, acne scars can often cause various psychological issues and cause people to be self-conscious.
The psychological effects are perhaps the most severe, as many experience issues with their appearance, lack self-confidence, and are often embarrassed to attend social events. These issues can cause people to avoid social interactions or feel self-conscious around others.
Acne scars are caused by several factors. That said, they are most prominent in places where you have sebaceous glands, which are the face, back, and chest. The main causes of acne scars are inflammation and breakdown within the walls of the pore. Minor acne scars will often heal themselves due to your skin’s creation of collagen.
These scars often take the appearance of deep lesions on the skin and are often the cause of excess oil, bacteria, and dead skin. If acne occurs with shallow lesions, it will often heal completely; however, deep lesions sometimes require treatment.
Types of Acne Scarring
There are two main types of acne scarring, hypertrophic or keloid scarring and atrophic and depressed scarring.
Hypertrophic or keloid scarring is often the result of excess collagen production as the acne begins to heal. This often results in the form of raised tissue on the affected pores. Often, Retin A is a useful regimen for acne scar treatment.
Atrophic and depressed scarring is often the result of significant tissue loss. Atrophic scarring types include icepick scars, deep holes in the skin’s surface, and boxcar scars that are usually circular and angled down to the sides.
Acne scars can be devastating because they affect people both mentally and emotionally. Let’s check out some of the best treatments on the market today to reduce or eliminate the look of acne scars.
7 Best Acne Scar Treatments
Admire My Skin takes pride in developing safe and practical solutions to treating acne scars and other types of skin conditions and is often worth the cost of tretinoin.
They have developed their products from first-hand experience and only develop all-natural, cruelty-free products. Many of their acne treatments are preventative treatments and are regular daily regimens. Let’s take a look at the vast array of products to treat acne scars.
Topical Treatments
Ultra Potent Brightening Serum
The Ultra Potent Brightening Serum by Admire My Skin is an all-natural, cruelty-free, and safe topical application, proven to reduce signs of acne scars in as little as four weeks. It includes all the safety of retin A, and can treat acne scars of any type. This product also treats dark spots, improves brightness, and lessens the effects of hyperpigmentation.
Some of the key ingredients include Kojic acid, Azelaic acid, lactic acid, salicylic acid, and vitamin C. This product is 100% vegan, gluten-free, and does not have a fragrance.
We recommend applying this serum to clean skin beginning every other day and easing into daily use as you become accustomed to the regimen. You must wear sunscreen in the area where you applied the product.
It is also important to note that after using the serum for 60 days, you should stop for 30 days. This method helps you avoid ochronosis, a reaction to this treatment, which can often cause dark spots.
Potent Retinoid Cream
The Potent Retinoid Cream by Admire My Skin provides a natural way to prevent collagen buildup and treat acne. Its moisturizing capabilities allow you to prevent the dry skin and bacteria that cause acne and restores your skin’s bright glow.
This prescription-strength cream is fast-acting when used regularly, as you should see a significant difference four weeks after the initial application. For acne scars, this regimen can either help prevent acne altogether or reduce acne scars’ appearance.
According to a survey, 94% of customers said they saw a vast improvement in their skin’s appearance. One of the most dramatic effects was how smooth their skin became, reducing the appearance of any scar or hole.
Collagen Beauty Cream
The Collagen Beauty Cream is a natural, organic, and cruelty-free product that reduces the look of wrinkles, fine lines, and acne scars. This cream is a dermal filler and much more effective when compared to the competition, and proven to produce results in as little as three weeks with frequent use.
This is a viable option to consider when looking for a topical treatment for acne scars, as it replenishes your pores and improves both the tone and texture of your skin. When compared to other comparable creams, this is one of the most affordable, especially when you consider the ingredients in the products.
Laser
Laser resurfacing treatments are a viable alternative to topical treatments; however, they are often more expensive.
It is also important to note that laser treatments do not remove the scar, although they significantly reduce the appearance of atrophic scarring and enhance the overall look and texture of your skin. Here are some of the most popular laser skin treatments available.
Fractional CO2 Laser
The Fractional CO2 Laser is one of the most intense laser treatments, however, significant results are often experienced after just one treatment. This laser is fractional because it treats only a fraction of the skin or just the infected area. It is highly effective, and will often leave behind healthy skin, which expedites the overall healing process.
The laser works by entering the skin and going deep within its layers. It then creates collagen, which helps improve the appearance of acne scars. The treated spot will usually not create collagen for 3-6 days while it recovers from the puncture of the laser.
Often, patients who opt for this laser will continue to see improvements in the appearance of their overall skin for six months. It is often recommended that patients use a moisturizer to expedite the healing and rejuvenation process.
Fraxel Laser
The Fraxel laser has the quickest recovery time and is non-ablative, meaning it uses heat to rejuvenate the collagen and does not puncture the various layers of skin. Like most laser treatments, this laser only treats certain infected areas of the skin.
The process this laser uses to rejuvenate your skin is quite straightforward, as it heats the various layers of skin. This increases the intensity of the healing process and promotes the generation of new collagen.
The affected area should undergo this treatment at least four times to see significant results. Slowly, you will see the skin affected by acne scars often becomes smooth and evens out.
Alternatives to Topical and Laser Treatment
Although topical and laser treatments are among the most popular, not everyone has seen significant results. However, some more intense treatments to treat acne have come to fruition, including various types of antibiotics, anti-estrogen agents, and the most intensive treatment, isotretinoin.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics are often the most popular alternative to topical and laser treatments. They often work in conjunction with a retinoid. However, you should take the antibiotic first, and the topical treatment afterward. This is effective because both the antibiotic and topical application work together, and often produce an impressive result in a short amount of time.
Anti-Estrogen Hormones
Another alternative is an anti-estrogen agent that stops the negative effects of hormones, reducing the amount of estrogen allowed to access oily parts of the skin, such as the pores on your face. This is often a popular option among adolescents, as they experience the most by changing hormones.
Isotretinoin
Isotretinoin is another effective solution, however, it is often seen as a last resort taken by those who have not seen results with other laser or topical treatments. Because of its intensity, the FDA mandates that you register for their risk management plan, and check back often with your doctor to ensure you are progressing accordingly.
Before and After
The before and after results of both topical and laser acne scar treatments are quite surprising. Most patients saw an improvement in around 3-6 months while using the treatment. Redness, holes, and other blemishes caused by severe acne are often reduced, and skin feels soft and smooth.
In before and after photos, you can see the reduction in the size of the holes in the skin. It is quite apparent that the replenishment of collagen helped create soft and smooth skin. Most of our clients have experienced significant improvement, and have checked back with us often to keep track of progress.
What is the Typical Treatment Regimen?
Depending on which type of treatment you plan on using, the typical treatment regimen for acne scars is daily for topical creams, and weekly or monthly for the laser treatment. This is especially prevalent for topical creams, as you must continue to take these daily to see significant results.
Like many types of topical acne scar treatments, these treatments are best paired with the use of sunblock and moisturizer on the affected areas.
Even if you are getting laser treatment, you should still moisturize your skin. Moisturizers replenish your pores and make your skin bright and smooth, which helps with the overall results.
Who Should Take Acne Scar Treatments?
Acne treatments are common for those who have severe acne, and it is affecting them both mentally and emotionally. Often, patients with severe acne will seek treatment, as it significantly affects their lifestyle. It is also advantageous if you have deep holes in your face from cystic acne.
You should also begin these treatments if you are well beyond adolescence and want to get your acne under control for adulthood.
Who Should Not?
Those who are prone to side effects or other issues should not take the antibiotic treatments, however, the laser and topical treatments work well for nearly everyone.
Side Effects of Acne Scar Treatments
Although acne scar treatments are often quite successful and cause few side effects, it is important to know what to expect from your respective treatment. For laser treatments, the side effects often include swelling, redness, and pain where the laser-treated the affected pores.
However, it is important to note that for most patients, the soreness or red spots that occur from the laser are usually gone within a few hours. It’s a very rare case that these issues last any longer. Hyperpigmentation is also a possible side effect, as it could cause your skin to look darker and less radiant.
You should also discuss the risk of infection, as the laser could cause an adverse reaction with the delicate layers of your skin, however, this is very rare. It is critical that if you notice any signs of swelling or hyperpigmentation to contact your doctor right away to prevent any further issues in the future.
Final Thoughts
Acne can be difficult to deal with, however, these regimens can lessen the look and depth of acne scars, restoring the smoothness and glow to your pores.
Before using any of these treatments, it is critical to perform ample research and ask your doctor which regimen would be best for you. By following through with these regimens, you should notice a significant difference in both your skin and confidence level in a matter of weeks.
