How Can Acne Scars Be Improved?

As all those who have gone through the jumps and hoops that come with puberty can tell you, acne is an especially irksome skin condition. For most, the problem will be a little beyond cosmetic in the fact that it'll lower one's self esteem during a fragile point in one's life. Most cases of teenage acne will usually taper off as the symptoms of puberty wear down starting at about 18 onwards. The issue will have become just another episode in all the quirky dramas we undergo as self conscience teenagers.



However this is not the experience for everyone. Unfortunately, sometimes those burdensome zits and the pimples will leave a mark that is lasting. These marks are the dreaded acne scars, and they can come in various forms. The most common are termed as rolling, ice pick, and boxcar scars.



Rolling scars come with a wave like roll that spreads across the base of one's cheeks. They have a wide and shallow depth which causes a rolling undulation to appear across other wise normal appearing skin. The underlying cause of a rolling scar is that fibrous bands of tissue will develop between the skin and the subcutaneous tissue that is below it. These unhealthy bands will pull on the epidermis, or the top layer of the skin, and eventually bind it to the deeper structures within the skin. The result is the wave-like pockmark.



Depressed fibrotic scars, or "boxcars scars," are those that have sharp edges with steep vertical sides. These angular and well-defined edges resemble chickenpox scars to a certain degree, and are caused by pronounced acne inflammation. When the skin becomes inflamed to such a degree that collagen is destroyed, skin tissue is lost. A depressed crater results from when the skin loses the tissue that supports it. The severity of the boxcars scar will depend upon the amount of tissue that was lost.



Ice pick scars are the third main category regarding acne related scars. As their name hints to, they are deep and narrow indentions on the skin's surface that resemble the look of what an ice pick would leave if poked right onto the skin's surface. They are due to cysts and inflamed blemishes that make their way to the skin's surface. When the skin tissue is destroyed, a long column-like scar remains. Their sizes range from being a small and deep "hole" in the skin to resembling large and open pores.



Fixing acne scars is thankfully an available option when you factor in all the various treatments. For the deepest acne scarring, dermabrasion is a cosmetic medical procedure that entails "sanding" down the epidermis beyond the length of the scar. Afterwards, during several weeks of recovery, the skin will naturally regrow itself back with new tissue that has a healthier and smoother texture to it. When the acne scar is raised, microdermabrasion has a greater effect on its diminishment. It is not always recommended for when it is a sunken scar.