Acne isn’t always just a few annoying bumps or blemishes that can appear right before a job interview or that big date. In some cases, it is a very serious thing that can cause four types of acne scars. These are ice pick, rolling, boxcar, and hypertonic or keloid scars. All of them have varying degrees of seriousness and are treated in different ways, but all are equally damaging both emotionally and physically. All of these need treatment from a dermatologist for the best outcome.
Ice pick scars
One of the types of acne scars is called ice pick. These form deep and narrow scars that cause pitting in the skin. These are one of the most common of the types of acne scars.
Rolling Scars
Another of the types of acne scars are called rolling scars. These form onto the skin’s surface and look like a wave formation because they are very shallow and wide.
Boxcar Scars
Yet another of the types of acne scars is called boxcar scars. This is because they are angular and well-defined in shape. These are often seen on a person’s temple or cheek areas.
Hypertrophic or Keloid Scars
Another of the types of acne scars is the hypertonic or keloid scars. The hypertonic kind of acne scars form near the original blemish and may get smaller over time, while a keloid scar is an overgrowth from the original blemish and can get bigger over time.
Basics of All Acne Scars
All of the types of acne scars are caused similar to scars made when someone is injured. The wound heals with too much collagen in the area, which forms the scarring. An acne scar forms where the pimple was. The thing that is different is that an acne scar forms inside the skin, not on top like a wound scar does. That is why acne scars are hard to remove or otherwise get treatment for them.
Scarring often happens when someone has a severe form of acne called inflammatory nodule cystic acne which appears deep inside the skin. However, other types of acne scars can form from different kinds of pimples as well. Nodule acne is a pus filled bump that is very painful. It nearly always causes scars and must be treated by a doctor. If any types of acne pimples or blemishes are not treated properly then they have the potential to turn into ugly scarring. That is why it is very important to see a dermatologist for serious cases of acne or any type of acne that you are unable to treat successfully at home with holistic or over the counter medications.
Ways to treat acne scars
There are several ways to treat the different types of acne scars depending on the severity and the kind of scarring. For instance, an ice pick scar is usually treated with resurfacing techniques or a technique called punch excision or punch grafting. In either of these cases the scar itself is punched out and the skin is either sewed up as in punch excision or a graft of skin is sewn into the area, as in punch grafting.
One way that a boxcar scar might be treated is by using laser resurfacing techniques or a form of dermal filler where a substance such as collagen is injected into the area of the scar to fill it in. Another form of acne scar removal is called subcision. This involves cutting into the epidermis tissue in the area of the scar and separating the scar tissue from the rest of the cells in the area.
When it comes to the hypertrophic scarring, these types of acne scars are usually treated with steroid injections.
Conclusion
Whatever types of acne scars that you may have, there are ways to minimize or remove them. Anyone suffering from such scars needs to get treatment from a skin doctor and discuss with them what their scar removal options are. It may be impossible to treat some of them, but others are simple and easy to treat or remove.
All in all, no one likes the thought of having permanent types of acne scars and that is why it is vital to seek treatment as soon as possible for various types of acne breakouts, especially those that are very severe and don’t respond to home treatments.
