Acne Scar Cream

Acne scar treatment concerns almost everyone, as 85% of young adults and 20% of older adults have acne, and many are prone to scarring. The first issue in the search for the best acne scar treatment is the definition of an acne scar. Let us remember how the scar is formed. The immune system responds to a blocked pore in your skin. White blood cells are sent to destroy the plug of dead skin cells, bacteria, and oils. The white blood cells may remain in the area of the pimple for days or even weeks after the pimple is resolved. They continue to try to repair the damage to the skin. The problem is that the intricate network of new skin materials they put down may be messy and uneven. There may be darker pigmentation at the repair site that the normal surrounding skin. It may look like a red spot for weeks. The acne scar may be raised. Or it may look like a permanent hole in the skin.

A dark or red spot where a pimple used to be may fade after 6 to 12 months and is not really considered a scar. You can prevent this spot from lingering by taking a few precautions.
1. do not pick at the scabs
2. use a retinoid to help with the healing of blemishes
3. use a sunscreen. Free radicals found in sunlight can add to the damage and mess up the newly repaired skin.
4. use an alpha- or beta- hydroxy acid formulations also help.

Such “post-inflammation” areas can benefit from some of the acne scar treatments that are out there. [The best way to determine what is the best acne scar treatment for you is to visit independent user sites, such as www.acne.org where hundreds of products have been reviewed by ordinary people. A good site that you may use to assess the value of herbal acne scar treatments is Memorial Sloan Kettering's herb database. For other opinions, on this and other issues, visit epinions.org which has a search box where you can enter “best acne scar treatments”.]

True Acne Scars and Their Best Treatment

Your dermatologist judges your scars differently than you might, and the acne scar treatment chosen depends on its classification. True scars last beyond 12 months. They can be divided into two types – indented scars and raised scars. If a scar is raised, it is treated as a keloid or hypertrophic (too much growth of new skin). If you have keloid scars, then your dermatologist will have to consider not doing any surgery at all. Skin that responds to acne damage by turning keloid, will also respond to acne scar surgery by making more keloid scars. Some skin care products for specifically reducing keloids are a better option.