How to Get Rid of Acne Scars with One Fail-Proof Treatment

With skin care becoming increasingly high-tech, there are more professional treatments out there than ever before to help reduce acne scars. These high-tech treatments can be great additions to your at-home routine if you’re looking to target specific issues. But while it’s great having all these options, it can also be overwhelming at times (not to mention expensive!). A lot of these treatments advertise similar results, so how do you know which one to pick? Which will give you the most bang for your hard-earned buck?

Because it’s so simple, micro needling is a sought-after professional treatment these days for how to get rid of acne scars. It’s depicted as a treatment for many issues, acne scarring included, but is this really the best treatment for acne scars? Could it actually make scarring worse?

What is Micro Needling and How Does it Work?

Let’s start with the basics. As the name suggests, micro needling is a procedure that uses tiny needles to create small puncture wounds in the skin. The purpose of creating these micro wounds is to trigger your skin’s own healing response, which is pretty powerful. While this may sound scary, micro needling is associated with little to no pain, and a topical numbing cream is applied before a single needle ever touches your face when you receive micro needling as a facial treatment.

While this procedure can have many benefits, the greatest benefit of micro needling is collagen production. Collagen production is a huge part of your skin’s healing process, so by creating superficial wounds that won’t cause lasting damage, you’re essentially tricking your skin into creating new collagen.

Does Micro Needling Help With Acne Scars?

Before I answer this question, I want to clarify the difference between acne scars and hyperpigmentation.

True acne scars leave indents in the skin and are typically caused by severe acne, such as cystic or nodular. These are the kinds of blemishes that don’t come to a head, no matter how much you pick and squeeze (which you really shouldn’t do, btw. That just makes it worse and longer to go away!). Picking and squeezing increases the likelihood that a blemish will leave an atrophic (indented) scar in its wake. These indents are true acne scars and can linger for years, or if they’re deep enough, never resolve.

Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) is the technical term for those dark marks that hang around after a blemish heals. People often talk about PIH and acne scars interchangeably, but for the sake of this post, it’s important to distinguish between the two. Now, to answer your question: micro needling is one of the most potent ways of how to get rid of acne scars!

The good news is that micro needling can absolutely help with acne scars. Because it helps stimulate your skin’s own production of collagen, these indents can be filled in overtime, giving the skin an overall smoother appearance. Basically, micro needling helps plump out acne scars.

Topical Treatments

As far as topical treatments go, these are best for building and protecting collagen:

• Retinoids. Retinoids are usually found in prescription-strength products that you’ll need to get from a dermatologist. If your skin is too sensitive for a retinoid, you can look for an over the counter product that contains retinol. Retinol is gentler, but still stimulates collagen production.
  
• Vitamin C. Look into using a Vitamin C serum during the day. Vitamin C both helps builds collagen and prevents it from being broken down further.
  
• Exfoliating Acids. Exfoliating acids can help plump the skin by building collagen, but they also help give the skin a more even-textured appearance by “sanding down” the top layers of dead skin cells. I would recommend using one about three nights a week since this will help also help keep new blemishes at bay. If you’re not sure of which ones to use, consult your aesthetician for advice!
  
• Sunscreen. The sun’s rays contribute to the breakdown of collagen more than any other external factor, so wearing a broad-spectrum sunscreen every day is crucial.

Although all of these can help minimize the appearance of acne scars, keep in mind that you can’t expect the same results from topical products as from a professional treatment. It’s important to manage your expectations and be wary of any company that claims it will make your acne scars disappear with a single product. A minimum monthly facial using a professional-grade micro needling device is the best choice for helping to get rid of acne scars without causing further damage.

Botanica Day Spa Micro Needling Treatment

With so many high-tech options available for treating acne scarring, it’s important to schedule a consultation with a skin care professional who is well-versed in all these treatments. They will be able to examine your skin and suggest personalized treatment options. That said, I believe micro needling is well documented as an effective treatment for indented acne scarring, especially when combined with other therapies like LED light treatments and potent serums to help deliver missing ingredients to heal and plump your skin! It’s definitely a treatment worth looking into!

Call Botanica Day Spa today to book your micro needling appointment!

Love,

Gen