Dr. Jagruti Dwivedi

Acne scars look bad and often interfere with your bright looks, as they make you feel embarrassed and unfresh. You use more makeup to cover them or avoid going out in order to hide them. However, instead of hiding your face or the scars, you may try these treatment options to remove the scars instead and feel brighter and better.

1. Chemical peels: This method involves the application of a chemical peel on the skin. The acid in it removes the superficial skin layer to improve the appearance of the scar. This works well on lighter scars, and a licensed medical practitioner, nurse or cosmetologist can do this procedure.
2. Dermabrasion and Microdermabrasion: This technique involves using a high-speed brush on the skin to polish the portion of the scar and make that part of the skin even, so that the scar looks lighter. If your skin doctor feels that you don't need serious dermabrasion, then he may use a microdermabrasion where small crystals are sprayed onto the skin surface to remove the skin cells over the scar and improve appearance.
3. Fillers: Fillers are used on the skin which gets depressed due to the acne or scars. There are some binding materials like collagen or Hyaluronic acid, which can be injected through an injection, and this keeps the skin smooth, scar free and elevated for some time after which the injection has to be repeated. This has to be a continuous treatment until your skin starts to appear normal again.
4. Retinoid creams: The retinoid creams are especially beneficial on scars if applied patiently for a prolonged period. These creams come with little side effects like burning, drying or peeling of the skin, but over a medium to long-term application, all scars do get removed.
5. Laser treatment: A combination of a few types of laser treatments or just one type depending on the acne stage or redness is used. This smoothens the skin and removes the acne scars by removing skin cells from the area.
6. Punch Excisions and Skin grafting: This is a surgical technique. The acne scar can be removed by cutting a portion of the skin, and removing it. Normally, this procedure is combined with skin grafting, where the hole created by the acne is filled up either through stitches, or through grafting of the skin. This is actually the most invasive process to remove scars and only done when you have a serious, permanent and stubborn scar which can't be effectively removed by other techniques. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Dermatologist.