Before discussing acne scars and their treatment, it's pertinent to point out that acne red marks that resemble scars are not actually scars because no permanent change has happened. In other words they are not real scarring and disappear in time, nonetheless while they are visible they can cause embarrassment.

Flat, red or reddish spots that appear at the final stage of most inflamed acne lesions are called Macules or "pseudo-scars". After an inflamed acne lesion flattens, a macule may remain in the lesion's site for up to 6 more months. When a macule eventually fades, no trace of it will remain, unlike a scar.

After the inflammation of an acne lesion has passed, skin pigmentation can become dark or discolorated. The lesion's color can range from light brown to black. Lesions may become darker if exposed to sunlight (UV rays). It happens more frequently in darker-skinned people, but is sometimes seen in people with fair skin. Early application of a natural skin care cream minimizes the occurrence of post-inflammatory pigmentation and also eliminates existing marks. If untreated, post-inflammatory pigmentation can even continue for up to 18 months, specially with excessive sunlight exposure.

Scars formed by Acne

Acne scars occur after inflammation or improper healing of some spots. While for some people scarring seems to depend on hereditary factors or skin color, precautions can be taken to avoid scars along with solutions, which significantly reduce a scarred skin's appearance.

In the simplest terms, scars appear at the site of injury and are the evident reminders of wound and tissue repair. In the case of acne, the injury is originated by the body's inflammatory response to sebum, microbes, and dead cells in the plugged sebaceous follicle. Two types of true scars exist:

(1) Depressed areas, commonly associated with pitted acne scarring or ice-pick scars, and

(2) Raised hardened tissue such as keloids.

When tissue suffers an injury, the body rushes in its 'repair kit' to the wound site. The skin activitates all its defensive and repair systems, where elements such as leukocytes, inflammatory molecules, and regenerative elements have the task of repairing tissue and controlling infection. However, when their mission is done they may leave a somewhat messy repair site in the form of fibrous scar tissue, or deteriorated tissue. It's not always that way.

Leukocytes and inflammatory molecules may remain at the site of an active acne lesion for days or even weeks. This can result in an acne scar in people who easily scar. The occurrence and incidence of scarring is still not well understood, however. There is considerable variation in scarring between one person and another, meaning that some people are more prone to scarring than others (ex. hereditary factors or complexion). Scarring frequently is a consequence of severe inflammatory nodular cystic acne that happens deep in the skin. But, scarring may also appear from more superficial inflamed lesions.