Nearly a quarter of people (23%) living with scars, of any kind, have said that they have caused them short-term emotional or physical problems.
Scarring can affect how people feel and how confident they present in their skin.
Scars are caused by some sort of trauma on the body. They are the body’s natural healing process after the tissue has been damaged. All wounds heal with some sort of scar formation, some being raised, pitted or a completely different colour from the rest of our skin. Most will fade over time, however, they will usually never completely disappear.
Types of Acne Scarring
The majority of facial scarring occurs as a result of acne. Whether that’s because of picking spots and causing trauma or because the acne is so severe that the spots (nodules or cysts) burst and damage the surrounding area. Surface, light acne scarring will eventually repair itself over time but deeper, indented or very dark scars will need clinical treatments to regenerate.
Atrophic acne scars are the most common type of acne scar. You can tell an acne scar is atrophic because it’ll look like a depression, crater, dent, or hole in the surface of the skin. These are caused by destruction and loss of collagen usually when you pop a pimple, or if you just happen to get a particularly big or cystic pimple. It damages the surrounding skin and causes inflammation. The following are some examples of Atrophic scars.
- Ice Pick Scars – These are very small deep holes that look like your skin has been punctured with a sharp object.
- Rolling Scars – These scars are caused when bands of scar tissue are formed under the skin, giving an uneven appearance and “rolling” skin.
- Boxcar Scars – These are round depressions or craters in the skin that have parallel side walls.
Hypertrophic scars are the opposite and present as quite a raised, usually pinkish bump on the skin. These are formed due to an excess of collagen in the area during the healing process.
Hyperpigmentation can also form as discolouration on the skin. Your skin heals from inflammation and sometimes too much melanin or skin pigment can be produced during the healing process. This kind of scarring is usually quite superficial and tends to respond to treatment quicker than Atrophic scarring.
Non-Acne Scarring
If your scarring is caused by injuries, burns and surgery, treatment is recommended to start whilst the scar is ne and fresh. Here at Aeternum Aesthetics, every case is different, and the timescale to be treated post-trauma, injury or surgery will be different for everyone. We like to give the area time to heal itself but the best outcomes are usually when the scars are relatively fresh. There are a few different types of scarring that can appear:
Normal fine-line Scars:
These are usually made through a relatively light cut which will heal slightly raised and will gradually flatten over time, most of the time you’re left with a silvery-looking line.
Keloid Scars:
Keloid scars usually appear as a raised bump that keeps growing even after the wound has healed. This is due to too much tissue growth when an overload of collagen is produced over the wound. They are raised, quite red and can also feel quite tight and make areas of the body hard to move especially over joints where we need to bend. Keloid scars are usually best treated by your doctor with a course of steroid injections as this will help to shrink the scar over time making the scar feel softer.
Scar Contractures:
These types of scars are usually caused by burns, they happen when the skin shrinks, tightening and restricting movement in the area.
5 main treatments we perform for acne scarring at Aeternum Aesthetics
Chemical Peels
Chemical peels can be used to minimise irregular colour in the skin therefore will work great on superficial surface scarring which may appear as a darker patch on the skin. The top layer of the skin is removed making the skin regenerate, improving and lightening any scarring and darkened areas. Peels are great especially if the scarring is caused as a result of acne as they will also help to unclog pores and prevent future breakouts too. At Aeternum Aesthetics we provide 4 different peel strengths depending on your skin concerns. At your consultation, we can discuss which would be most beneficial.
Microneedling
Microneedling can be used to minimise smaller scars, minor surface irregularities, surgical scars and acne scars. Microneedling causes tiny ‘traumas’ over the skin stimulating its natural repairing process and healing the skin quicker. Microneedling on fresh scars is known to reactivate the healing process, improving the appearance long term.
Fractional Laser
This ablative laser causes tiny microscopic holes within the epidermis, resulting in dramatic skin renewal. Stimulating collagen production to re-texturise and gently start to heal scarring and quicken the results. Fractional laser is great for deeper pitted scarring, stretch marks and burns as it penetrates deeper into the skin.
I-PRF Facials
I-PRF incorporates microneedling so this treatment has an increased effect on scarring. As the plasma from your blood is used there are more regenerating properties. We use platelet-rich fibrin, which releases growth factors into the skin for the next 7 days allowing the cells to absorb as much as possible.
The skin is then able to restore and replenish lost collagen and elastin. Incorporating this with microneedling will create a micro-injury to initiate cell regeneration and the I-PRF will provide all the cells required for the regeneration to occur.
PRP is traditionally used for the treatment of burns and wounds that will not heal, injected into painful joints to aid healing, after facial surgery to aid healing and also to rejuvenate the skin and regenerate hair growth.
Skincare
Having a great skincare routine is also a great way to increase how quickly any facial scarring heals. Retinols are a great addition as they increase cellular turnover and resurface the skin to smooth scarring. It clears the way for new fresh skin cells giving the skin a more uniform and even look.
Conclusion for Acne Scarring
All of these treatments can dramatically improve scarring on both the face and body, including acne scars, surgical scars, burns and trauma scarring.
Contact Aeternum Aesthetics to book a consultation so we can advise the best course of treatment for you.
