The Best Acne Scar Treatment for Even the Toughest Scars

Ice pick scars

As the name suggests, ice pick scars are very deep holes in the skin that look like the skin has been punctured with… an ice pick. When the body produces too little collagen in response to an injury, depressed scars such as ice picks can form. “Ice pick scars represent the result of infected sebaceous gland openings on the skin. They are usually the most difficult to correct,” says New York City plastic surgeon Gerald Imber, MD.

Acne scar treatment: “Treatment may include excising the scar with a small ‘punch,’ and suturing the defect closed, but this only works for isolated ice pick scars,” he says. New York City dermatologist Judy Hellman, MD, adds: “We can also do skin grafts and take skin from behind the ear to fill the scar, and then we can use a laser or radiofrequency device to smooth it out.”

If there are multiple ice pick scars, acne scar treatment devices that use radiofrequency energy are Dr. Hellman’s first choice. “These treatments help build collagen from the inside out, and collagen helps to fill the scars from within,” she says. Several treatments are usually needed. The procedures are done using local anesthesia, and it’s effective in all skin types, she says. In one study, published in a 2015 issue of the Journal of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences and Applications, Dr. Hellman found that approximately four treatments with a radiofrequency device produced significant improvement in the depth of the scars. A follow-up study in a 2016 issue of the same journal showed that these results held for up to two years, although some people had touch-ups.

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