Which Are the Different Types of Acne Scars?
Generally there are two types of acne scars which may be categorized on the basis of tissue formation. The first type of acne scars are caused due to excessive tissue formation whereas the reason behind the second type of acne scars is the loss of tissues. The former type of scars is known as hypertrophic scars and the later may further be categorized into various types like ice- pick scars, Depressed fibrotic scars, Soft scars, Atrophic macular and Follicular macular.
The hypertropic scars are primarily caused due to excessive formation of cell substance called collage. The excess amount of this cell substance gets amassed in fibrous masses which causes scars having an irregular shape but are quite firm. The diameter of this scar on your skin can vary from a millimeter to a centimeter or at times even larger than this. These scars usually occur due to hereditary reasons which, means if you have someone suffering from these scars in your family then you are likely to have these scars too. Though these scars may last for years but they keep decreasing in size over a period of time.
The descriptions of scars caused due to loss of tissues are as follows:
Ice-pick scars are very small in size and generally occur on the cheeks of the person. The edges of these scars are usually uneven but the sides are quite sharp. Some of the ice-pick scars are soft while others are quite hard.
Depressed fibrotic scars are generally quite big in size. The edges as well as sides of this type of scars are sharp and are found hard when touched. If ice-pick scars are not treated in time they usually turn into this type of scars.
On the other hand, soft scars usually occur on the normal skin type. These scars are soft and have slanting edges. The shape of these scars varies from linear to round. Like soft scars, atrophic macules are also small in size but their size is usually found bigger when they occur on the body. The base of these scars is usually wrinkled having a blue color. This blue color changes its color to white over a period of time especially among those people who have white skins.
Follicular macular is also a type of scar which occurs due to the loss of tissue. This kind of scars usually arises on the back and chest area. These are also small and soft and are white in color and may last for years. Now that you are well aware of different types of scars, let us see how they can be treated. There are a number of dermatologic surgeries that can be used to treat such scars. However, which kind of surgery you would like to go for depends on various factors such as your skin type, the expenditure involved in the surgery and your expectation from the surgery. Taking an advice from a dermatologist can help you make a right decision regarding your scars.