How Do Acne Scars Form?

Despite being one of the most common skin conditions, many people find acne emotionally and socially challenging because of how it affects appearance. Unfortunately, the emotional pain that comes with acne may not go away when your skin clears up if it leaves behind acne scars.

At Montclair Rejuvenation Center in Verona and West Caldwell, New Jersey, our experienced team of aesthetic experts, led by Dr. Kelly Distefano, understands the toll acne scars take on a person’s self-confidence and self-esteem. We offer skin and scar resurfacing treatments to reduce the appearance of these scars, restoring confidence and self-esteem.

One out of every five people who gets acne develops acne scars. If you have acne scars or want to prevent scarring, you may wonder how they form. 

Here, we want to talk about acne scars, how they form, and what you can do if you have them.

How acne scars form

Acne is an inflammatory skin condition that creates blemishes when your pores fill up with bacteria, dead skin cells, and oil. Acne comes in many forms. The type of acne you have may play a role in the formation of acne scars.

Scars form when the clogged pore swells and breaks open. If you have large pimples or cystic acne (clogged pores deep under the skin), your skin may endure more damage. Your skin repairs the damage with collagen fibers.

Acne scars are either raised or depressed. A raised acne scar forms when your skin uses too much collagen to repair the damage and a depressed acne scar forms when the skin uses too little collagen. 

Preventing acne scars

You can’t completely prevent acne scars from forming. However, you can take steps to treat your acne to reduce the chances of scarring. To reduce your risk of developing acne scars, we recommend:

• Not picking, squeezing, or popping your acne
• Starting treatment for your acne right away
• Seeing a dermatologist is you have severe acne (cysts, nodules)

Acne isn’t a right of passage or something you need to let run its course. Getting treatment for your acne is the best thing you can do to improve the health and look of your skin and prevent the damage that leads to the permanent marks.

Removing acne scars

Despite your best efforts, your acne may leave behind scars. With advances in aesthetic technology, you have many treatment options to improve the appearance of your scarring.

At Montclair Rejuvenation Center, we offer the following treatments for acne scars:

Venus Versa

Venus Versa™ is an aesthetic tool that uses intense pulsed light (IPL) technology to improve the look of your skin. IPL delivers rapid pulses of light energy that penetrate deep into your skin, stimulating the production of collagen. 

This process activates your skin’s natural rejuvenation process to improve skin tone and texture, reducing the appearance of your acne scars.

CO2 laser treatment

Our CO2 laser treatment uses laser energy to remove the superficial layer of skin, improving your skin’s tone and texture, and reducing the appearance of acne scars. 

Microdermabrasion

If you have small acne scars, we may recommend microdermabrasion. With this treatment, we use a special exfoliating tool that removes the outer layer of skin, encouraging the growth of new, healthier, skin cells, creating a more even skin tone and texture. 

Microneedling

Microneedling is a minimally invasive treatment that stimulates collagen production. We use this tool to improve the appearance of depressed acne scars. 

LaseMD

LaseMD™ is a skin resurfacing tool that uses beams of laser energy to create microchannels in the surface of your skin, stimulating your skin’s natural healing process and increasing skin cell turnover and the production of collagen and elastin.

No single acne scar treatment works for everyone. The best treatment for you depends on the type and severity of your scarring. 

Acne scars serve as a constant reminder of an emotionally trying time in your life. But you don’t have to live with your scars forever. Let us help you get the skin you want. 

Call the office most convenient to you or book an appointment online today to schedule a consultation with our aesthetic experts to discuss your acne scar treatment options.