Acne can be a seemingly inescapable plague that haunts young people during their most formative years. Acne can be a very difficult skin issue to treat and comes with a lot of emotional turmoil. Even when the war is over and the skin is clear, the battle scars remain. Making it through your teenage years unscathed by acne doesn’t mean you’ll avoid it. A growing number of people are experiencing adult-onset acne.

Treating acne scarring can be as challenging as treating the acne itself. The severity of the scarring depends on various factors from genetics to the type of acne. Scarring is also affected by the topical and internal care provided and how quickly the treatment intervention occurred.

There's a difference  between acne scarring and postinflammatory hyper-pigmentation (PIH). PIH is not scarring, it's an unsightly dark mark left over after a breakout. PIH happens as part of the skin’s inflammatory process. Generally PIH will fade unassisted over a period of three-to-twelve months. Usually the darker the spot, the longer it will take to fade. You can speed this process with topical care such as vitamin C in the form of l-ascorbic acid, a vitamin-A serum, and gentle skin lighteners.

And of course, it is of the utmost importance is that you minimize sun exposure and use a physical sunblock every day, as UV rays darken any areas of abnormal discoloration.  

Acne Scarring: Atrophic and Hypertrophic
Acne scars are most commonly atrophic which means they leave an indentation in the skin often referred to as a “pock mark.” Less common is hypertrophic scarring caused by excessive scar tissue and this presents as a keloid, a type of raised lesion.

Acne scars happen when skin follicles get blocked by excessive oils and keratin. When this happens, old skin cells trigger an inflammatory response. As the skin attempts to heal, collagen becomes deformed and thickens and turns into scar tissue.

The Acne Scar Solution: Dermapen Micro-Needling
We’ve seen incredible results on atrophic acne scars and surgical scars with the Dermapen micro-needling treatment. The micro needles work by creating a small and controlled injury, which causes new collagen and elastin to form and deposit in the scar.  It breaks up this fibrous and uneven scar tissue and stimulates the growth of new tissue, leading to a smoother and more even skin surface. Your skin care professional can tailor a program to your individual needs; a typical regimen is around 4–6 treatments. Added bonus: micro-needling also delays the signs of aging.

Home Care
Your skin needs daily topical support and that goes double when you’re committing to a series of Dermapen micro-needling treatments.  When we stimulating the wound healing response with the Dermapen treatments, your skin requires a support system for optimal results.  The most important ingredient is vitamin A in the form of ecapsulated retinaldehyde because it accelerates the healing response. Even though your skin appears visibly healed 2–4 days after treatment there is still healing happening beneath the surface and this healing process requires topical support to effectively form new tissue in the scarred area.

Skin Boosting Supplements and Vitamin Injections
Healthy nutrition and supplements supply skin cells with the essential building blocks they require to achieve healthy skin. One of the most important vitamins to be supplementing with is the B-Complex. A deficiency in vitamin B can lead to many skin health issues such as acne, dry skin, skin and skin rashes.   

Vitamin B1 boosts circulation in the body and gives your skin a glow. Vitamin B3 helps your skin receive oxygen, which can help prevent the development of acne.  Vitamin B5 helps to promote faster healing of skin wounds and is most effective when combined with vitamin C. A biotin deficiency can lead to a variety of skin problems including rashes, acne, psoriasis, dermatitis and overall itchiness. If you are suffering with chronic skin issues, or a dull and unhealthy complexion, the cause may be a vitamin-B deficiency.

As painful as acne scarring can be, there is hope through these amazing, risk-free, skin-health promoting interventions.