Whenever even a small bruise on your body heals, it leaves behind a mark.
The mark left behind may be in the form of discoloration of the skin in the affected area or an altered appearance of the skin in the affected area or both.
The mark may remain for some time and gradually fade out, in which case it was obviously a part of the final healing process, or it may remain for a long time, even lifetime in which case it is called a scar.
It is a reminder of an injury and tissue repair done by the body.
This happens when you have acne lesions; after all acne lesions also are injuries to the skin caused internally.
No two persons have the same susceptibility to suffer from acne scars.
Some people are more prone to it than others.
To a certain extent susceptibility to acnes occurrence as well as acne scars does run in the family.
In cases of some persons the scars hardly alter for the lifetime, while in some they diminish over years.
One thing is known for certain; more inflammatory the acne lesion you have, greater is the chance of your having a marked scar.
How to avoid a scar? Simple! Prevent acne! Take care of your body, especially face.
Regularcleansing and exfoliating, not using heavy makeup or using non-greasy makeup, healthy food habits, less of sugar and starch, less oily and greasy food.
All these are normal precautions.
But in spite of all these things being followed you may still get acne - and the possibility of scar! Remember, more the inflammation greater is the chance of scar.
Treat your acne lesions with proper medication rather than squeeze, pinch, prick at them.
You may be tempted to squeeze them with your fingernails or poking them with a pin, but this will damage the surrounding tissue, may spread the infection to the surrounding tissues.
It will increase the chances of your getting a permanent scar making acne scar treatment necessary at a later stage.
A word of caution.
As acne lesion heals, the inflamed area flattens leaving behind a reddish spot.
It may look like a scar but it is not.
It is the final stage of the repair process of the body in progress.
This "quasi-scar" is called a macule, it may last for about six months, and it will not leave a permanent scar.
Another type of "quasi-scar" is called a PIH (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation), a discoloration of the skin at the site of the acne lesion under healing.
This seems to occur generally among darker skinned people.
This will also vanish in about 18 months without leaving a scar.
These "quasi-scars" should not be confused with scars.
Even though Macule and PIH will vanish over a period of time without leaving a scar, they can be treated with bleaching agents to make their appearance less conspicuous.
There are two main types of true scars: 1) Keloids - caused by increased tissue formation at the site of acne lesion; and 2) Those caused by loss of tissue.
Keloids are found to occur more among African-American, Asian and Latino persons.
Keloid is formed when skin cells produce excess of collagen in response to injury, which then forms lumpy mass.
These scars appear firm and shiny and may remain for years.
Scars formed by loss of tissue are more common and they fall into following types: Soft linear or circular scars: They are usually small and soft to touch; Ice-pick scars: They are generally small but deep with steep sides and jagged edge; Depressed fibrotic scars: They are similar to ice-pick scars but larger and firmer at the base.
Acne scars can be treated; there are a variety of techniques and medications available.