Healing Acne Scars – Pro Techniques for Smoother, Clearer skin – What Type of Scarring Do You Have and How Do You Treat It?
If you have wider, flatter scars – (known as boxcar scars), then there are a variety of topical treatments available that can make a difference, as products can reach target areas much easier. This allows them to reach skin cells, make a stronger, immediate difference.
Keeping this in mind – let's walk through the K-Beauty catalogue that’s available to treat acne scars (from mild severity to advanced scarring) and find what will actually work to help you wake up with stress-free, smooth skin.
A cleanser can give your skin a mild redness, but if it is exacerbating your current acne, causing pain or breaking open pores – it’s best to steer very clear. A good cleanser should feel refreshing, leave skin feeling bright and should clear excess sebum and skin cells without making you feel tight or dry. It is important to follow cleanser with a strong toner and/or serum to bring activating ingredients to healing skin cells and follow with a good moisturizer that is non-irritating.
Below are recommendations for products that have great reputations for healing acne scars, for being non-irritating and helping move you past the red, irritated stage.
This is a deeply soothing, low pH cleanser that is light-weight and is suitable for a double cleanse or as part of a solo cleanse. It contains calming green tea extracts (camellia sinensis) which acts as both an antioxidant (to protect skin) and anti-inflammatory to provide immediate relief to redness. If you are looking for a morning cleanser to wake up fresh, reduce scarring and importantly non-irritating, this is the perfect addition to your routine.
ANUA Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil
If double cleansing is your game – the ANUA Pore control cleansing oil is a perfect addition to deftly clear excess make-up and sunscreen at the end of the day. Mixing with water and applying to skin provides a milky, satisfying formula that melts off your face. It provides a deep shine to skin that you don’t get with other products and is designed to prevent breakouts. Follow up with the ANUA Heartleaf Quercetinol Pore Deep Cleansing Foam Cleanser for the ultimate acne-friendly double cleanse that will leave you ready to face the day.
You’ll find we recommend a lot of ANUA products – but that is simply as this is what they were formulated for. They are designed to be soothing, non-irritating and reduce acne; which is precisely what your skin needs after a bout of acne scarring.
Alternatives: SNP Prep Salironic Foam Cleanser, Tocobo Cica Calming Powder Wash
ANUA Heartleaf 77% Soothing Toner
A favourite in South Korea, this toner is designed specifically to calm and soothe angry acne scars and prevent further acne from forming. It doesn’t contain high levels of any acids or enzymes to strip the skin barrier, is lightweight and contains high levels of heartleaf (or Houttuynia cordata). This herbal treatment reduces oil-load on the skin and is deeply anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial. It tackles both sources of acne (oil and bacteria), whilst also hydrating skin and bringing an even glow. Acne risk will be lower and skin will be carefully hydrated – which allows skin to begin healing process.
This is a wonderful toner to prevent harsher scars from forming and also suitable for mostly all skin types. If you have red acne scars, this is a great toner to start the day with.
ANUA Niacinamide 10% + TXA 4% Serum (30ml)
If you are looking to reduce redness and help clear erythematous scars, this is the perfect place to start. Anua's serum is designed for sensitive skin and to help nourish dark spots, clear skin and bring brightness back to skin (not only with brightening niacinamide, but also rice arbutin for a genuine boost to glow).
The TXA stands for transexamic acid and has been long used in medicine to stop bleeding; here it works well to stop redness at the source, is an anti-inflammatory to cool and calm inflammation and is anti-melanogenic (stopping dark spots from forming).
Can be used morning or night or both. It can take a bit of time for skin to adjust to new product, so it' to start with smaller amounts and build up.
Alternatives: Axis Y Dark Spot Correcting Serum, Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Ampoule, Numbuzin No. 5+ Concentrated Serum
Dr Althea 345 Relief Cream (Oily Skin)
If you are using strong, brightening serums to help soothe dark spots and clear acne – you absolutely need a strong moisturizer to follow up with and ensure your skin has the hydration and nutrition required to heal and grow. This cream is designed specifically for post-acne skincare; to prevent further breakouts and rehydrate following damage. It is alcohol and fragrance free to prevent irritation – and brightens skin with niacinamide and turmeric extract. It also soothes deeply with panthenol, calendula extract and heartleaf (the famous Houttuynia cordata again!). This couples so well with the above serums to allow deep soothing of scars and preventing further acne.
It is important to note that this product is formulated for oily, acne-prone skin types – and can be quite drying to dry skin types, so it’s probably best to try another cream if you struggle with dry patches or scales.
Purito Mighty Bamboo Panthenol Cream
(Dry Skin)
A wonderful alternative if you struggle with acne and have dry skin is the Purito Bamboo Panthenol cream – that is specifically designed to maximize hydration with minimal irritation. Also primed with brightening niacinamide and dark-spot reducing madecassoside – this formulation works hard to bring back a deep glow to skin, whilst reducing redness.
Once your skin has moved past the angry, red stages – it is common to be left with scarring from inflammation reaching deep into the dermis. It requires significant remodeling to reverse these – and is best done once angry, red acne is soothed and calm. It involves chemical peels to change the topography of the face, microneedling to help collagen remodel and deeply nourishing products to bring hydration and collagen back to skin.
An important way to reduce scarring These are high exfoliating products that are high in acid; designed to dissolve the tougher outer layers of skin, along with excess sebum and skin build-up. Regular, safely done chemical peels with proper after care have been a proven way to wear away topical acne scars, reduce discoloration and prevents future acne. It is important to always read instructions carefully and perform a spot test to ensure your skin can safely interact with the product.
This is a once a week or fortnightly treatment that helps treat skin within 10 min. It is a powerful topical treatment, however, and needs to be used carefully. The “35” is due to it containing 35% enzymatic acids – which immediately melts away sebum and superficial scars. It is also carefully mixed with hyaluronic acid and allantoin to hydrate cells and boosted with Vitamin B12 (giving it a charming, pink colour), Vitamin B5 and Vitamin E to nourish and soften.
It gives a 44% reduction in oil production and reduces blackheads/whiteheads on face. It’s important to carefully wash the product off with cool water and follow with a calming sheet mask or soothing moisturizer/serum. Be careful not to follow up with other AHA/BHA/PHA products or any irritating products, to let your skin undergo adequate healing.
If you have long-standing acne scars and want to try a stronger treatment to get deeper remodeling, you need a stronger facial treatment.
Dermatologist If you’ve tried a variety of the above and have deep acne scars that are non-responsive to treatment, always consider getting in touch with a dermatologist. They can provide far stronger treatments to the above and now have a variety of successful methods to reduce even deep-rooted scarring (such as ice pick scars) and are deeply trained in their field.
Overall, the easiest way to treat acne scars is to catch them early, ensure your skin has proper hydration and nutrition and to consider weekly treatments that will cut down on rough or dull skin (such as exfoliation or chemical peels).
Are chemical peels safe?
Yes – commercial chemical peels are generally safe and majority are deeply beneficial for skin. It’s good to clear deeper pores, reduce dead skin cells and allows healing products to penetrate more deeply. It’s important, however, to carefully follow all instructions and never apply a peel for longer than recommended.
How do I treat deep, icepick acne scars?
Although there are beauty products that can help – for deep icepick scars its worth reaching out to a dermatologist. There are treatments that can help, but these are far stronger than what is generally safe to do yourself. You can improve surface scars with home products – but ensure you are doing so safely and as per instruction. You don’t want to cause any damage to your healing skin!
Does “purging” mean I should stop a product?
Purging – referring to the sudden breakout of whiteheads and inflammation in regard to a new product, is not always a deal breaker. It does mean you’ve likely used too much in your first applications an its causing excess sebum to erupt to the surface. Try reducing product, scaling back and introducing it every other day. If there is no improvement and the product is not helping your skin, do stop using it – but try determining what ingredient may have caused the reaction so you can avoid it in future (i.e. seed oils, niacinamide).
