Firstly, acne scars are common and you are not ugly if you have them. Learn to embrace and love your skin with or without makeup then only you can be confident and be okay with your skin as it is. Remeber, your skin is not what defines you.
Believe me I used to be very insecure about acne and acne scars but lately I've been loving my skin as it is and skin care products are working like magic. I still have scars and I still get acne but I choose to embrace them rather than feeling awkward.
Also, there are few products which helped me control my acne and acne scars. I have already posted a detailed article on acne , check it out here.
There are many types of scars but I wanted to share details on the one looks like a black spot as I get only those and I tried and tested different methods to treat them. Hence, I know and be mindful of what I'm sharing.
In this article , I'll share my favorite skincare routine for lightning the acne scars with product recommendations. So, sit tight and read the whole article to know more.
P.S - Consult a dermatologist if your acne and acne scars are severe and please do not use any products without doing a patch test and learning about ingredients. After all it is your skin. Hence, you should be responsible and mindful of what you are putting on your skin, Do not blindly trust any influencer including me.
What are Acne scars and how they cause?
Acne scars are the result of inflammation of acne blemishes. The acne pore swells and a breakdown occurs in the wall of the pore. Some acne blemishes are small and the scars created are shallow and heal quickly. Sometimes the contents(like Pus) of blemishes spill into the surrounding tissue and cause deeper scars.
During the acne healing process, the body produces collagen—a substance that gives the skin support. If the body produces too little or too much collagen, you will see a scar.
The type of scar depends on how much collagen your body makes.
Depressed acne scars: If the body produces too little collagen, depressions or pits form as the skin heals.
Raised acne scars: Sometimes the body produces too much collagen as it tries to heal the skin and underlying tissue. When this happens, a person develops a raised acne scar. This type of acne scar is more common in people who have skin of color like African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians.
Even when we do our best to prevent acne scars, some people scar. There are many treatment options, which can significantly diminish depressed and raised acne scars.
In a nutshell, if you comes under skin of colors acne scars are common and you will see a black mark after acne is healed. For someone the scars will disappear in a week without doing anything but some people it will take months if you use any topical products.
How to prevent acne scars?
Sadly, in my case nothing helped me prevent my acne scars. My skin is like that and it is what it is. I used and will deal acne scars after acne got healed. But , there are few thing which you can do to prevent acne scars.
I've tried all and did not help me but they might work for your skin. Remember, skin and skincare are subjective from person to person.
1. Do not touch your acne while is still active and pop it forcefully.
2. Do not rub the ruptured acne as it tend to spread the sebum and make it even worse.
3. Apply pimple patched which contain salicylic acid.
4. Apply a drop of niacinamide or alpha arbutin on the acne while it is still active, it might help you to make look your acne scars less visible.
Try these out and let us know in the comment section if these prevention measures helped you or not.
Skincare routine to tackle acne scars
Having a defined skincare routine is very important if you want to tackle any skin concern but do not target multiple concerns at once. One at a time is what you should follow if you want to achieve clean results.
The routine which I have shared is what I follow if I want to tackle acne scars. But, please please make sure you do a patch test(check out my post of patch test process here ) before using any recommended products.
AM Routine:
Cleansing - Cleansing your skin with a mild facewash during morning is as important as double cleansing during PM because you will have all the skincare products that you have used in the previous day night time routine will still be there and it is important to keep your skin clean before starting your morning routine.
So, when someone say don't use cleanser during the AM routine ditch them like literally ditch them( pun intended).
Using a cleanser which has salicylic acid can help the process of healing scars.
Product recommendation -
Toning - Use a hydrating toner which is alcohol free. Toner helps balance the PH and helps your next skincare products penetrate deeper into the skin.
Product recommendation -
Treatment - This is most important step which will help you treat you acne scars effectively, in this step you can incorporate a good serum which is designed for acne scars.
Since it is day time , I use vitamin C and this is a hero product when it comes to tackling acne scars.If you use this correctly.
I use vitamin C in the morning because when you use it with sunscreen it works like magic so right way of using vitamin C is using with a sunscreen which means use a vitamin C and follow it up with a good chemical or physical sunscreen.
Product recommendation -
Choose the one according to your level as a skincare person.
Moisturize- Since you are using a lot of actives in cleansers and treatment serums, use a simple moisturizer which has ceramides because they are an excellent moisturizing agents which keep your skin well hydrated.
Sunscreen - I can not stress enough on how important it is to apply a sunscreen, you may not see the effects now but will definitely see it while you age if you skip sunscreen and it is absolutely must to use sunscreen if you are using vitamin c serum.
Not only applying sunscreen, you have to apply generous amount ( two fingers length) of it to cover your entire face and neck and should reapply every two hrs if you are outdoors. If you are indoors and there is no sun exposure then you can just apply once.
Product recommendation -
That's it, your AM routine is completed. There are only minimal steps and it will not take more than 10 minutes of your time. So, you really have no excuses to skip it.
PM Routine
PM routine is a must have because you can't go to bed with a skin full of impurities and most importantly, our skin will rejuvenate during night time so, it is the best time to use active ingredients like AHA's , BHA's , Retinol , Niacinamide..etc
Cleansing - Double Cleansing your skin during night time is very very important to get rid of makeup, sunscree, other impurities that you might have acquired during the day time. Start with a cleansing balm to break down all the oil based impurities and then go in with your regular face wash
Using a cleanser which has salicylic acid can help the process of healing scars.
Product recommendation -
Toning - Use a hydrating toner which is alcohol free. Toner helps balance the PH and helps your next skincare products penetrate deeper into the skin.
Product recommendation -
Treatment - During nighttime using the right treatment serum can be a game changer.For acne scars serums contain niacinamide, salicylic acid, retinol and alpha arbutin can really transform your skin but hey pick according to what your most adjusting to because ingredients like retinol can be heavy of skin which is new to skincare and if you are someone who is below 25 then you don't need retinol.
I use two serums in this step.
1. Salicylic acid - It is a wonderful active which penetrates deep into the skin since it is a BHA and helps prevent acne , reduce active acne and lighten the dark spots caused by acne. thrice a week, which is day by day since it is BHA and I do not want to over exfoliate my skin, so do you.
Product recommendation -
Ordinary is now available India exclusively on Nykaa (yayyyy!!!...)
2. Niacinamide - This is like an all rounder , you name the skin concern niacinamide will help you handle that. It helps with large pores, acne scars, acne , pigmentation what not..
I personally love using niacinamide in routine and if there is one skin care ingredient which I can suggest to everyone irrespective of age , gender and skin type , it is niacinamide.
Product recommendation -
Moisturize- Since you are using a lot of actives in cleansers and treatment serums, use a simple moisturizer which has ceramides because they are an excellent moisturizing agents which keep your skin well hydrated.
That's all for the PM routine. It is simple just like AM routine yet effective.
Be consistent with whatever you do then only you can see results. Do not expect overnight results, skincare needs patience.
I hope this article is helpful!!!
P.S - Consult a dermatologist if your acne and acne scars are severe and please do not use any products without doing a patch test and learning about ingredients. After all if is your skin. Hence, you should be responsible and mindful of what you are putting on your skin, Do not blindly trust any influencer including me.
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