What can I do to prevent acne scars?

What can I do to prevent acne scars?

Rebecca Fitzgerald (Dermatologist) gives expert video advice on: Does my diet affect my acne?; What can I do to prevent acne scars?; How can I prevent acne? and more...

It's not uncommon for an inflammatory acne lesion to leave a brown spot on your face. There's a big difference between a brown spot and a scar. A scar is a change in texture in the skin. A brown spot is just your body healing after something was inflamed. So, the vast majority of spots you see from acne are just what we call "post inflammatory hyperpigmentation"; they will resolve on their own with time, and aren't actually scars at all. Scars are a change in texture in the skin from deep inflammation. If you try and pop those pimples yourself and some of that stuff does shoot deeper into the skin, that can lead to acne scarring rather than get rid of it. The best thing is to try to control the acne itself, and the inflammation, with antibiotics and different treatments that you can receive under the care of a dermatologist to help not plug up those hair follicles in the first place.