A detailed and comprehensive discussion of acne scars starts with causes of scarring, prevention of scarring, types of scars, and treatments for scars.

Before talking about scars, a word about spots that may look like scars but are not scars in the sense that a permanent change has occurred. Even though they are not true scars and disappear in time, they are visible and can cause embarrassment.

Macules or “pseudo-scars” are flat, red or reddish spots that are the final stage of most inflamed acne lesions. After an inflamed acne lesion flattens, a macule may remain to “mark the spot” for up to 6 months. When the macule eventually disappears, no trace of it will remain—unlike a scar.

Post-inflammatory pigmentation is discoloration of the skin at the site of a healed or healing inflamed acne lesion. It occurs more frequently in darker-skinned people, but occasionally is seen in people with white skin. Early treatment by a dermatologist may minimize the development of post-inflammatory pigmentation. Some post-inflammatory pigmentation may persist for up to 18 months, especially with excessive sun exposure. Chemical peeling may hasten the disappearance of post-inflammatory pigmentation.

Causes of Acne Scars

In the simplest terms, scars form at the site of an injury to tissue. They are the visible reminders of injury and tissue repair. In the case of acne, the injury is caused by the body’s inflammatory response to sebum, bacteria and dead cells in the plugged sebaceous follicle. Two types of true scars exist, as discussed later: (1) depressed areas such as ice-pick scars, and (2) raised thickened tissue such as keloids.

When tissue suffers an injury, the body rushes its repair kit to the injury site. Among the elements of the repair kit are white blood cells and an array of inflammatory molecules that have the task of repairing tissue and fighting infection. However, when their job is done they may leave a somewhat messy repair site in the form of fibrous scar tissue, or eroded tissue.

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. The occurrence and incidence of scarring is still not well understood, however. There is considerable variation in scarring between one person and another, indicating that some people are more prone to scarring than others. Scarring frequently results from severe inflammatory nodulocystic acne that occurs deep in the skin. But, scarring also may arise from more superficial inflamed lesions. Nodulocystic acne that is most likely to result in scars is seen in these photos:

(Photos used with permission of the American Academy of Dermatology

National Library of Dermatologic Teaching Slides)

The life history of scars also is not well understood. Some people bear their acne scars for a lifetime with little change in the scars, but in other people the skin undergoes some degree of remodeling and acne scars diminish in size.

People also have differing feelings about acne scars. Scars of more or less the same size that may be psychologically distressing to one person may be accepted by another person as “not too bad.” The person who is distressed by scars is more likely to seek treatment to moderate or remove the scars.

Prevention of Acne Scars

As discussed in the previous section on Causes of Acne Scars, the occurrence of scarring is different in different people. It is difficult to predict who will scar, how extensive or deep scars will be, and how long scars will persist. It is also difficult to predict how successfully scars can be prevented by effective acne treatment.

Nevertheless, the only sure method of preventing or limiting the extent of scars is to treat acne early in its course, and as long as necessary. The more that inflammation can be prevented or moderated, the more likely it is that scars can be prevented. (Click on Acne Treatments for more information about treatment of mild, moderate and severe acne). Any person with acne who has a known tendency to scar should be under the care of a dermatologist. (Click on Find a Dermatologist to locate a dermatologist in your geographic area).

Types of Acne Scars

There are two general types of acne scars, defined by tissue response to inflammation: (1) scars caused by increased tissue formation, and (2) scars caused by loss of tissue.

Scars Caused by Increased Tissue Formation

The scars caused by increased tissue formation are called keloids or hypertrophic scars. The word hypertrophy means “enlargement” or “overgrowth.” Both hypertrophic and keloid scars are associated with excessive amounts of the cell substance collagen. Overproduction of collagen is a response of skin cells to injury. The excess collagen becomes piled up in fibrous masses, resulting in a characteristic firm, smooth, usually irregularly-shaped scar. The photo shows a typical severe acne keloid:

(Photo used with permission of the American Academy of Dermatology

National Library of Dermatologic Teaching Slides)

The typical keloid or hypertrophic scar is 1 to 2 millimeters in diameter, but some may be 1 centimeter or larger. Keloid scars tend to “run in families”—that is, abnormal growth of scar tissue is more likely to occur in susceptible people, who often are people with relatives who have similar types of scars.

Hypertrophic and keloid scars persist for years, but may diminish in size over time.

Scars Caused by Loss of Tissue

Acne scars associated with loss of tissue—similar to scars that result from chicken pox—are more common than keloids and hypertrophic scars. Scars associated with loss of tissue are:

Ice-pick scars usually occur on the cheek. They are usually small, with a somewhat jagged edge and steep sides—like wounds from an ice pick. Ice-pick scars may be shallow or deep, and may be hard or soft to the touch. Soft scars can be improved by stretching the skin; hard ice-pick scars cannot be stretched out.

Depressed fibrotic scars are usually quite large, with sharp edges and steep sides. The base of these scars is firm to the touch. Ice-pick scars may evolve into depressed fibrotic scars over time.

Soft scars, superficial or deep are soft to the touch. They have gently sloping rolled edges that merge with normal skin. They are usually small, and either circular or linear in shape.

Atrophic macules are usually fairly small when they occur on the face, but may be a centimeter or larger on the body. They are soft, often with a slightly wrinkled base, and may be bluish in appearance due to blood vessels lying just under the scar. Over time, these scars change from bluish to ivory white in color in white-skinned people, and become much less obvious.

Follicular macular atrophy is more likely to occur on the chest or back of a person with acne. These are small, white, soft lesions, often barely raised above the surface of the skin—somewhat like whiteheads that didn’t fully develop. This condition is sometimes also called “perifollicular elastolysis.” The lesions may persist for months to years.

Treatments for Acne Scars

A number of treatments are available for acne scars through dermatologic surgery. The type of treatment selected should be the one that is best for you in terms of your type of skin, the cost, what you want the treatment to accomplish, and the possibility that some types of treatment may result in more scarring if you are very susceptible to scar formation.

A decision to seek dermatologic surgical treatment for acne scars also depends on:

* The way you feel about scars. Do acne scars psychologically or emotionally affect your life? Are you willing to “live with your scars” and wait for them to fade over time? These are personal decisions only you can make.

* The severity of your scars. Is scarring substantially disfiguring, even by objective assessment?

* A dermatologist’s expert opinion as to whether scar treatment is justified in your particular case, and what scar treatment will be most effective for you.

Before committing to treatment of acne scars, you should have a frank discussion with your dermatologist regarding those questions, and any others you feel are important. You need to tell the dermatologist how you feel about your scars. The dermatologist needs to conduct a full examination and determine whether treatment can, or should, be undertaken.

The objective of scar treatment is to give the skin a more acceptable physical appearance. Total restoration of the skin, to the way it looked before you had acne, is often not possible, but scar treatment does usually improve the appearance of your skin.

The scar treatments that are currently available include:

Collagen injection. Collagen, a normal substance of the body, is injected under the skin to “stretch” and “fill out” certain types of superficial and deep soft scars. Collagen treatment usually does not work as well for ice-pick scars and keloids. Collagen derived from cows or other non-human sources cannot be used in people with autoimmune diseases. Human collagen or fascia is helpful for those allergic to cow-derived collagen. Cosmetic benefit from collagen injection usually lasts 3 to 6 months. Additional collagen injections to maintain the cosmetic benefit are done at additional cost.

Autologous fat transfer. Fat is taken from another site on your own body and prepared for injection into your skin. The fat is injected beneath the surface of the skin to elevate depressed scars. This method of autologous (from your own body) fat transfer is usually used to correct deep contour defects caused by scarring from nodulocystic acne. Because the fat is reabsorbed into the skin over a period of 6 to 18 months, the procedure usually must be repeated. Longer lasting results may be achieved with multiple fat-transfer procedures.

Dermabrasion. This is thought to be the most effective treatment for acne scars. Under local anesthetic, a high-speed brush or fraise used to remove surface skin and alter the contour of scars. Superficial scars may be removed altogether, and deeper scars may be reduced in depth. Dermabrasion does not work for all kinds of scars; for example, it may make ice-pick scars more noticeable if the scars are wider under the skin than at the surface. In darker-skinned people, dermabrasion may cause changes in pigmentation that require additional treatment.

Microdermabrasion. This new technique is a surface form of dermabrasion. Rather than a high-speed brush, microdermabrasion uses aluminum oxide crystals passing through a vacuum tube to remove surface skin. Only the very surface cells of the skin are removed, so no additional wound is created. Multiple procedures are often required but scars may not be significantly improved.

Laser Treatment. Lasers of various wavelength and intensity may be used to recontour scar tissue and reduce the redness of skin around healed acne lesions. The type of laser used is determined by the results that the laser treatment aims to accomplish. Tissue may actually be removed with more powerful instruments such as the carbon dioxide laser. In some cases, a single treatment is all that will be necessary to achieve permanent results. Because the skin absorbs powerful bursts of energy from the laser, there may be post-treatment redness for several months.

Skin Surgery. Some ice-pick scars may be removed by “punch” excision of each individual scar. In this procedure each scar is excised down to the layer of subcutaneous fat; the resulting hole in the skin may be repaired with sutures or with a small skin graft. Subcision is a technique in which a surgical probe is used to lift the scar tissue away from unscarred skin, thus elevating a depressed scar.

Skin grafting may be necessary under certain conditions—for example, sometimes dermabrasion unroofs massive and extensive tunnels (also called sinus tracts) caused by inflammatory reaction to sebum and bacteria in sebaceous follicles. Skin grafting may be needed to close the defect of the unroofed sinus tracts.

Treatment of keloids. Surgical removal is seldom if ever used to treat keloids. A person whose skin has a tendency to form keloids from acne damage may also form keloids in response to skin surgery. Sometimes keloids are treated by injecting steroid drugs into the skin around the keloid. Topical retinoic acid may be applied directly on the keloid. In some cases the best treatment for keloids in a highly susceptible person is no treatment at all.

In summary, acne scars are caused by the body’s inflammatory response to acne lesions. The best way to prevent scars is to treat acne early, and as long as necessary. If scars form, a number of effective treatments are available. Dermatologic surgery treatments should be discussed with a dermatologist.

Before, I provide you with tips that will save you money and hours of crying, cursing, and swearing repetitively about your skin I want to share with you some simple facts. Fact number one: Having adult acne does not make you disgusting or ugly. Fact number two: Acne is a natural part of life, regardless if you are a adolescent or adult. Fact number 3: Adult or Teen Acne can occur for several reasons and this is again why I encourage all of my clients not to look for a cure all, but instead to focus on their total body‘s overall health.

Flawless Skin in 30 Days Tip #1

If you want flawless looking skin, look no further than your refrigerator to begin. The things that you place inside of your body are important to combating acne, pimples, zits, and blackheads. Regardless of whether you have acne on your chest or back areas your diet plays an important role in whether you have continuous acne outbreaks or only the occasional spot. The foods that you eat provide your body with essential nutrients that your skin needs to appear its best. Without eating properly then your skin is vulnerable to the attack. Therefore it is important to eat food that is chocked full of vitamins, especially vitamin A, vitamin C, and Vitamin E. You can find these vitamins in several fruits and foods from sweet potatoes, yucca roots, carrots, mangoes, oranges, melons, and fresh berries. While fast food is quick, it can wreak havoc on your skin Most fast foods are full of grease and have had most of their nutrients cooked out by being over fried, over frozen, or over smothered in gravy. If you want to have better skin that has less acne, acne scars, and flare ups within thirty days then maintaining a balanced diet will be essential. Each day make sure that you have at least one glass green tea, at least three glasses of water, and no soft drinks, colas, fruit punches or things with artificial sweeteners. When you feel the urge to drink something sweet, then try your favorite fruit smoothie or vegatable juice. Fruit smoothies and Vegetable drinks will help provide you with the vitamins your skin needs naturally, no pills involved. Nothing to remember, just eat healthy and elminate the fast foods, junk foods, and artificial sweeteners. Don’t say you can’t do it. Yes, you can! And when you do your skin will appear better. If you take baby steps, such as reducing your junk craving to two snacks per day and one cola, the you will see baby results. Your skin will get better in overtime, but not in 30 days. To be honest, unless you start eating a better diet then you will not achieve the results that you want.

Flawless Skin in 30 Days Tip #2

Use natural skincare products to take care of your skin. Just as it cost money to buy clothes if you were going out on the town for one night. It also, cost money to buy products that will help your skin look better for a lifetime. Buying acne products can be overwhelming, because there are so many. However, when it really comes down to buying quality acne products there are only a few products even worth trying. This is because most acne products are latent with chemicals that can cause side effects such as burns and dark spots. Yes, they can eliminate your pimple that popped up overnight, but they can provide you with a red acne scar or acne dark spot on your forehead, chin, or cheek that seems to last a lifetime. That is why I only use natural or organic acne skincare products on my clients and in my family. If you are not into natural products then I still had product recommendation for you that does not contain the benzoyl peroxide. The best fully natural products on the market that has emerged over the past few years is Beauty 4 Ashes. Beauty 4 Ashes Naturally Clear Acne Skin Care products are great because they are used by Hollywood stars and everyday moms. Beauty 4 Ashes acne skin care products tackle all the common skin care issues that you may face from large pores with there “U Big Pore Baby” system to acne dark spots, chest acne, & blackheads with their Naturally Clear Body Beautiful System are available online at www.discoverb4a.com (USA) or www.mybeauty4ashes.com (UK) and in host of other select countries including the United Kingdom, United States www.discoverb4a.com, Canada www.myb4a.com, Australia, France, & Japan. The best part about Beauty 4 Ashes skincare products is that they are made fresh for you and that they include anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory ingredients from all over the world. I recommend and use their products on my clients because they are contain herbs, green teas, honeys, vitamins, and minerals that help your skin to eliminate acne and heal blemishes naturally overtime. Beauty 4 Ashes skin care products are extremely effective, because they focus not just on eliminating acne, but also on helping to create great skin that is free from excessive dryness or heavy oiliness. The best part is that in a recent international customer survey Beauty 4 Ashes was top ranked for helping naturally solve both women and men’s acne issues. The other product that I use on my clients that has proved successful is Dr. Murad’s skin treatment products. Although, these products do contain chemical preservatives they are more effective than most acne treatments because similar to the Beauty 4 Ashes products it uses natural anti-inflammatory ingredients to combat acne and other skin care issues that could be causing your outbreaks. If you want flawless skin in 30 days then try using skin care products that are not loaded with alcohols, peroxides, and chemicals that you can’t pronounce.

Flawless Skin in 30 Days Tip #3:

Reduce your stress levels. Hormones within your body can trigger different reactions, including making your skin more acne prone. This why many adults experience adult acne in the first place. Work stress, Home Stress, & Personal Stress imposed upon oneself can be the main culprit behind your acne. To reduce your stress levels it is important to pick up a hobby. One of the best stress relievers for adults with acne is walking. Walking not only will help your look better in you face, but also in your waist. Walking reduces stress because it gives you time to think things over. Even if you walk only down the block or from the back of a parking lot to the mall entrance this will provide you with time to explore your options over whatever decision you are debating. If you reduce your stress levels you are clearly on your way to eating better, becoming more organized so that you can use your acne products on a daily basis, and discovering flawless skin within 30 days.

Acne is frustrating for many people because it is unpredictable and sometimes seems out-of-control. Breakouts have been attributed to several factors, including diet, heredity and genetics, vitamin deficiencies and stress. Since the exact causes acne are still unknown and there isn’t any measure available to prevent it. The best defense is a good acne skin care regimen which ameliorates and controls acne breakouts. For more severe types of acne, such as cystic acne, a dermatologist should be consulted since medical treatments are advisable to prevent or lessen scarring, but for milder forms of acne there are many options available.

Six General Tips For Living With Acne:

1. Washing twice a day, using mild cleansers and gentle movements is the best acne skin care regimen. Gentle cleansing removes excess oils, dirt, and pollutants which contribute to the development of blemishes. Strong detergents, harsh scrubbing, and harsh facial scrubbers irritate the skin and may contribute to inflammation and breakouts. Also, its best to avoid opening the blemishes since it may spread the infection over the skin. Squeezing pimples may also cause them to burst under the skin infecting other skin pores as a result, dermatologists strongly advise against doing this. Shampooing regularly also helps to prevent acne by keeping the natural oils from hair off of the skin surface.

2. Astringents may be helpful for very oily skin but should be avoided for other skin types. Choose astringents and other topical applications carefully, if they are too strong it may cause more oil production and irritation.

3. For men, shaving should be done carefully in order to avoid irritating or spreading acne. Choose a safety razor that is right for you by testing out a few. Soften beards by first washing the face and neck with mild soap and warm water; then apply a shaving cream. Use care in selecting the shaving cream because many contain ingredients such as menthol that may irritate your acne. Use a sharp razor and shave lightly to avoid cuts and rupturing blemishes.

4. Exposing your skin for a while to the sun may help to erase blemishes at the skin surface. The natural vitamin D in sunlight has been shown to improve skin quality. Nevertheless, care should be taken to avoid excess sun exposure which leads to premature aging, dryness and sunburn, and the development of skin cancer. Some prescription medications also cause photo-sensitivity. Discuss with your physician whether mild sun exposure may help with your individual case.

5. Individuals with acne should use oil free cosmetic products. Many cosmetics contain fatty acids that may be harmful to acne prone individuals. Select good quality cosmetics but be aware that some “oil free” products may be drying to the skin. Look for organic or acne-related skin care products to lessen the impact of cosmetics upon acne. Keep in mind that topical applications for acne treatment, such as some Benzoyl peroxide products, may react with the facial cosmetics.

6. It is best to consult a dermatologist before applying any acne skin care product. Particularly for serious cases of acne infection, treatment by a dermatologist is advisable to keep acne under control and to prevent breakouts. Observing proper acne skin care is important especially for younger individuals. Blemishes and rashes tend to heal faster when a person is younger but severe acne cases should be properly taken care of to prevent scarring. A healthy diet and lifestyle will also lessen the effects of acne.

First of all, clear pores skin cleansing system offers kits for both facial acne and body acne unlike most products out there. This means you have two options to satisfy your needs. The first step that this product takes in getting rid of acne is by unclogging the pores. The deep facial/body washes provided by clear pore treatment serves the purpose of unclogging the pores and fighting back the bacteria that causes acne. This is the very first phase that this best acne treatment system uses to in treatment of acne.

The second phase that clear pores skin cleansing system takes in getting rid of acne is by using the herbal medicine. The herbal supplements contain natural ingredients that fights inflammation and boosts the immune system of the person affected by acne. The aloe vera extracts contained in this product helps in the healing process of the skin attacked by acne. These natural ingredients also helps the acne prone skin of the individual affected by acne by fighting the acne causing bacteria internally.

The last phase is the protection creams (Facial cream/Body cream). These creams protects the user’s skin and makes sure that it doesn’t dry out. What I found out too is that this protection cream isn’t oily at all. The reason being an oily skin increases the chances of acne. So the skin pores of the person using this best acne treatment system are moisturized and protected from drying out. This creams are also supposed to protect the user from acne causing bacteria.

Clearpores Skin Cleansing System Pros

-Contains natural Ingredients
-Provides a complete acne cure system with options unlike other products (body acne and facial acne)
-Gets rid of acne and also prevents it
-24/7 Customer support
-Does not contain Benzyl Peroxide that has reported side effects
-Treats acne from inside out
-Works for a majority of people
-Works for both Men and Women
-Endorsed by doctors and herbalists

Clearpores Skin Cleansing System Cons

-You can only buy it online (Is not available on the local stores)
-Does not work for everyone
-You have to wait for it to be shipped on the mail

Clearpores skin cleansing system works but like any other acne product out there, You must follow their instruction which are simple in order to see results. Results vary, For some people acne clears in days but for other, It may take a while before you see the results. One of the things that I like about clear pores skin cleansing system is the fact that they have a 100% money back guarantee. Which means if the product doesn’t work for you, You can get your money back upon request. This best acne treatment system works for adults and young people too. It doen’t just cure acne but it also prevents it from coming back and that is why is one of the best acne treatment system.