Acne Scars:  Treatment to get rid of acne scars

If there is anything worse than acne, it is acne scars. If not pimples, one may suffer from acne scars or hyperpigmentation caused because of it. Popping pimples may be a guilty pleasure, but it can take a toll on your skin, and Dr. Shikha advises against acne scar treatment and how to get rid of acne scars.

Dr. Shikha’s advice to all of you dealing with acne would be to consult a qualified dermatologist instead of picking and prodding your acne on your own. Acne can leave behind these scars on your skin, which are even more challenging to treat than the acne itself. She added, when acne inflammation is left untreated, it keeps on eroding the skin layers completely.  It does not just superficially affect your appearance but dig deep into your skin also, and the bacteria keep spreading the infection. It is nothing to worry about. There is a complete solution for these acne scars; if you’ve already crossed the face of active acne and you are very much depressed with your acne scars, Dr. Shikha has suggested some treatments to make you feel better inside out. 

Before getting into the treatment process, she educated us about the types of acne scars:

Atrophic scars: As the name suggests, they are depressed scars. Atrophic scars are caused by tissue loss, forming depressions in the skin. 

Hypertrophic scars:  These are raised scars caused by the excess of skin. Sometimes the skin becomes overactive in the acne heals, and it produces too many, which is how hypertrophic scars are caused. 

Now the acne can also be classified according to appearance:

– Icepick scars, which look like an ice pick. These are narrow and go deep into the dermis 

– Boxcar scars, there are oval depressions in the skin caused by tissue loss. 

– Rolling scars and scars are very uneven and make a wave-like pattern on the skin.

– Keloid scars on hypertrophic scars are raised scars, i.e. they grow above the normal skin surface. 

Two primary modalities for treatment in acne scar reduction are lasers and micro-needling.

Laser treatments involve emitting ]short concentrating, pulsating beams of light on the treatment area. The goal is to remove the damaged layer of the skin. It is to cause an injury to the skin that is guarded and promotes new healthy skin. The lasers have a particular wavelength. They do not damage the upper layer of the skin. Only these deep layers of the skin are injured, and it has no downtime. The result of laser treatment is visible after 3-4 weeks. 

Micro-needling is with deep tissue perfusion; it stimulates collagen production by puncturing tiny holes into the skin. According to Dr. Shikha, it is not at all painful as it is done with a vacuum-assisted machine. There are different serums for different skin problems. 

About four to five sections are required for both lasers and micro-needling at four to five weeks apart for smooth and glowing skin. Summarising the treatments, she said that, ResurFX lasers or the Erbium Yag laser are the significant modalities to treat acne scars. In between, one can combine micro-needling so that the superficial skin is treated at one time, and for the deep spots, one can always go for the laser and receive optimal results. 

Dr. Shikha highlighted here that all the results are permanent, though they may late in a time of, say, four to five weeks after every sitting. But about five to six sittings for optimal results.