How to Get Rid of Cystic Acne Scars

Cystic acne is one of the most severe forms of acne you can develop. It can run deep into your skin and become inflamed and painful. Cystic acne is also very likely to leave scarring on your skin after it disappears. Large swaths of cystic acne can result in deep and embarrassing scar marks. Fortunately, there are methods of treating these scars and eliminating them, although the severe nature of cystic acne can make these scars tougher to eliminate. Before treatment, always consult a doctor.

Visit a beauty spa or dermatologist and order a chemical peel treatment to eliminate the scars. Chemical peels use an acidic solution--glycolic acid is commonly used--to burn away the top layer of skin where the scarring exists. The burn stimulates new skin growth, which replaces the old, scarred skin tissue and fades or eliminates the scar. How much the scar disappears depends on its depth--superficial scars are likely to be entirely removed, while deep scars may need other treatments to be fully eliminated. In addition to a professional treatment, you can also purchase a chemical peel kit to perform the treatment at home on your own, although this increases the risk of damaging your skin in ways that only exacerbate scarring.

Receive a collagen injection underneath the skin to raise depression scars. Even for severely depressed scars resulting from cystic acne, a collagen injection--sometimes referred to as a tissue filler--can be placed underneath the depressed skin to raise it to the level of the skin surrounding it, effectively eliminating the scar. However, collagen injections only last for up to six months and require consistent treatments to keep the scar from reappearing.

Purchase a dermabrasion treatment to wear away surface scarring. Similar to chemical peels, dermabrasion is only effective on top-layer scars and is unable to penetrate deep into the skin. These treatments work by using a fast-rotating object, such as a wire, brush or diamond, to skim skin cells off the top of the epidermis and stimulate new skin growth. This treatment should only be received from a licensed dermatologist.

Visit a dermatologist to receive a laser treatment on your cystic acne scars. Laser treatments are the most effective method of eliminating deep scarring because it can penetrate to deeper layers of skin. Laser treatments can kill off scar tissue and stimulate new cell growth throughout the skin and minimize or eliminate scars over the course of several treatments 2.