While acne itself can be an embarrassing problem, it is particularly unpleasant if acne breakouts leave permanent markings. Most acne scars are depressed, notes the American Academy of Dermatology, or AAD, on its Skin Care Physicians website. Some depressed acne scars resemble small gashes in the skin, others create a wave-like texture on the skin, and a third kind, known as boxcar scars, leave holes in the surface of the skin. Dermatologists and plastic surgeons have a few methods for significantly reducing the appearance of these holes, though no treatment provides flawless results.
Step 1
Consider getting a cosmetic procedure to reduce the prominence of your depressed scars. Depending on the diameter and depth of the holes, among other factors, your dermatologist or plastic surgeon may be able to perform a procedure to help level out the surface of your skin. A strong chemical peel, performed with either trichloroacetic acid (TCA) or phenol, may work. The chemical application burns away affected skin. Dermabrasion may be another option. A quickly rotating implement erodes the surface of the skin in this procedure.
Step 2
Find out from your cosmetic surgeon or dermatologist whether laser skin resurfacing can remedy the holes in your skin. For deep scars, CO2 lasers are a standard treatment, according to the University of Michigan Health System, or UMHS. The AAD does note, however, that laser skin resurfacing results are not as impressive with deep boxcar scars as with other depressed scars. Lasers are used in this procedure to burn away affected skin, while the heat they produce stimulates the production of collagen to fill the hole.
Step 3
Receive injectable fillers. A material, be it human or bovine collagen, fat from elsewhere on your body, hyaluronic acid, hydroxylapatite or polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) is injected into the holes in your skin to fill them and level off the skin's surface. These treatments provide instant but temporary results, points out UMHS. Treatments generally last anywhere from two to six months, notes the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. However, PMMA is longer-lasting, with injections remaining effective for a year or longer, and in some instances permanently, according to AAD.
Step 4
Undergo surgical scar revision if other options can't treat the acne-related holes in your skin. Punch excisions and punch grafts are the most effective treatment option for deep depressed scars, states AAD. In this procedure, scarred skin is cut out. Then healthy skin from elsewhere on your body is removed and grafted onto the treated area. This does result in scarring where the skin is taken from, and results are imperfect on the treated area. For example, there will probably be slight variances in skin coloration. Other surgeries, such as punch elevations and subcutaneous incisions, are used to raise underlying skin to fill holes.
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