Acne Marks

If you tackled acne breakouts in the past, it's common for those blemishes to leave their mark on your skin. Before revealing how to get rid of acne scarring and fade hyperpigmentation, it's important to understand the difference between these two marks so that they can be treated correctly.

Generally, marks left from acne are hyperpigmentation. However, if the mark is indented and broken on the skin’s surface it is a scar. “Not all scar-like marks are scars, ” Dr. Zenovia says. “Brown and red marks, for example, are hyperpigmentation and will fade with time.” 

To fade red marks left on the skin post-acne, you want to focus on decreasing the inflammation. “Sunscreen is imperative because that redness is inflammation and when the sun hits the inflammation it creates and worsens hyperpigmentation, ” Dr. Zenovia shares. “The red marks need to be covered from the sun”. Dr. Zenovia’s Vitamin C Brightening Moisturizer SPF 30 is a mineral sunscreen that provides transparent nano zinc-oxide protection from harmful UVA/UVB rays, free radical damage, and environmental stressors. Formulated with clinical-grade Vitamin C-Ester this moisturizing sunscreen visibly helps minimize the appearance of dark spots, discoloration, fine lines, and wrinkles.

What Is The Difference Between Acne Scars And Acne Marks? How To Identify Acne Marks?

To help fade those red marks at night, Dr. Zenovia recommends incorporating her top-selling Inflam-Aging Night Repair Treatment into your skincare regimen. “It’s like putting a baby aspirin on your skin, ” Dr. Zenovia shares. “It's a powerful overnight antioxidant serum! This product is part of my Essentials Collection because it’s essential for everyone but is especially great for acne-prone skin. It is a superb product for redness and inflammation”. The skin works to repair itself overnight. Applying a rich layer of the Inflam-Aging Treatment onto a clean face and neck each night will help combat skin aging, brighten the complexion, and improve skin elasticity.

Brown spots signify older pigment. To fade this type of hyperpigmentation, Dr. Zenovia recommends incorporating Vitamin C and sunscreen into your morning skincare regimen and using Glycolic Acid and Retinol several nights each week. Aside from other-the-counter treatments, a board-certified dermatologist can prescribe a bleaching cream with hydroquinone. “It’s important to note that this is a medicine, not just a cream, ” says Dr. Zenovia. “If you incorporate hydroquinone into your routine and use it alongside a Retinol and Vitamin C, you will see your brown spots lighten over time.”

Recommended in-office skin treatments for hyperpigmentation include laser therapy and chemical peels. The type of laser or peel to use really depends on your skin type, skin tone, and level of hyperpigmentation. If you have a very light skin tone, certain lasers can actually cause more hyperpigmentation so it’s important to consult with a reputable board-certified dermatologist. Chemical peels are great at sloughing down the top layer of skin, revealing a new layer of skin cells.

How To Fade Even The Most Stubborn Post Breakout Marks

True acne scarring appears as indentations on the skin. It is common for acne patients to scar on the sides of the forehead (by the eyes) because there are a lot of sebaceous glands along this area. To help fade acne scars, it is important to use a Vitamin C and sunscreen every morning. Dr. Zenovia’s Vitamin C Brightening Toner is an antioxidant-rich toner that hydrates, replenishes, and conditions the skin while helping to improve the appearance of an uneven tone and texture. At night, using Glycolic Acid and Retinol a few times a week can help improve the appearance of scarring over time. For a nighttime moisturizer, Dr. Zenovia recommends her Aloe Vera Blemish Soothing Moisturizer which is formulated for acne-prone skin experiencing redness.

Microneedling is a great in-office treatment for true scarring. However, you would need to do microneedling 4-5 times before really seeing an improvement. Dr. Zenovia recommends coupling microneedling with radiofrequency, a new kind of laser in the skin treatment space. Microneedling helps get into the scar and radiofrequency helps heat the base of those needles, stretching out the scarring.  

C02 laser resurfacing can also help take off that top layer of skin. Dr. Zenovia is a fan of using C02 as well as the Genius by Lutronic laser with radiofrequency. A board-certified dermatologist can decide which treatment is best for you after examining your skin. Both of these treatments are superb for acne scarring.

Acne Scar & Pore Reduction Laser Treatment Melbourne

  Shop Hormonal Skin Care Treatments Scar Gel Treatment $38 Add to cart Inflam-aging Night Repair Treatment $72 Add to cart Advanced Retinol Night Repair Treatment $72 Add to cart 5% Benzoyl Peroxide Acne Spot Treatment $25 Add to cart Hyaluronic Acid + Peptide Serum $72 Add to cart 10% Glycolic Acne Control Peel Pads $25.20 $42 Add to cart Vitamin C Brightening Toner $38 Add to cart Retinol Recovery Eye Cream $64 Add to cart  It could possibly be an acne scar instead; and these can be difficult to improve if left untreated for an extended period of time.

It’s tough enough to deal with the hustle and bustle of daily life. Acne-related anxiety doesn’t have to be added on top of the other stresses in life.

“Just don’t pick at your acne!” or “Leave it alone! It will heal in time, ” are common comments patients often receive from well-meaning peers. With all due respect, in reality, without proper treatment, acne scars CAN get worse in time. 

When Is The Right Time To Undergo Treatment For Acne Scars?

This is not so much due to the worsening of the scar per se; but the result of our skin losing collagen and elasticity as we age. This collagen loss can cause depressed or atrophic scars to look more noticeable with age.

Certain areas of the face –such as the temples and mid cheek– also experience fat loss. Loss of volume in these areas may also accentuate the appearance of depressed scars. 

Men are more likely to get acne when they are older and prone to longer duration or severity of active acne. Male patients also tend to have more severe scarring compared to female patients.

Acne Scars — Freyja Medical

In terms of age, comedonal acne is more common in adolescents and cystic acne are more common in adults[1]. This is due to the intense inflammation generated by cystic acne, thus increasing the likelihood of scarring.

Severe acne and acne scarring can contribute to psychological distress. If untreated, this may result in poor self-esteem and even depression. This is why it is important to treat acne and acne scars as early as possible for effective treatment results.

Acne marks, known as pigmentation, are the result of acne. Acne marks are not scars, are temporary and will fade over time.

Figure7: Graphical Representation Of Acne Scar Classification. The Top...

Unlike acne marks, acne scars can permanently damage the skin without proper treatment. Acne scars can also change the texture of the skin.

Depending on your skin type, PIH can improve over time even without treatment. This is the same as post-inflammatory erythema (PIE). Hypopigmentation can take a longer time to treat.

It’s best to treat acne scars sooner than later. Waiting does not help with such scars and topical treatment often shows little to no results!

What Is The Difference Between Acne Marks Vs. Acne Scars?

Early treatment of acne improves and speeds up your desired results. More cycles of acne inflammation causes more damage to the skin, increasing the likelihood of more scars in the future. 

In short, the longer you wait to treat your acne scars (regardless if they are bad enough or not), the longer it will take to see improvement.

Depending on the severity of your acne scars, there are a few factors to take into consideration before choosing the right treatment.

Products To Help You Deal With Acne Scars

I hope this convinces you not to wait out when treating your acne scars – there really is no “right time”. As long as your acne scars bother you, seek treatment. The more you tarry, the harder it is to reverse your skin back to how it originally was. 

Your submission has been received. Our customer representative will contact you soon! For quicker response, please call us at +65 8879 7887Do acne, breakouts, or zits give you a nightmare? Well, even more, because they leave behind scars, spots or marks only to remind us of cancelled plans. Scientifically there are many reasons behind why an acne breakout leaves a scar or occurs in the first place, but today we’d like to address the most common causes.

All the above reasons may sound unfamiliar, but these are the most common reasons you will hear after visiting a dermatologist. Acne or scars post-acne are not confined to these but are attributed to multiple factors and their damage. With extensive research and knowledge, skin specialists and aestheticians have classified acne scars. Scars originate in the site of tissue injury and maybe atrophic ( loss of tissue ) or hypertrophic ( excess tissue ). Atrophic scars are caused more commonly than any other type. They are subdivided into three types but have a common mechanism, i.e., lack of collagen that causes a pit. Hypertrophic scars are rarely seen due to the reasons mentioned above and affect the wounded region only. It is characterized by excessive collagen deposition and raised appearance. Acne scars that are usually cured by active ingredients or chemical peels or clinical treatments are atrophic.

Acne Scars 101: A Complete Guide To Getting Smooth Skin Again

These are deep-rooted vertically into the epithelial tissues with a V-shaped superficial appearance. Difficult to treat because