What can be worse than a breakout caused by acne? It’s like a nightmare for all, especially ladies. But it just doesn’t end with a breakout, and in most cases, they leave behind an undesired parting friend, which is the scars caused due to a bout of acne. How much ever care one takes, for their skin, the truth remains that acne scars are widespread for people who deal with acne and acne-related problems.
So here we are to help you with everything you need to be aware of acne scars visa vi types of acne scars, prevention of acne scarring, home remedies, treatment using good scar removal cream, treatment by a specialist, etc.
Let’s first understand what exactly acne scars are. What causes them and leads to scarring?
Acne scars result from textural changes, which are mostly permanent and create depressions over your face or other parts like the back, which is one of the repercussions of severe acne. However, one must understand that acne scarring does not refer to temporary marks, which may be red or brown. On the contrary, it is a term for permanent marks left due to acne. And because these marks are endless, one needs to opt for treatments by a medical professional to heal them completely and correctly.
The scars are developed when acne cysts, i.e., large spaces with pus filled in them, completely ruin skin tissue that You cannot replace without medical treatment. Once the cyst clears out from the skin, leaving it to heal eventually, this process may leave behind deep scarring like a blemish on your face. In the case of scarring of your chest or back, the scars are lumpy, termed hypertrophic.
Classification of Acne Scars
According to medical professionals, You can put acne scars under two categories:
• Hypertrophic scars: As discussed earlier, scars that are lumpy and are formed on the chest or your back after the healing of an acne cyst are called hypertrophic scars. These scars occur due to excessive collagen production during healing processes, mainly above the skin surface, close to the acne cyst.
• Atrophic Scars
Unlike hypertrophic scars, these appear on the face and can also be called depressed scars. Contrary to hypertrophic scars, these acne marks are formed beneath the skin close to the acne cysts due to insufficient collagen production during the healing process.
Prevention of Acne Scars
Per the saying, preventing the creation of scars is better than curing those marks. One should take full precautions to avoid this by leaving acne breakouts unattended. Although once acne or pimples have occurred on your skin, it’s difficult to prevent, one can always look out for ways to help avert developing acne; understand what’s irritating your skin to form pimple marks. One basic mantra, however, is to lead a hale and hearty lifestyle.
Some practical ways that assist in averting pimples and acne are as follows:
• By following a healthy diet
Although there is no conclusive dietary prescription for acne or pimples, consuming and maintaining a healthy and nutritious diet can reduce the bout of spots. According to the experts, the diet that is the best and helps with skin-related problems includes a wholesome and heartily balanced diet consisting of fresh fruits and vegetables, one that has good sources of healthy protein and sources of whole grains. Food items with excessive omega-3-rich fatty acids and antioxidants can do wonders for your skin. Not only should one consume healthy food, but also concentrate on avoiding food high in glycaemic levels, like refined carbs, and eating greasy foods should be very limited. These will help the skin to prevent acne or other skin-related issues.
• By regularly exercising
Regularly working out can make a body and mind highly healthy, but many do not know that it also has many advantages for your skin, including reducing acne caused due to stress. Regularly moving your body assists in improving blood circulation, and excessive movement makes your heart pump faster, which makes all the capillaries receive more blood than average. In addition, your skin also gets an abundant amount of oxygen. Not only working out but also performing yoga asanas is very beneficial. These include Pranayama and Bhujangasana, among many others, which are best for providing glowing and healthy skin.
One important thing during any physical activity, the sweat glands are also working at their peak and are bound to make for a perfect environment for bacteria and yeast to grow, which eventually causes acne. Hence, it becomes vital for one to ensure you maintain clean skin not only before starting to work out but wash your face and body thoroughly after workouts so that one can avoid face or body acne.
• Find your skin routine.
One must always have a particular skincare routine, which they follow in the morning before leaving their house and once at night before going to bed. It makes it easier for the skin to eliminate all the dust and bacteria and helps make our skin free of excess oil, thereby keeping pores clear and acne and pimples at bay.
You need not necessarily have a 5 to 6-step skincare routine, and whatever suits your skin while keeping it clean should be adopted. There’s ample information available in the universe, which makes it overwhelming to choose an appropriate skincare routine to help keep acne at bay. However, most experts recommend these four crucial steps:
• Cleansing with a mil facewash: If one’s already prone to breakouts, choosing a mild facewash that helps with treating acne and has natural components will be a great idea. Picking a gel-based wash with benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid elements will be beneficial.
• Toning: After cleansing, one can use a toner or astringent to shut the pores opened during the cleansing step. They also help eliminate excess facial oil, hydrate the skin, and allow one to get rid of blemishes. One must ensure that the toner must be alcohol-free, as the presence of alcohol can irritate the skin.
• Applying medications: Including medications that help treat acne for those who have been made aware that their skin is prone to acne. These medications should ideally be advised by a specialist and followed religiously for better results. The topical retinoid works well for the same. They help reduce discoloration and make the appearance of scars such that it’s difficult to notice them.
• Moisturizing: Some people with oily skin might wonder if it is inappropriate to moisturize their skin which is already like a well full of oil. However, moisturizing is an important step to work as a shield for all the other layers of skincare to be safe.
Home Remedies for healing Pimple Marks and Acne Scars
Specific home remedies can work wonders for treating acne-related problems. You can avoid clinical treatments if they work for you, especially when you get a pimple and have an important event. However, one can’t figure out how effective these are. Some of the easy home remedies that can treat or heal acne but should be tried after proper research and understanding are:
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Honey and Cinnamon Mask
• Tea Tree Oil
• Multani Earth soil mask
Treatments for Scars caused due to acne
When one has tried everything, and nothing seems to work for their acne-prone skin, a skin specialist is the best person to rush to understand how their skin can become better and get rid of the scarring. The treatments can be bifurcated into two categories that you may want to try for effective scar removal. Some of the well-researched therapies are as follows:
• Treatments that can be done in-house
You can very well manage these treatments in the comfort of your home. One need not get machines to work on their skin at the doctor’s office for these. They include:
1. Use of Alpha hydroxy acids based medication (AHA)
2. Lactic acid
3. Retinoids
4. Using Salicylic acid based medication
• Clinical Treatments
When at-home treatments are unable to provide the desired outcome, your dermatologist may recommend you to undergo some clinical procedures or treatments such as:
1. Dermabrasion
2. Chemical Peels
3. Laser Resurfacing
4. Micro-needling
5. Injections
6. Fillers
Can Acne Scar removal creams work?
Any scar mark removal cream works on your skin layers, and it helps destroy acne-causing bacteria and boosts the development of new skin tissues.
The pimple removal cream contains ingredients that make the outer layer of the skin dry and peel off. As a result, the upper layer of skin with the scars is replaced by a new layer. It also assists in lightening the acne scars rapidly.
Certain vital ingredients help with reducing or fading acne scars. It can take months or even years for your skin to get clear of every acne scar. Let us see some of the best ingredients for acne scar removal:
• Vitamin C
It helps in improving the overall health and well-being of the skin. It helps slow down the process of melanin production, thereby reducing pigmented acne scars. Along with this, Vitamin C also increases collagen production and makes it effective in getting rid of atrophic scars all over your face. Vitamin C serums have a great consistency to be applied over your face without any hassle.
• Salicylic Acid
Salicylic acid is one of the best and most well-known ingredients for acne scars. It works as an exfoliator that helps reduce redness and swelling, the most significant contributor to acne scars.
• Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA’s)
A cluster of acids that are available naturally in various foods like sugar cane (Glycolic acid), sour milk or juice of a tomato (lactic acid), and citrusy fruits (citric acid) is altogether termed AHA. Like salicylic acid, it also has the properties of an exfoliator, but this can dunk deep into the skin’s tissues and removes all the premises of bacteria that cause acne. When used regularly, it also helps in diminishing the appearance of scars.
• Retinoid
These ingredients are compounds of vitamin A that are beneficial for the skin and help to unclog the pores. Retinoid is available both in the form of a capsule and a cream, and Retinol-based creams are known to be among the best creams to remove pimple marks rapidly.
• Allantoin
Excessive oil production leads to most problems that cause acne, especially when the skin is dry. No ingredient can be as good as allantoin, which helps the skin to preserve moisture, thereby not making it dry. Other medications for acne-prone skin dry your skin out, but allantoin-based creams will be like an exfoliator and make the affected area less irritable.
• Rosehip
The plant rose is used to procure this oil, and it is regarded as an excellent ingredient for the process of removing scars. It takes care of the blemishes on your skin and, as a by-product, reduces dark spots.
• Niacinamide
This scar mark removal cream comprises a key ingredient, vitamin B3+. This ingredient slows down the production of melanin and leads to a boost in collagen.
• Azelaic Acid
It is an ingredient that has antibacterial properties. You can take care of the appearance of pigmented scars with this ingredient.
Our most loved cleansers and body scrubs possess some or most of these ingredients. They help us by producing brand-new cells for the skin by boosting the development of collagen within your skin. The cavities formed due to the scarring are healed slowly and steadily when collagen is stimulated, and new skin tissues are made. The ingredients that work as exfoliators are to eliminate pigmented marks of acne successfully. It also makes the most external layer of skin get dried out and peeled as time passes, making the scars lighter.
Acne can be stressful for some and affect an individual’s self-confidence. Keep things simple, and don’t overcomplicate things for your skin. After all, the skin is your body’s largest organ and needs the most attention and care. Also, one must never try to hide their acne scars using makeup as this can increase the build-up of bacteria and oil on your face, which can worsen the situation.
