Acne scars are a not-so-fun reminder of your past battles with breakouts. But did you know that not all acne scars behave the same way? Although laser treatment for acne scars can be effective, some acne scars are more difficult to treat.
When lingering acne scars also have a lasting impact on your self-esteem, it’s time to consult with us to see if you’re a good candidate for laser treatment for acne scars.
Types of Acne Scars
Long after your blemishes disappear, inflamed pores and damaged skin tissues can result in acne scarring. The four common types of acne scars are:
- Ice pick scars: narrow, deep holes that develop after a pimple becomes infected
- Rolling scars: deep, sloping depressions that make the skin appear uneven and “wavy”
- Boxcar scars: pitted, round scars that sink into the skin
- Keloid scars: bumpy, raised scars resulting from collagen overproduction
Our Treatment Approach
Each type of acne scar described above generally requires a different treatment approach. Typically, the success of your treatment depends on how many layers of skin are impacted by your acne scarring—the deeper the scar, the more difficult its removal can be. During your consultation, we will thoroughly examine your scars and assess the overall condition of your skin in order to give you an honest recommendation on whether we feel you can benefit from a laser skin treatment. Again, not all patients may be good candidates for laser acne scar removal, depending on the severity of the scarring.
HALO® Laser by Sciton for Acne Scar Removal
While every patient is unique, we tend to see the best acne scar removal results with HALO fractional laser. In fact, I’ve had success using HALO to treat my own family members with acne scarring. HALO’s ablative and non-ablative lasers can simultaneously exfoliate the skin’s outer layer while penetrating the deeper layers of the skin. This helps in our attempt to target acne scar discoloration at precise depths and intensities. This blog post delves deeper into the benefits of using laser therapies like HALO to treat acne and other skin concerns and conditions.
Your HALO Procedure
HALO treatment time can vary from 5 to 30 minutes. Before treatment, we may apply a topical anesthetic to the skin for added comfort. Although the treatment is not painful, you may experience a mild warming sensation as the HALO device moves over the treatment areas. You may continue to feel warm for up to 30 minutes following the procedure. Patients can typically resume work and activities without the need for downtime. However, we strongly recommend protecting yourself from sun exposure until you have completely healed. You will notice results in a few days, but remember that skin will gradually improve.
Laser Skin Treatment for Acne Scars: The Takeaway
While HALO laser can effectively treat some types of acne scars, every patient is unique. In some cases, severe acne scarring may be more difficult to treat. A consultation is the best way to determine whether laser resurfacing for acne scar treatment is right for you. We invite you to request a consultation or call our office at (817) 442-1236.