Acne scarring causes changes in the skin’s color and texture as a result of inflamed blemishes.
Acne occurs when the skin’s pores are clogged with oil, bacteria and/or dead skin cells. When a pore becomes too clogged, it may break open into the surrounding skin. The more severe the blemish, the deeper the break can be. When your body detects a break in the pore, it responds by producing new collagen fibers to fix the area. These new collagen fibers take on a different color and texture than the original skin, resulting in the appearance of an acne scar (1).
While minor acne scars may resolve on their own, more extensive cases of acne or acne that has experienced repeated trauma (picking, scratching or popping) may result in more permanent and pronounced scars. These scars are usually classified into two types: depressed and raised (1,2). Depressed scars (also known as atrophic scars) cause small divots or depressions in the skin and are more common on the face. These types of scars occur when the body produces too little collagen during the healing process. Raised scars (also known as hypertrophic or keloid scars) result in raised, discolored bumps on the skin and are more common on the back and chest. These scars occur when the body overproduces collagen as a result of pore breakage (2) . The classification for acne scarring that you have will impact the treatment your doctor provides.
While there are many ways to treat acne scars, one increasingly popular method is using microneedling to reduce the appearance of these scars. Microneedling is a minimally invasive treatment that uses tiny needles to repeatedly prick the skin, causing “trauma”. Your skin senses these micro-traumas, and in turn produces more collagen to repair the area. Due to the stimulation of collagen production, this method is more geared toward treating depressed acne scars, and has gained a lot of popularity over the last few years as a safe and easy way to even out skin tone and depth (3).
If you have acne scarring and would like to find the treatment that’s best for you, call our office at 508-936-1657 to book an appointment.