About Scars

People of all ages can experience scarring. Many people who have experienced severe acne can be left with acne scarring. Scar tissue is a permanent condition, but acne scar removal treatments performed by a dermatologist can effectively improve their appearance.

While the best course of treatment is preventative skin care, scars and dark spots from acne are common skin imperfections.   

A keloid is another type of scarring that can occur in response to a wound in the skin. A keloid develops when excess collagen forms during healing and is common on the earlobes, shoulders, and chest. This type of scar is typically thick, lumpy or raised and can have symptoms of pain and itching which can be treated with prescription creams or injections.  

Skin Keloids are very common in areas where skin injuries such as surgery, trauma, acne or even body piercings have occurred.  While surgical removal of keloid formations may be necessary, non-surgical treatments of the raised scars are also extremely effective.

Treatment Options: Scar Removal

Microneedling: Microneedling is an effective way to reduce the size and visibility of scars, and is especially popular as an acne scar treatment.  The treatment helps change the scar collagen into new, healthy, normal collagen leading to improvement in the appearance of acne scarring.  

A study published in “The Dermatologic Surgery Journal” in 2016 found that micro-needling is an effective procedure that gets rid of multiple types of acne-related scarring. The study reports that the recovery time is markedly less and there are fewer side effects compared to other treatments for the same conditions.

Fractionated CO2 Laser: This laser can be used to help correct acne scarring by breaking up the scar collagen and creating new healthy skin collagen. In many instances, this type of treatment can provide 30% to 50% improvement of the acne scarring after just one session. While results do vary, most will find improved results 6 months after 2-3 sessions.