Many men and women deal with the scarring after effects of pimples, blemishes, and other types of acne. When the original acne sites eventually go away, the skin under and around the area often darkens, forming highly visible acne scars. This darkening effect on the skin is also called post-inflammatory hyper-pigmentation (PIH). Acne related hyper-pigmentation occurs because of the body’s reaction to damaging acne eruptions. The formation and destruction of pimples registers throughout the body as “damage” to the skin, which then tells the skin to produce additional melanin. This extra melanin may noticeably last for years as darkened marks and acne scarring. With deep acne scarring, small, uneven “craters” form deep in the face where bleaching and lightening creams simply have no effect. It is important to do the proper research and if possibly talk to a dermatologist before deciding if laser treatments are right for you.
How Laser Resurfacing for Acne Scars Work
Laser Skin Resurfacing treatments are not just for wrinkles and uneven skin tone- they can also help reduce and remove several major types of acne scarring. Acne scarring takes years, possibly even decades, to go away on it’s own. In this process, new collagen is gradually created and the skin recovers in a more accelerated fashion. Laser skin resurfacing uses highly targeted and refined laser frequencies to greatly speed up this effect. In several sessions each placed a few weeks apart, it is possible to achieve dramatically smoother and clearer skin with laser skin resurfacing.
Types of Lasers for The Repair of Acne Scars
Two of the many types of laser skin resurfacing that are effective at increasing collagen are Intense Pulsed Light Procedures (IPL) and Pixel facial resurfacing treatments. IPL treatments work better for removing small dark spots, large pores, and general unevenness of the skin. For serious acne scaring, the stronger Pixel laser is also an option. This laser penetrates deeper into the skin to dissolve damage and greatly increase collagen production as the skin recovers. There are also many other types of skin resurfacing lasers, each of which specialize in certain effects and have certain warnings and recovery periods. In summary, laser resurfacing is one of the most effective ways to deal with significant acne scaring. It is important to research what type of procedure would work best for your specific needs.