I see so many people at my skin clinic in Needham Market with acne and acne scarring, so I know that it’s a really horrible debilitating issue and how it can destroy a person's confidence.
We all know someone with acne – it’s such a common skin condition ( it’s thought to affect around 650 million people worldwide.) As well as the typical teenage acne that we’re probably all familiar with to a certain extent, 12-14% of acne cases will carry on well into adulthood, and this can have terrible effects on people’s self-confidence, with 20-35% also going on to develop moderate to severe acne.
Any type of acne spot can lead to scarring, but it's more common when nodules or cysts burst, damaging the sin nearby. It also tends to happen to people who pick their spots, which we all know we shouldn’t do, but many people can’t resist!
There are three main types of acne scar:
· ice pick – small, deep holes that make your skin look as if it’s been punctured with a sharp object.
· rolling – caused by bands of scar tissue that form under the skin, making it look uneven.
· boxcar – round or oval ‘craters’ in the skin.
Not surprisingly, for such a common and distressing skin condition, there is a huge variety of treatment options available for acne scarring, some of which I carry out in my clinic. Things people can try to help manage acne and reduce scarring include; topical skin preparations, dermabrasion, laser resurfacing, chemical peels, dermal grafting, and fillers, as well as skin microneedling. Microneedling is catching on as a go-to treatment for all kinds of scarring, and it’s even being used by NHS hospitals like the Chelsea and Westminster Serious Burns Unit, who use a Skinpen microneedling pen to help reduce scarring in their patients.
My own personal approach to treating acne is as individual as you are. After a thorough skin consultation I use a combination of different types of skin care treatments taking everything into consideration about your skin condition, lifestyle, age and more to prescribe you a bespoke treatment plan that suits your budget, and expectations. Acne scarring is a long-term condition that can’t be treated in one session, but if you come to me for a consultation we can find a solution that works for you.
My acne treatment plans involve a combination of medical grade cosmeceuticals, microneedling, fractional lasers to resurface the skin, skin peels and LED light therapy. Which treatments we use will also depend on how you respond to the treatment, and we’ll assess everything as we go along to make sure that you get the very best results.
Acne doesn’t have to leave you feeling self-conscious or hating your skin. Come to me for advice on treating the acne and reducing the appearance of scars, and we’ll get your skin looking much better again.