What Causes Acne Scarring?
Acne scars can be permanent. Because of our body’s natural healing process, the dermis heals in a way that the skin does not smoothen out properly and appear differently as it used to before. Hence, the development of acne scars.
Scarring is usually caused due to a wound or injury, and for acne scars, it is due to inflamed lesions such as pustule, cyst, or papule. Acne can be difficult to deal with, but there are medically proven ways on how to properly treat them – click here to find out more about these treatments.
Inflamed lesions happen when the pore gets clogged up with dead skin cells, bacteria, and excess oil. When the pore starts to swell, it causes the follicle wall to break. In some cases, the rupture happens near the skin’s surface, which usually develops minor acne scars that can easily fade away with some creams and treatments. But when there is a deep break in the follicle wall, it causes a more severe case of acne scars which is more difficult to deal with.
The deep break in the follicle wall happens when the infected substance spreads out into the dermis, destroying the healthy skin tissue. This triggers the body to start its healing process by producing new collagen fibres (a fibrous protein that gives the skin strength) to repair the damaged tissue. Unfortunately, the healing process does not always have an appealing outcome. Inflammation is the number one cause of acne scars. A severe inflammation on the skin gives a higher chance of scarring to occur.
How To Prevent Acne Scars?
Acne scars can’t be fully prevented as it is part of the body’s natural healing process. But, some ways can help to minimize the chances of acne scars from developing. Here are some of the effective prevention tips you can do to avoid acne scars:
Get Acne Under Control ASAP
Acne should be treated right away as soon as it starts to develop. Consult with a medical specialist to further examine your acne if it does not want to go away after trying over-the-counter medications and other treatment methods. Cystic acne can extend deeper into the skin, which can destroy skin tissue and leave scars behind.
Natural home remedies and over-the-counter acne products won’t do much in getting rid of such acne breakouts. With the medical specialist’s thorough examination of your acne(s), an effective treatment option will be given to prevent the acne from worsening. Treating your acne immediately will keep the acne at bay and prevent it from developing into a severe form.
Avoid Picking or Popping Pimples
Picking or meddling with your pimple can be quite tempting. With no control of stopping ourselves from picking our acne, forces unnecessary debris to go deeper into the dermis spreading bacteria that infects the surrounding tissues leading to the inflammation of the pimple or acne. This usually happens with severe acne like cystic acne.
Popping pimples does bring out the infected substance, but it also destroys the follicle walls leaving your skin with a permanent scar. The best advice for this is to leave your pimple or acne alone to heal on its own. Apply creams or ointments on it gently.
Reduce Inflammation
Just like the first tip, calming the inflammation should be your top priority. This is also a way to treat acne so it won’t develop and acne scars in the future. Avoid activities or foods that can worsen the inflammation of your acne. Skincare products and facial cleansers should include natural ingredients to mellow down the infection.
You should be aware of chemically-based facial products as it can be too aggressive for the skin, and it can irritate the skin. Act fast by minimizing the inflammation of the acne so it won’t cause any discolouration in the skin.
Apply Extra Sunscreen
Yes, you might think this may worsen your acne as it can make the face more oily – but this will do more good than bad. Dark spots are made from pigmented cells. Putting on sunscreen can help prevent these cells from being more active and reduce the risk of scarring.
