Introduction
There are many different types of acne. Acne is very common in teenagers and young women in the developed world. Having acne on your face is very embarrassing and stressful for the young person that has developed this condition. But the most embarrassing part of acne is the development of acne scars.
How do acne scars develop, what types of scars are there and can you do anything about them?
How Acne Scars Develop
If you develop acne, the one thing that will remain with you for life is the scarring that may develop. Acne may or may not develop scars, it will all depend on how deep the lesion is in the skin. Scars will develop if your dermis is damaged when the acne swells and breaks the dermis.
When the acne breaks the pus from the acne will spread out and destroy the skin around it. This will trigger the dermis to repair the skin by forming more collagen fibers resulting in scaring.
Types Of Acne Scars And Treatment
Boxcar Scars - These are scars that give the face a pitted appearance. They are round with sharp perpendicular walls. These usually appear on the temples or the cheeks.
This type of scarring is best treated with punch excision or laser resurfacing.
Ice Pick Scarring - Ice pick scars are deep narrow scars that go deep into the skin and beyond the dermis. As the name implies they appear to have been made by an ice pick and are more likely to appear on your cheek.
To treat ice pick scars the best method is by using punch excision.
Keloid Scars - Scars of this type look like raised mass of tissue and in most cases are red in color. These appear as red lumps on your face.
This type of scarring is best treated by injections, or creams that will shrink the tissue.
Rolling Scars - As the name implies, these scars appear as a rolling or wave-like pattern on your face.
One excellent method for treating rolling scars is to use a chemical peel to remove the dead skin and replace it with fresh new skin.
Conclusion
In some cases acne scars will go away by themselves, but the best method to treat this type of scarring is not to develop them in the first place. If you start to develop acne, visit a dermatologist to determine what you can do to stop it.