Acne most often appears on the face but can also be found on areas of the back and chest. Symptoms of acne scars are different for everyone and recognizing the most common symptoms will help you get the appropriate treatment before scars have the chance to develop.
The first signs of an acne scar appear after the lesion has healed. Patients may notice a change of color or change in texture. Most often people mistaken color changes for scars when in fact they are not scars, but rather a condition called post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH). PIH is a natural reaction produced by the body after a wound and is flat and discoloured in appearance. PIH usually fades away over time and almost everyone who gets acne can develop this condition; however it is more common in people with dark skin tones.
There are two main types of acne scars.
• Hypertrophic scars develop when the body produces too much collagen to repair the wound caused by the acne lesion. This causes a clump of raised skin tissue to form on the skin’s surface.
• Atrophic scars create a shallow pitted appearance and are caused by a loss of skin tissue.
Acne lesions that become severely inflamed or filled with pus are when the skin is most vulnerable to scarring Once these symptoms appear, a skin care professional should be consulted for treatment as soon as possible. Also, patients should seek treatment if acne is experienced for prolonged periods or becomes a chronic condition.
