Acne is a problem that many of us face as teenagers, and even as adults.
But the topic of scarring is often not talked about, as there's so much attention on the acne itself.
But scarring is important as it can be permanent and not just temporary problem.
But what causes scarring as a result of acne? And can you do anything to reduce your chances of it happening? Let's have a look at these 2 questions in this article right now.
Causes of acne scarring: 1.
Your genes and tendency to scar While certain factors can indicate someone who will have a greater risk for developing acne scars, there is no absolute answer as to who's more likely to have it or not.
Some lesions will fade over time while others will last a lifetime.
There are some families where keloid scarring occurs, which can be hereditary.
This is the 'proud' or prominent scarring where the lesion is raised rather than depressed.
There is usually a family history of this, so in a way can be predictable.
2.
How severe the acne is However, the general rule is that the more severe the acne, the higher likelihood of scarring.
The reason is that the deeper the level of cell damage, the greater likelihood of failure of skin to heal to its normal state.
Some examples include cystic and pustular acne.
So lesions that are caused by this deep tissue pimples are likely to never heal without some degree of scarring, requiring treatment in future.
3.
How you treat your breakouts If acne lesions are picked at or further damaged by you, then the likelihood of permanent damage increases.
This happens because the picking increases the damage in the surrounding skin cells.
So this is why you hear that the general rule with acne is that you should not rub or pinch them when you have a breakout.
Instead treat your skin gently, and only pop a pimple when it is on the surface and is about to pop by itself anyway.
4.
How healthy your lifestyle is To heal from acne, your skin needs to be healthy and to be able to regenerate its skin cells.
If you look after your body well with a healthy diet and exercise, then your skin cells will be able to receive all the nutrients it needs to heal.
This is why a healthy lifestyle is important for anyone, especially a person who has a lot of skin healing to do, which means that if you have pimples or other skin problem, then you need to take that extra care for yourself.
So what can you do about the above causes? Well, for hereditary factors, there's not much you can do.
But with the other 3 factors, you have some control.
As you can see, it will be important for you to treat your acne properly, especially with the more severe types, so that your breakouts are reduced as much as possible, to not pick at your pimples or damage your skin in any way, and to have a healthy diet and lifestyle in order to heal up quickly.
So there you have it.
You now know the 4 main factors which affect how much acne scarring you will have, most of which you have some control over.
So look at the list and see for yourself what your skin needs.
You may need to improve one or even all these factors so that you're giving your skin the best chance to heal from acne breakouts without scars.