How to remove acne scars

Chronic inflammatory diseases of the skin on the face can leave permanent consequences. Sometimes, long after the acne has been cured, damage, acne scars and hyperpigmentation are still visible on the face.

Who gets acne scars?

Some people are more likely to develop acne scars, and the risk increases in people who:

• have inflammatory (swollen, reddish, and painful) acne. This often includes pus-filled cysts and nodules. This type of acne is more damaging to the skin due to the severe inflammation.
• delay or do not treat inflammatory acne. Namely, the longer a person has inflammatory acne, the greater the risk of scarring.
• Touching and squeezing acne increases inflammation, which increases the risk of scarring.
• have a family member with acne scars – genes play a big role.

Although we know what increases the risk of acne scarring, it is not possible to predict exactly who will develop either acne or scarring. However, it is possible to prevent the formation of scars with effective and timely treatment.

What causes acne scars?

What does the entire process of inflammation and acne look like? The factors that lead to the formation of acne are still not fully understood. The etiopathogenesis of acne is complex. In addition to the altered inflammatory response in which numerous cytokines participate, the composition and amount of sebum is changed, and bacteria also play a role. First, a microcomedone is formed, which is visible only under a microscope, and then changes that we can see with the naked eye, open and closed comedones, inflammatory changes – papules, pustules, nodules and cysts.

Inflammatory processes can result in post-operative hyperpigmentation and/or atrophic or hypertrophic scarring.

What do acne scars look like?

The type of scar depends on how much collagen the body has produced, so we distinguish between the following:

Atrophic scar

Atrophic acne scars are sunken scars, or pits, mostly on the face. They are caused by the prolonged healing process of acne, i.e. the constant recurrence of inflammation in a specific area of ​​the skin.

Hypertrophic scar

Hypertrophic acne scars are raised scars. At the site of the inflamed acne, the skin produces an excessive amount of connective tissue fibers that do not have the same structure as healthy tissue.

Typical acne scars in the form of small white bumps can appear on women’s cleavage and back (not on the face).

Keloid scar

A keloid scar is a hypertrophic scar that grows and spreads above the level of inflammation and is considered a growth. They can be seen on the chest and back.

How to get rid of acne scars?

A multidisciplinary approach that involves combining several different methods is key in treating acne scars. How to get rid of acne today involves synergy.

The types of treatment will be tailored to the patient’s needs and the shape, location, and type of scar. It is important to assess whether it is necessary to stimulate collagen production, replace volume loss, or remove excess tissue. It is also important to consider how much time the patient can afford to spend on healing and recovery.

How to get rid of acne? Some of the most common combinations for removing acne scars that we use at the Bagatin Polyclinic are as follows:

• laser for acne + SkinPen + mesotherapy (organic silicon)
• fractional resurfacing + mesotherapy (organic silicon)
• Skinboosters

SkinPen are microneedles that stimulate elastic fibers and collagen to naturally renew themselves. More precisely, they stimulate the renewal of the deeper layers of the skin.

Why is mesotherapy so important in removing acne scars? Mesotherapy cocktails contain ingredients that promote regeneration and have a stimulating effect on the remodeling of scars.

It is important to note that a young person will have visible results very quickly, while slightly older patients, 45-55 years old, who have less quality elastic fibers and fewer of them can be genetically created, will need more time for results.

Laser removal of acne scars

Laser acne treatment is a method that has proven to be very effective in treating acne, especially acne in which inflammatory processes are active. In addition to accelerating the disappearance of inflammatory changes, it also lightens pigmentation (spots) left behind by acne, stimulates the formation of new elastic fibers and collagen, and has a positive effect on the appearance of scars.

It also causes sebaceous gland atrophy.

Fractional skin resurfacing is a treatment that uses a laser to create so-called micro-damages on the surface of the skin in the form of microdots. This activates elastic fibers and collagen, which stimulate the formation of new tissue that fills the irregularities caused by acne. The precision of the laser and the beam allows the doctor to treat the skin as deeply as necessary, that is, as deep as the acne scars are. This treatment is not performed on patients who have inflammatory processes on the face and certainly requires a minimum of 2 weeks of recovery.

Skin Booster improves the appearance of the skin’s surface with deep hydration, and the complexion becomes radiant. How? Hyaluronic acid, which is an integral part of the skin, binds water to itself and thus achieves a full and taut appearance of the skin, i.e. it will fill the ‘dimples’ on the skin. When we talk about ways to get rid of acne scars, Skin Boosters can be the ‘final touch’ in the whole process or we can use them in those patients who want immediate visible results.

With keloid scars, the process is a bit different. Since they are raised, they must first be ‘lowered’ with medication to bring them down to skin level, and then treated in the same way as atrophic scars.

You can order all of the above scar removal treatments at our Polyclinic via email info@bagatin.hr or by phone at 01/46 10 225. If you have additional questions, feel free to send us an inquiry through the Polyclinic’s website.