If you have scars etched in your face left behind by acne from years ago, I’ll bet you’ve tried a bunch of different products and treatments to fix them. And if you, like most people, were disappointed with the results, I’ll tell you why… and more importantly, what to do. Stay tuned!
***
Not a day goes by without a viewer question or patient visit about acne scars. By “acne scars,” I‘m referring specifically to skin colored holes or depressions left in your skin by old acne lesions months or years earlier. Technically, these are called “atrophic” scars because there has been a loss of volume of the dermal or middle layer of skin…
[DIAGRAM]
...and it’s THAT loss of volume… or “atrophy”… which causes the depression or hole. This refers to all three types of atrophic acne scars: ice pick…
[DIAGRAM]
…box car….
[DIAGRAM]
…and rolling…
[DIAGRAM]
…All are caused by the surface of your skin literally sinking in… in different shapes… from loss of the underlying dermis caused by the destructive force of extreme inflammation of severe acne cysts.
Sadly there is NO topical skincare product or at home device that will significantly improve those scars… very simply, because at home stuff just can’t cause the body to make enough new dermal tissue, whether its collagen, hyaluronic, GAG's, and so on to fill in the hole enough to raise the surface of the skin to make a meaningful difference.
And even if they improve it 10%, which frankly is very unlikely, all you’ll probably see is the 90% they didn’t help. So whether it’s retinoids, dermarollers, microdermabrasion, silicone patches or even my revered glycolics… which all can do good things for many skin issues, they’ll only frustrate your desire to fix your acne scars.
But if you do need treatment, don’t despair… See your dermatologist. Many in office treatments really do help, such as surgical repair of the scars, fillers treatments or even laser therapy with C02, Erbium and other types which today have less downtime and quicker healing.
Acne scars need not be forever.
Email
Twitter
Facebook
