By Robert James
After Covid-19 made landfall, more and more people found themselves spending a lot of time indoors and some, unfortunately, in isolation. As a result, cases of breakouts with acne have significantly gone up and the growing concern remains how to get rid of the blemishes, hyperpigmentation and scars that are left in the aftermath of these episodes. Acne scars, after all, have a reputation of being frustratingly hard to treat especially without the right arsenal of scar removers or dedication in your forte.
Nonetheless, this does not imply that you should resign to fate and give up indefinitely. On the contrary, we have done the hard work for you and unearthed some of the best ways of treating acne scars within the shortest time frame possible.
Understanding Acne
A critical part in treating acne scars fast is first of all understanding what exactly they are and how they come about. They are usually small indentations and depressions in your complexion that show up in the aftermath of severe to moderate acne.
There are different types of acne scars and each of them requires an entirely different approach to treat and manage. They include:
- Boxcar scars: These often appear as broad depressions with quite sharply defined sides and edges
- Icepick scars: They are narrow, deep and pitted scars that prove to be extremely hard to get rid of
- Rolling scars: They are characterized by broad depressions, often at times with one or two sloping edges.
- Hypertrophic scars: Also known as keloid scars, hypertrophic scars are lumpy and thick scars.
- Atrophic scars: They are thin and flat scars, sometimes they look a bit depressed than boxcar scars.
Now, depending on the severity and frequency of the acne bouts, the scars can affect not just the most exterior layer of your ski, but the underlying layers as well. Bear in mind that the scar is just an indication of the healing efforts your body puts towards trying to correct the assault on the epidermis left behind by the pimples.
Of course, there are several factors that could worsen scarring such as:
- Repeated episodes of severe inflammatory acne
- External factors such as bursting and picking the pimples
- Delay in starting treatment, giving the acne a chance to fester and spread
For your acne scar removal efforts to bear fruit, you also have to learn how to distinguish between acne marks and superficial skin imperfections such as red spots and brown hyperpigmentation marks. The easiest way to tell the difference between the two is observing the textural changes on your skin. If the imperfection leaves visibly noticeable indentations and depressions, then it is without a doubt an acne scar.
Preventing Body Acne is Always Better Than Cure
The easiest way to treat acne scars is not having them in the first place. While it may sound like an overused cliché, leading dermatologists to usually advise their patients to take ultimate care not to have the scars in the first place. Otherwise, as soon as having scars becomes the norm, you may find yourself in an endless vicious cycle where you are incessantly chasing after one acne spot treatment after another.
Speaking of which, as far as the best products to treat acne go, skin care specialists ordinarily recommend a progressive approach where one starts with exploring simple over-the-counter (OTC) medications before graduating to prescription-strength ointments. You'd be surprised how far a daily soothing acne treatment that contains salicylic acid could go in exfoliating the skin and keeping the acne scars in check. Besides, it is crucial to try and find out what conventional prebiotics, calendula and polysaccharides have to offer your complexion before bombarding it with intense treatments such as retinoids.
Always Target the Acne System Scars Discoloration First
When it comes to treating acne scars within the shortest time possible, the objective ought to address the origin of the discoloration first. By addressing the real problem - which is the discoloration - by evening it out, you are halfway towards having a fair complexion. If anything, most of the time when people complain of acne scars, they are bothered about the change in their skin tone more than the textural bumps and pits that characterize the scars.
That being said, bear in mind that acne often has vastly different effects on various skin tones. And this is very helpful when trying to address, identify and fade different acne scars and marks. Your acne scar removal efforts should be tailored to target the specific type of scar that you have on you.
One of the most potent topical treatments for fading this type of discoloration (without necessarily dealing with the textural changes) is vitamin C serum. It is also packed with a rich array of antioxidants that are thought to protect the skin from damage sustained by free radicals and sun exposure. Additionally, the serum will work to brighten the physical appearance of the scars, thereby reducing their conspicuousness and improve your complexion's overall appeal.
Another excellent skin care ingredient for dealing with acne scars is retinol, which is essentially a derivative of vitamin A. Unlike ascorbic acid and salicylic acid, retinol is known for its ability to stimulate the proliferation of skin cells and boosting the epidermis overall cell turnover. In layman's terms, this means that it encourages the sloughing off of the old scar tissue to be replaced with fresher-looking and unscarred skin.
What's more, dermatologists also believe that retinol triggers and supports collagen production within the architecture of the dermis layer. As observed in the past, this helps with treating discoloration and smoothing out the skin.
Another home remedy for dealing with acne scars involves administering a series of mild peels using lactic, trichloroacetic or glycolic acid. This gently exfoliates the skin to reveal smoother, healthy-looking and a more even skin tone.
In Office Treatments for Dealing with Papules Scars
Sometimes, in spite of all the effort, time and energy that we may expend trying to treat acne scars at home, they may prove to be stubborn enough to resist our best attempts. And this is not surprising considering that it is common knowledge that once a blemish has been considerably scarred, the indentation is not exactly easy to get rid of, especially if you are only relying on topical treatments.
That being said, professional and in-office treatment approaches can prove to be more successful in getting rid of acne marks and scars than traditional topicals. Lasers, for example, have proven to be fairly effective in fading acne marks and reducing the conspicuousness of acne scars than regular creams or ointments.
Similarly, light therapy, aka photodynamic therapy, can be employed to reduce one's overall inflammation in the midst of an active acne episode. At the same time, broadband light treatments, eg the likes of Intense Pulse Lights (IPL) and Pulsed Dye Laser, have been shown to be beneficial in improving post-inflammatory skin pigmentation. [Specifically, red light therapy shows effectiveness in treating stretch marks, reducing skin inflammation, and stimulates collagen production.] Most importantly, ablative and non-ablative resurfacing lasers are some of the most reliable treatments for dealing with acne scars, especially those that look and feel indented.
On the other hand, for rarer hypertrophic and keloid scars that result from acne, skin care specialists will typically employ a series of resurfacing lasers or vascular lasers combined with intralesional cortisone or topical cortisone injections. In other words, they will be attempting to drain the scar tissue of any lymphatic fluid and, in turn, injecting it with a special formulation in a bid to improve its appearance.
In addition to the above described lasers, other in-office treatments such as micro-needling, medical grade exfoliation and chemical peels can help diminish the conspicuousness of acne scars and marks. And this is especially true if the treatment is combined with PRP aka plate rich plasma therapy. [After undergoing treatment for acne scars, it's crucial to prioritize proper aftercare products for plasma pen treatments. These products can help enhance healing, promote optimal results, and ensure the best outcome for your skin.]
In Closing
Regardless of your preferred method of managing and treating acne scars, one thing remains constant across the board - patience is of paramount importance. You see, no matter the kind or type of acne abrasion that you are looking to treat, the results and their timing are contingent on a number of factors, among them being the type of the acne scar itself or the nature of the treatments elected to treat it. Having said that, from medical treatments to at-home remedies and OTC topical treatments, never has there been more promising talent and technology to deal with acne scars.