Acne Scarring

Active pimples are frustrating, but the scars that they leave behind can be even more maddening. If you manage to get your acne under control, you may wish that you could eliminate the scars and dark spots that the lesions leave behind.

Have you ever had an acne scar that goes away after a while? That’s not a true scar. It’s post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.

When your skin becomes wounded or inflamed, it produces extra melanin as it heals. Melanin makes your skin darker at the site of the acne spot. Even after the lesion has healed, the dark spot remains. It might be dark pink, purplish or brown, depending on your skin tone.

These hyperpigmentation marks usually go away on their own. However, they may not disappear completely for up to six months.

Acne scarring is more severe. True scars develop when dermis, the thick layer of skin below the epidermis, is damaged. To heal the wound, the body creates more collagen, which is a protein that grows naturally in the body. The collagen fibers have a different texture than the rest of your skin, and they form a scar.