07th Jun 2009

Acne Scar Removal Guide

Acne scars are an unsightly reminder of a difficult problem for many of us in early life, and wanting to know how to get rid of acne scars is a very common thing. Because the hair follicles and sebaceous glands that cause acne when they go into overdrive are found in a higher density on the skin of the face and neck, acne and consequently acne scars are much more likely to be found there. This is a bad thing of course, as it is probably the place that people are generally most conscious of. The good news is that there are some very effective treatments available for acne scars although in many cases they don’t come particularly cheap.


The most common treatment is laser removal of acne scars. These provide a quick treatment without many side effects, although you will need to talk to your doctor and surgeon thoroughly to work out exactly what will happen and how it could affect you first. There are two types of lasers, ablative and non-ablative. Non -ablative lasers don;’t remove the skin while ablative lasers do. Non-ablative work by focusing their energy beneath the surface so that the outer layer of skin is unbroken.

There are many other treatments that are used for acne scars - some more effective than others. You should always talk to your doctor about which is most suitable for you as it will depend on many things including how severe the scarring is, how old you are and what your medical history is, as some treatments are not safe for everyone.

The best way of getting rid of scars is not to let them happen in the first place. There are many good treatments for acne that can be bought or prescribed, and these will reduce acne and hence the scarring considerably. Of course that may not be an option if you already have scarring on the face or neck. If this is the case, talk through with your doctor about what you can do about it. Some other treatments of acne include dermabrasion, chemical peels and collagen injections and they are good for a variety of severity of scars. The dermatological procedure chosen for you depends on many factors which is why you should always seek personal advice for your condition before making any decisions about your course of action.

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07th Jun 2009

What are Acne scars?

Not all cases of acne result in scars, but those that do provide the person with a constant reminder of a time they would probably like to forget! Knowing what acne scars are helps when learning how to get rid of acne scars. There are four main types of acne scars and they are caused by different things. They are icepick, boxcar, rolling and hypertrophic scars according to a leading website on the internet. These are caused by various different things during acne, but all leave scars in some cases.


Acne is a difficult problem to deal with, especially as it usually occurs during our teenage years where our self esteem if generally low anyway. Acne can harm our self esteem further because it is an unsightly problem to have on the face or neck, and then can cause a double problem by leaving permanent scarring on the face or next.

Acne is caused when the sebaceous glands produces too much of a substance called sebum in the skin due to large amount of male hormones in the body. This happens to both sexes during puberty which is why acne is more common at this time. The oil produced by the sebaceous gland irritates our skin causing inflammation which provides the red part of acne. The hair follicles then become blocked which causes whiteheads and blackheads to form. This causes damage to the skin which like other kinds of injuring can result in a permanent scar.

Acne scars aren’t dangerous and won’t get worse over time if the acne disappears. Sometimes acne doesn’t go away after treatment, and all the time there is active acne on the skin there is a chance of further scarring. That doesn’t make it any less difficult for people who have acne scars to deal with though, and they usually won’t get better over time either even if the acne itself goes away in later life. The best prevention for acne scars is stopping the acne itself, so see a skin expert as soon as possible if you have acne who’ll be able to provide treatment for your specific case. Getting a prescription drug for acne is generally much more effective than trying over the counter methods, although they can be effective to a certain degree too. Your doctor will be able to advise you on the best course of action and you should always consult him or her first.

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07th Jun 2009

What causes acne

Acne is an extremely common problem amongst people worldwide, although Western culture seems to have a bigger problem with it than most, perhaps due to our diet and lifestyle. It strikes often in our teenage years - generally our most insecure stage - which means it can cause a large amount of stress. In fact stress is thought to cause acne to worsen so it can often be a vicious cycle. I’m sure many of us remember feeling conscious of our face and bodies when we were teenagers - many of us still do - and for people with acne this only makes the situation harder to deal with.


Acne is caused by the polosebaceous unit which is made up of several different parts - hair follicles, hair and the sebaceous gland. These are found almost everywhere in the body but there is a larger density of them on the face and neck, hence why acne often occurs in these places while not on other parts of the body. When we go through adolescence the Sebaceous gland produce too much of a secretion called sebum due to an increased amount of Male hormones in the body at this time. This in turn causes them to enlarge and hence spots begin to form on the face and neck of the person with acne. Just because these are male hormones that trigger it doesn’t mean the problem is confined just to men, as during adolescence both male and female people have an increased amount of this hormone in their body.

The skin of the body normally has all types of bacteria covering it, but when people have acne there is an increased amount of certain bacteria on the skin which causes the body to try and heal these areas. This is a complicated process but results in inflammation which causes the red bumps that people with acne have on their face.

Whiteheads are caused when the hair follicles are obstructed in the skin. Science hasn’t completely determined why this happens yet, but it does more so with people who are suffering from acne. When this happens the sebum gets trapped and can’t get out, causing a build up and in the end whiteheads and blackheads on the skin.

Usually the production of sebum decreases once we pass the age of 20 so for most people acne will start to go away at this time. However it can leave scars on the skin and in some cases it may progress beyond this age - everyone is different. As always if you are concerned about your acne you should visit a doctor who will be able to advise you on the best course of action for you personally.

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