Acne Scarring Treatments

Most of us have suffered from a pimple at some point in our lifetime. Each of us has probably experienced a mild form of acne vulgaris. Acne vulgaris is mild and is presents itself in the form of whiteheads or blackheads. Treatment usually includes purchasing some form of medicinal face wash or acne medication. Breakouts clear up quickly and are not always recurring.

But what do you do if you suffer from more sever forms of acne like Acne Rosacea or Acne Conglobata? These are permanent forms of acne and often result in deep or pitted scars over the affected areas.

It is only in the last 10 years that there have been some incredible developments in the treatment of acne scarring. There are new non-invasive procedures like glycolic peels as well as improvements in the more invasive trichloroacetic acid peel and the Jessners peel.

Glycolic peels are chemical preparations based on fruit acid that lightly scrapes the surface of the skin to remove and smooth the outer epidermal layer. Treatments are usually repeated over an extended period of time and are most effective in the treatment of mild acne scarring.

Jessners and TCA peels provided a deeper penetration into the dermal layers and typically delivers faster results for the patient. The deeper penetration of these treatments causes multiple layers of the skin to peel off leaving healthy, stronger skin behind. Most patients will experience redness and mild irritation for up to 7 days following the procedure. The goal of a deep peel is to increase the collagen production in the new skin as well as increasing overall dermal thickness. Patients who suffer mild to aggressive acne scarring are the best candidates for TCA and Jessners peels.

In addition to these non-invasive procedures, research has led to newer acne treatments like collagen induction and laser resurfacing

Collagen induction is a process that abrades the scarred areas with a needle to create fine pinholes in the epidermis. This action causes increased stimulation to the skin's fibroblast cells. These fibroblast cells are responsible for the production of elastin and collagen. By stimulating the fibroblast cells the dermal volume is increased and smoothed. Patients suffer from visible swelling and bruising for up to two weeks following treatment. Most dermatologists will also provide vitamin C and tretinion creams to assist in the regeneration process. Both vitamin c and tretinion are known to stimulate the regeneration of collagen.

The most invasive form of acne scarring treatment is laser resurfacing. Laser resurfacing is used to reduce or eliminate wrinkles and acne scarring on the upper layers of the skin while preserving the underlying tissue. There are two main types of lasers used to treat acne scarring. For light or partial laser resurfacing a carbon dioxide based laser or CO2 laser, lightly scrapes of damaged skin. For deeper or full laser resurfacing, most dermatologists use an Erbium laser. An erbium laser allows the dermatologist to precisely control the depth of penetration maximizing the outcome of the treatment.