Acne Scars Causes And Treatments

Before addressing a treatment for acne scars, it's pertinent to point out that reddish acne marks that may mirror scars are not actually scars because no permanent change has happened. In other words they are not true scarring and disappear in time, however, while they are visible they can cause uneasiness.

Lesions known as macules or "pseudo-scars" are flat, red or reddish spots that appear in the final stage of most inflamed acne lesions. After the inflammation of an acne lesion is gone, a macule may remain to "mark the spot" for up to 24 more weeks. When a macule eventually disappears, no trace of it will remain, unlike a scar.

After the inflammation of an acne lesion has passed, skin pigmentation can become dark or discolorated. The lesion's color can range from light brown to black. Under sunlight exposure (UV rays), lesions may become darker. It happens more frequently in darker-skinned people, but is sometimes observed in people with fair skin. Early application of a natural skin care product minimizes the occurrence of post-inflammatory pigmentation and also vanishes existing marks. If untreated, post-inflammatory pigmentation can even persist for up to 18 months, specially with exaggerated sun exposure.

Scars formed by Acne

Acne scars appear when spots become inflamed or don't heal properly. While for some people scarring seems to depend on hereditary factors or skin color, precautions can be taken to prevent scars along with solutions, which considerably reduce a scarred skin's appearance.

In the simplest terms, scars form at the site of damage and are the visible reminders of injury and tissue repair. In the case of acne, the injury is originated by the body's inflammatory response to sebum, bacteria, and dead cells in the plugged sebaceous follicle. There are two types of true scars:

(1) Depressed areas such as pitted acne scarring or ice-pick scars, and

(2) Raised thickened tissue such as keloids.

When tissue suffers an injury, the body sends in its 'repair kit' to the injury site. The skin activitates all its immune and repair systems, where elements such as leukocytes, inflammatory molecules, and reconstructive elements have the mission of repairing tissue and controlling infection. However, when their job is done they may leave a somewhat messy repair site in the form of fibrous scar tissue, or deteriorated tissue. But sometimes it's different.

White blood cells and inflammatory molecules may remain at the site of an active acne lesion for days or even weeks. In people who are susceptible to scarring the result may be an acne scar. More studies about the occurrence and incidence of scarring are needed. There is considerable variation in scarring between one person and another, meaning that some people are more prone to scarring than others (ex. hereditary factors or complexion). Scarring frequently results from severe inflammatory nodular cystic acne that happens deep within the skin.