Help is at hand for Acne Scarring

Countless women end up struggling with acne scars long after the blemishes have disappeared. Help is at hand - understanding your spots will help you work out which types are most likely to leave a scar, and understanding how and why we get scars can help put them to bed, once and for all.

What are acne scars?

Acne scars are most often the product of an inflamed spot. If an inflamed blemish occurs when the pore is already full of excess oil and dead skin cells, the pore swells, causing a break in the follicle wall. As the blemish begins to clear, the body will naturally begin to repair the damage.

Are women more susceptible than men?

Naturally women’s hormones fluctuate more than men, this is why women get hormonal breakouts. It’s not that women are more prone to scarring than men, but they may suffer more hormonal breakouts which, in turn, could lead to scars if the blemish isn’t cared for properly.

How can we get rid of them?

The best way to deal with acne scars is to help prevent their appearance in the first place. Picking at the skin makes scarring much more likely, and sun exposure also aggravates scarring. Fight the urge to squeeze a pimple at all costs. Picking at breakouts or scabs, which protect the skin while it heals, will make you far more likely to end up with a scar."

Exfoliation also helps speed cell turnover and diminish the look of acne scars and uneven skin tone. Chemical exfoliants such as glycolic acid, retinol and AHAs help remove the most upper layers of the skin. Medical microdermabrasion is an intensive form of physical exfoliation that can help significantly reduce acne scarring too.

With thanks to Dr Sophie Shotter at Illuminate Skin Clinic