Early Signs of Rosacea You Shouldn’t Ignore
Rosacea, which affects at least 5% of the global population, is a chronic and progressive condition that can very much benefit from timely action. Here’s a look at some early warning signs.
The Different Types of Acne Scars: Ice Pick, Rolling, Boxcar, and More
You may associate acne with those awkward teenage years, but the effects of acne aren’t confined to adolescence. Not only can active acne follow you into adulthood, it can also follow you in the form of acne scarring.
By the numbers, acne affects about 50 million Americans each year, and scarring can affect up to 95% of these people. Worse still, about 30% of people with acne develop severe acne scarring.
As experts in skin health, Dr. Bruce Saal and our team at Los Gatos Dermatology not only offer excellent treatments for dealing with acne breakouts, we also provide follow-up care in the form of acne scar removal services.
And these services cover the wide range of types of acne scars, which we get into here.
Depressed acne scars
The most common type of acne scarring is what we call depressed scarring, meaning the ache forms indentations in your skin, or what we commonly refer to as pockmarks. But not all depressed acne scarring is the same, and it can develop in these types:
Ice pick scars
The most prevalent type of depressed acne scars are ice pick scars, which are small indentations in your skin. While the opening may look small, these scars can run deep, which is why we use the ice pick reference — a pick can slide into the indentation.
Boxcar scars
If you have wide oval, round, or box-shaped depressions in your skin in the aftermath of an acne breakout, these are called boxcar scars.
Rolling scars
Another way in which acne can leave its mark is with rolling scars, which leave the surface of your skin looking uneven — it has a rolling appearance rather than a smooth surface.
Raised acne scars
Less commonly, acne scars are raised due to an overproduction of collagen. This occurs more in darker skin tones. In this category of acne scarring, there are three types:
Keloid scars
These raised scars form over time and become bumps on your skin that are larger than the original acne bumps. They also tend to be darker than your natural skin color.
Hypertrophic scars
This scarring develops within a month or two of an acne breakout. The scars are firm, raised areas of tissue.
Papular scars
This scarring appears as raised bumps that are the same color as your natural skin color or sometimes a lighter color.
Clearing away acne scars
The good news when it comes to acne scars is that no matter what type of scarring you’ve developed, we provide many different ways to clear up the condition.
In fact, our acne scarring arsenal is quite large and includes:
- Chemical peels
- Retinols
- Dermabrasion
- Laser therapies
- Dermal fillers
- Microneedling
- Excision
So, if you want to put your experiences with acne in the rearview mirror, we invite you to contact our office in Los Gatos, California, to schedule an appointment. Once we sit down and review your scarring, we can come up with a treatment plan to leave you with smoother skin.
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