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A number of treatments are available for acne scars through dermatologic surgery. The type of treatment selected should be the one that is best for you in terms of your type of skin, the cost, what you want the treatment to accomplish, and the possibility that some types of treatment may result in more scarring if you are very susceptible to scar formation.

 

A decision to seek dermatologic surgical treatment for acne scars also depends on:

The way you feel about scars. Do acne scars psychologically or emotionally affect your life? Are you willing to “live with your scars” and wait for them to fade over time? These are personal decisions only you can make.

 

A dermatologist’s expert opinion as to whether scar treatment is justified in your particular case, and what scar treatment will be most effective for you.

 

.The objective of scar treatment is to give the skin a more acceptable physical appearance. Total restoration of the skin, to the way it looked before you had acne, is often not possible, but scar treatment does usually improve the appearance of your skin.

 

The scar treatments that are currently available include:

Collagen injection. Collagen, a normal substance of the body, is injected under the skin to “stretch” and “fill out” certain types of superficial and deep soft scars. Collagen treatment usually does not work as well for ice-pick scars and keloids. Collagen derived from cows or other non-human sources cannot be used in people with autoimmune diseases. Human collagen or fascia is helpful for those allergic to cow-derived collagen. Cosmetic benefit from collagen injection usually lasts 3 to 6 months. Additional collagen injections to maintain the cosmetic benefit are done at additional cost.

 

Autologous fat transfer. Fat is taken from another site on your own body and prepared for injection into your skin. The fat is injected beneath the surface of the skin to elevate depressed scars. This method of autologous (from your own body) fat transfer is usually used to correct deep contour defects caused by scarring from nodulocystic acne. Because the fat is reabsorbed into the skin over a period of 6 to 18 months, the procedure usually must be repeated. Longer lasting results may be achieved with multiple fat-transfer procedures.

 

Dermabrasion. This is thought to be the most effective treatment for acne scars. Under local anesthetic, a high-speed brush or fraise used to remove surface skin and alter the contour of scars. Superficial scars may be removed altogether, and deeper scars may be reduced in depth. Dermabrasion does not work for all kinds of scars; for example, it may make ice-pick scars more noticeable if the scars are wider under the skin than at the surface. In darker-skinned people, dermabrasion may cause changes in pigmentation that require additional treatment.

 

Microdermabrasion. This new technique is a surface form of dermabrasion. Rather than a high-speed brush, microdermabrasion uses aluminum oxide crystals passing through a vacuum tube to remove surface skin. Only the very surface cells of the skin are removed, so no additional wound is created. Multiple procedures are often required but scars may not be significantly improved.

 

Laser Treatment. Lasers of various wavelength and intensity may be used to recontour scar tissue and reduce the redness of skin around healed acne lesions. The type of laser used is determined by the results that the laser treatment aims to accomplish. Tissue may actually be removed with more powerful instruments such as the carbon dioxide laser. In some cases, a single treatment is all that will be necessary to achieve permanent results. Because the skin absorbs powerful bursts of energy from the laser, there may be post-treatment redness for several months.

 

Skin Surgery. Some ice-pick scars may be removed by “punch” excision of each individual scar. In this procedure each scar is excised down to the layer of subcutaneous fat; the resulting hole in the skin may be repaired with sutures or with a small skin graft. Subcision is a technique in which a surgical probe is used to lift the scar tissue away from unscarred skin, thus elevating a depressed scar.

 

Skin grafting may be necessary under certain conditions—for example, sometimes dermabrasion unroofs massive and extensive tunnels (also called sinus tracts) caused by inflammatory reaction to sebum and bacteria in sebaceous follicles. Skin grafting may be needed to close the defect of the unroofed sinus tracts.

 

Treatment of keloids. Surgical removal is seldom if ever used to treat keloids. A person whose skin has a tendency to form keloids from acne damage may also form keloids in response to skin surgery. Sometimes keloids are treated by injecting steroid drugs into the skin around the keloid. Topical retinoic acid may be applied directly on the keloid. In some cases the best treatment for keloids in a highly susceptible person is no treatment at all.

 

In summary, acne scars are caused by the body’s inflammatory response to acne lesions. The best way to prevent scars is to treat acne early, and as long as necessary. If scars form, a number of effective treatments are available. Dermatologic surgery treatments should be discussed with a dermatologist.

There are numerous skin disorders and among the most common is acne. Acne affects nearly every person at every age at sometime during their life. As common as acne is, the specific cause of acne is still pretty much an unknown. And while there are no pointed answers to what causes acne, most experts agree there are many factors that contribute to acne development or exacerbating existing conditions.

 

Factor #1: Genetics

 

Since your genetics are the determining factors in the results of skin color, hair color and all the many other genes that make you  the individual that you  are and  most aspects of your growth and development, it’s common knowledge  that genetics influences the development of acne as well.  Researchers have shown that people who have a close relative or parent, such as mother or father with severe acne are more likely to also have major acne problems. In fact, genetics is one of the most common influencing factors in acne development. Unfortunately, this is one potential cause of acne that you can’t do much about.

 

Factor #2:  Diet

 

Diet or an uneducated diet is yet another potential cause of acne. Among skin care professionals, this seems to be a debated subject. However many people seem to notice increased acne symptoms when they eat certain types of foods or drinks, whether or not that it’s a contributing factor or the sole cause, due to the food and not influenced by other factors remains to be seen.

 

Factor #3: Changes in Hormones

 

Hormonal changes are one of the agreed-upon factors contributing to acne development. During adolescence, several hormonal changes take place, including the increased production of male hormones. These hormones affect the oil glands of the skin, causing more oil to be produced that then clog the pores, causing pimples and blackheads to appear on the skin.

Other hormonal increases occurring as part of a woman’s menstrual cycle can affect acne as well. That same idea sometimes holds true for birth control pills since starting or stopping the use of such medication also has an effect on female hormones. However birth control pills have also been used as a common practice of many doctors as a way of treating acne since the effect they have on a woman’s hormones can actually be beneficial.

 

Factor #4: Increased Stress

 

All people of all ages probably have too much stress in our lives and no knowledge of how to relieve it. One adverse effect of stress on the human body results in acne.  This is a subject of much debate among medical professionals, with some doctors in agreement

There are so many various causes of acne, that attempting to narrow it down to one cause by asking questions such as, “Why is acne caused during puberty?” is absolutely ridiculous.  When referring to puberty as a positive cause of acne, you are not only misdirecting your thinking, but also misrepresenting the facts or any information you may have uncovered as to the cause of acne during puberty. 

 

Even though, technically, puberty is not the cause of acne, one is definitely left wondering as to the true cause in itself.  Because of this age old question of why is acne caused during puberty, many scientists, doctors, and research experts, etc. have taken a look at the human body during various phases of puberty, pre-pubescent ages and post-pubescent ages as well.  One thing they have all agreed on was that most often, close to 90% of all teens suffer acne on some level during the offset of their teen years.  With numbers such as that, why is acne caused during puberty has become one of the burning questions of the medical society.

 

Some claim that the acne suffered from during puberty is a direct result of your body changing and producing far more than the normal amount of hormones.  Others have thought is was the body cleaning itself out as it changes and grows during puberty.  Either way, there is definitely a change in the body, whether temporary or permanent which is obviously affecting some of your body at an extremely elevated rate.  This may seem strange and confusing, imagine how the teens feel while experiencing it.  Puberty has become known as one of the most crucial, yet annoying times in everyone’s life.  It is necessary for us as we enter the primary stages of adulthood to experience puberty, one as a preparation for tougher times ahead, and two to help us learn what and how our bodies were made capable of.

 

Whether it is a direct result of impurities in the skin, blood, or body, suffering from acne at any age can be vastly annoying and embarrassing at the same time.  Along with the other strange occurrences that appear at this time in your life, acne during puberty has rapidly risen in ranks to one of the most discussed and researched current topics today.  There are many people out there attempting to find out why is acne caused during puberty, and many other questions as well.  As long as there are questions, there will be research.  As long as there is research, there will be the gift of knowledge.

 

 

Although it may seem seem shocking, experiencing acne in your adult years is not whole impossible.  While there are differences in extremity and symptoms, fully understanding  what is the difference between teen and adult acne can be somewhat confusing if you are not aware of the causes or types of acne prevalent in society today.

 

Where teen acne is mainly resulting from hormonal changes taking place in the body as well as different diets, changing or unhealthy, adult acne is considered more of a skin disorder.  Although your daily diet does in fact affect your skin and it plays a huge part in whether or not you suffer from skin break-outs, it is not the only reason why people suffer from acne as teens or adults. 

 

There are far too many myths and lies that surround acne and the causes of it as such, but when it comes down to the bottom line, knowing what is the difference between teen and adult acne can mean the chance of suffering from it if you do not make changes in your life.  The most popular myth of the number one cause of acne is that people wrongly believe dirt and dirty skin is the cause of acne.  While this does effect some of your skin condition, it is not however, the main reason behind suffering from acne, nor is it the only reason people suffer from it.  In fact, washing your face too often or too hard can cause a rash break out on your skin, or damage the capillaries that carry blood to your face, leaving you with damaged skin and a chance of suffering from acne Rosacea. 

 

Teen acne is capable of following you on through those awkward years on into your adult years, making them difficult as well.  Again, when asking what is the difference between teen and adult acne, you cannot say it is dirty skin.  Even though the ages are vastly different, the same causes still hold true in the latter years of living, the same as in the earlier years.  Changes in your body as you get older, and your dietary needs change along with your intake, these points factor into the larger scheme of things and better enable you to understand what is the difference between teen and adult acne.

 

As with any medical procedure or decision, it is best to consult your family care practitioner or a board certified dermatologist for help and information on what is the difference between teen and adult acne and how you are best able to treat it.

In the simplest terms, scars form at the site of an injury to tissue. They are the visible reminders of injury and tissue repair. In the case of acne, the injury is caused by the body’s inflammatory response to sebum (oil), bacteria and dead cells in the plugged sebaceous follicle. Two types of true scars exist, as discussed later: (1) depressed areas such as ice-pick scars, and (2) raised thickened tissue such as keloids.

 

When tissue suffers an injury, the body rushes its repair kit to the injury site. Among the elements of the repair kit are white blood cells and an array of inflammatory molecules that have the task of repairing tissue and fighting infection. However, when their job is done they may leave a somewhat messy repair site in the form of fibrous scar tissue, or destroyed tissue.

 

White blood cells and inflammation may remain at the site of an active acne lesion for days or even weeks. In people who are susceptible to scarring, the result may be an acne scar. The whys and how’s of scarring is still not well understood, however. There is considerable variation in scarring between one person and another, leaving us to believe that some people are more prone to scarring than others. Scarring frequently results from severe inflammatory acne that occurs deep in the skin. But, scarring also may arise from more superficial inflamed lesions.

 

The life history of scars also is not well understood. Some people bear their acne scars for a lifetime with little change in the scars, but in other people the skin undergoes some degree of remodeling and acne scars diminish in size.

 

People also have varied feelings about acne scars. Scars of more or less the same size that may be psychologically distressing to one person may be accepted by another person as “not too bad.” The person who is distressed and embarrassed by scars is more likely to seek treatment to lessen or remove the scars altogether..

 

Prevention of Acne Scars

As discussed in the previous section on Causes of Acne Scars, the occurrence of scarring is different in different people. It is difficult to predict who will scar, how extensive or deep scars will be, and how long scars will be present. It is also difficult to predict how successfully scars can be prevented by effective acne treatment.

 

Nevertheless, the only sure method of preventing or limiting the extent of scars is to treat acne early in its course, and as long as necessary. The more that inflammation can be prevented or lessened, the more likely it is that scars can be prevented.  Any person with acne who has a known tendency to scar should be under the care of a dermatologist.