Acne Scarring

Acne scarring has been genetically linked to how a person experiences an inflammatory response. Some people tend to scar easily, and others do not.

Acne scars form as the result of chronic, untreated and severe inflammatory acne. Inflamed lesions swell and break the walls of the pore spilling the infection into the surrounding tissues destroying healthy skin. The body tries to repair the lesions by forming collagen, but often the body doesn’t create enough collagen and the result is indented, sunken and depressed scars. They are called atrophic scars.

If the body produces too much collagen, as the wound heals, it creates raised or hypertrophic scars. Raised scars are the result of severe acne and often appear on the back and chest but can appear on the face and neck.

Atrophic scars are the most common form of acne scarring. Atrophic scars can appear as small holes called Icepick scars and depressed scars that are round or oval with deeply indented skin called boxcar scars.

The choice of treatments depends on the type and severity of your scars. Icepick scars are the most difficult to treat because they go deep into the skin. Boxcar scars are not as deep, and skin resurfacing treatments like Laser Genesis and Clear + Brilliant can improve their appearance.

Dr. Zeena in New Orleans, Louisiana has state-of-the-art treatments and procedures to improve the appearance of acne scarring.

Topical retinoids can smooth scars and reduce discolorations. Chemical peels can be mild or strong and are good at improving discoloration as well as texture of scars.  Microneedling helps reduce the depth of scars and stimulates collagen formation to raise atrophic scars. Laser skin resurfacing targets the deep layers of the skin stimulating tissue regeneration and new collagen formation to smooth and raise depressed scars.  Bellafill is a dermal filler FDA approved for the treatment of moderate to severe acne scarring. Generally, a combination of approaches will improve the appearance of acne scaring and self-confidence.