How Does Acne Leave Scars?
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Introduction
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Acne is a chronic skin condition that affects millions of people of all ages. This disease mostly forms pimples, whiteheads and blackheads on the face, but other parts of the body are affected as well including the chest, back and upper arms. Because the disease causes a variety of skin eruptions, acne leaves a variety of scars from simple discoloration to pockmarks. Fortunately, there are many treatments available that can reduce or even eliminate acne scars.
What is Acne?
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Acne is a disorder caused by oily skin, dead skin cells and bacteria. Acne begins when the oil glands on the skin overproduce sebum, a thick oil that moisturizes the skin. The dead skin cells combine with the sebum and clog the pores. The blocked pores lead to the formation of pimples, blackheads and whiteheads. If bacteria are also on the skin this leads to inflammation. Inflamed skin leads to more severe acne like cystic acne and nodular acne.
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How Acne Scars Form
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Acne is basically an injury to skin and, like many such injuries, a scar forms. Scarring is a way for the skin to heal wounds and repair itself naturally. Scarring affects people differently and some people are more susceptible than others. After a pimple or a cyst lesion has healed, scar tissue forms over the wound.
There are two types of acne scars, depressed and raised. Depressed scars are more common. These scars form when there is too little tissue or collagen at the acne site. Depressed scars are pockmark or ice pick scars that are small saucer shaped hollows in the skin. Raised scars produce too much collagen at the acne site. One type of raised scar is a keloid. Also known as Hypertrophic scars, keloids are dark, smooth, and irregularly shaped. Keloids are the result of too much tissue forming to repair the wound. These types of scars rarely diminish on their own.
Acne scars also cause discoloration. While many people think of discoloration as scars, in reality it is not. These discolorations are called post-inflammatory pigmentation or PIH and are a normal part of the healing process. These discolorations fade in time. Darker skin tones are more likely to experienced PIH.
Treating Acne Scars
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There are a wide range of treatments for acne scars, but none of them are guaranteed and some are very expensive. For surface discolorations, prescription fading creams are helpful. Microdermabrasion is also effective for surface scars. For more severe scars dermabrasion and laser resurfacing are options. For depressed scars a temporary solution is to fill in the scars with collagen or fat. For the worst scars, surgery is available. In skin surgery the scar is cut out and new skin is grafted onto the area.
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