Why does scarring happen?
When acne spots become inflammed, redness occurs and spots erupt on the skin’s surface or burst below it. These processes injure, destroy and damage areas of the skin’s surface. The healing process thereafter results in a scar.
1. The body responds by repairing the damaged tissue.
2. After 3 – 5 days, the focus turns to creating and laying down new skin which takes a few weeks. The new skin is made of collagen.
3. The results of this repair process depend on how well your skin heals from injuries. If too little collagen is laid down, there are indents or holes left in the skin called depressed or atrophic scars.
4. When too much collagen is produced – an over-healing – raised, pink lumps called hypertrophic scars can be seen. In rare cases, this excess healing process may cause keloids, reddish-purple lumps and bumps at the site of previous acne that get bigger and can be disfiguring.