The Acne Finally Cleared Up! But Now Acne Scars?

Acne scars are the result of your body trying to fight blemishes, causing inflammation that may permanently damage skin tissue. There are two types of acne scars, raised scars (keloid) or depressed scars (also referred to as icepick or boxcar scarring).

Raised scars occur when your body produces a lot of collagen that builds upon itself, resulting in tissue that rests above your skin. Most often, this type of scarring can be found on the back, chest, and jawline. Depressed scars occur when the inflammation process causes a loss of tissue in the area, resulting in “holes” in the skin where the acne used to be.

Though we cannot control how our bodies respond to breakouts (be it too much collagen or the destruction of tissue) we can help reduce acne scarring by leaving our skin alone. Though it may be tempting to pick at and try to pop every blemish, picking can cause bacteria to spread, making the breakout worse and heightening the chance of scarring. Fortunately, if scarring has already occurred, there are a variety of treatments available that can help reduce, or even get rid of your acne scars.