We have ALL had acne! Some people are luckier than others and only got a few pimples while they were in middle school. Other people aren’t as lucky and got covered with them.

For many of us the acne never went away and left us with scars that now haunt us. What causes these nasty acne scars and how can we make them go away!

To Understand Acne Scars We Need to Understand Acne.

Not all acne turns into acne scars. However, when scarring does occur it is usually a result of inflammatory acne lesions. These are the pimples that we’re all familiar with…the red pimples, pus pimples and cysts. When it comes to these pimples the worse the inflammation the worse the scar.

The parts of your skin that make these acne scars visible are the top two layers of your skin, which are the epidermis and the dermis. The dermis is the important layer of skin and it’s where your collagen, hair follicles, nerves, oil glands and everything else seem to live.

When the dermis becomes damaged to the point where any of the healthy tissue gets destroyed then you’re left with a scar.

The destruction of healthy tissue is usually caused by the inflamed, swollen and pus-filled tissue rupturing into the skin. This allows the pus to leak into the surrounding tissues.

The pus itself and the body’s reaction to the pus destroy the dermal tissue. When your body tries to heal the affected area, the repair process is imperfect. Your body can’t rebuild the destroyed healthy tissue. All the body can do is rebuild the area with hard collagen, which we know as scar tissue.

At first, the scar is noticeable, red or pink and then over time the scar becomes lighter than your normal skin color or even white.

Most of the acne scars are atrophic, which means that the body didn’t replace the entire area with scar tissue and you’re left with a visible indent in the person’s face.

There are three different types of scars that are a result of acne.

  1. The Crater scar is the scar that is rounded at the bottom and looks like a small crater.
  2. There is the ice-pick scar. This scar is shaped like the letter V and looks like someone put an ice pick right into the skin.
  3. Lastly, there is the box scar that has a flat bottom and is shaped like a square with a square appearance.

However, sometimes the body makes too much collagen so the scar is actually raised above the skin. This is considered a hypertrophic scar and is much less common on people’s faces.

Thankfully, we live in a time where advancements in technology have allowed us to figure out ways to reduce and even eliminate the scare entirely.

At the York Medical Spa, we have some of the best lasers in the country to help you eliminate acne scars, unwanted blemishes and anything else that may be holding back your confidence!

Call the York Medical Spa Anti-Aging Center Today!