Dealing with acne scars on darker skin can be a challenge – It may lead to keloids or even hyperpigmentation. While it may seem difficult due to the higher potency for side effects, it isn’t impossible – All you need is an experienced doctor with an in-depth knowledge along with the proper medical device.
In this article, we’ll discuss about the basics of acne scars, why it is more challenging to treat acne scars on patients with dark skin and more details regarding the only treatment available which is clinically proven.
What are Acne Scars?
Acne scars are formed when your skin tissues are damaged. Usually dubbed as the “aftermath” of acne, these acne scars are either depressed or raised. Mistakes such as popping your pimples will definitely cause scarring!
Types of Acne Scar
There are several forms of acne scars & it is extremely important for your doctors to be able to accurately identify it’s type. Basically, this is because different types of acne scars respond better to certain treatments.
There isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” treatment! In fact, most patients usually have a myriad of acne scars all cluttered in the same areas. Hence, it is important to be patient & allow your doctor to analyze all the different types of acne scars, which is why the assessment & consultation usually takes longer.
Difficulties in treating acne scars for dark skin patients
Being able to accurately identify the type of acne scars may already be difficult as only an experienced doctor is usually the right fit. What’s worse is that it may be even more complicated for patients with dark skin, due to the higher susceptibility to side effects such as Keloids & Hyperpigmentation.
• Keloids: When your skin is hurt, fibrous tissue forms over the wound to repair & protect the injury. When the fibrous tissue is excessive, hard & smooth growths are formed and these are called Keloids.
• Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (aka PIH): It develops when an irritation or a wound (e.g pimple) makes your skin inflamed. Hence, your skin will try to heal but as a result it produces too much melanin, which darkens & discolors your skin. This is longer & more severe in darker skinned patients. In a nutshell, the more inflamed your wounds are, the worse the hyperpigmentation gets.
The safe solution – Infini for acne scars
“I’ve been using INFINI for about a year, we have been really excited about the results we have seen for acne scars* and neck* rejuvenation. I think one of the things that stands out with INFINI as opposed to other devices is minimal downtime. You can finish a skin rejuvenation treatment and just be a little pink the next day.”
Joel Cohen, MD
The Infini Radiofrequency Microneedling is a unique medical device which has the ability to deliver 2 treatment techniques into a single device. The doctors will be able to control the treatment depth & energy levels (with precision) for acne scars, regardless of skin type!
Infini is clinically proven, with studies to back it’s technology. These histology images below show the discrete coagulative injury zones in the dermis while sparing the epidermis. The natural healing process, following the skin rejuvenation treatment, replaces the damaged zones with new collagen & elastin.
The Infini basically breaks down your old collagen & elastin. At the same time, it repairs your skin via the stimulation of cell regeneration. New collagen, when produced, makes your skin healthier & removed acne scars!
The Infini is also able to target extremely deep dermal layers of your skin where your severe acne scars are (up to 3.5mm depth)!
Also, doctors are able to customize it’s depth with precision to eliminate unwanted damage to the upper layers of your skin – No unwanted wounds = no keloids/post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation! This is currently the best & safest acne scars treatment for patients with dark skin
Last but not least, the Infini has a shorter downtime than traditional Fractional Lasers: 3 to 5 days for Infini versus 5 to 7 days for Fractional Lasers.