Truthfully, unless you have minor scarring, the acne scar home remedies are probably false hope. Here’s why:
Over-the-counter treatments will probably not be able to:
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Resurface the skin enough to significantly improve ice-pick or deep boxcar scars.
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Remove enough tissue to reduce raised scars.
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Improve tethered rolling (Grade 4) scars.
In other words, an acne scar home remedy will probably only be useful for flat discolored scars, shallow boxcar, and mild, untethered rolling scars. On the other hand, “improvement” is in the eye of the beholder, and since these are home remedies for acne scars, they can be used over very long periods of time. Furthermore, I know there’s a lot of interest in this subject, so I wanted to give a summary of every acne scar remedy I’ve found (that has at-least some scientific basis).
It’s important to remember that acne scars are caused by loss of collagen. When the inflammation process of a large zit destroys underlying collagen, the body will replace the collage at the last stages of the healing process; however, frequently the new collagen is inadequate and a sunken scar forms.
In the case of macular scars (flat but discolored), destroying the epidermis helps even out the distribution of melanin for a more consistent coloring; however, in the case of sunken or raised scars, it’s a common misconception to think that acne scar remedies, especially lasers, work by “vaporizing” the skin’s surface. Most scar treatments, except for surgical excision, are aimed at selectively damaging tissue in order to stimulate collagen growth.
Anti-inflammatories
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Emu Oil: Natural anti-inflammatory that can reduce redness from recent acne. Theoretically, since it reduces inflammation, it could help prevent acne scars, but probably won’t work on established scars.
Collagen Builders
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Copper Peptides: Sunken acne scars are caused by the loss of collagen, and copper peptides have been shown to stimulate collagen growth [1].
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Tretinoin (Retinol, Retinoic Acid, Retin-A): These products are the most common at-home treatment for aging, partly for their collagen building activity, but can also be a home remedy for acne scars [2].
Chemical Peels
Please seek the advice of a dermatologist instead of doing a chemical peel at home. These chemicals work because they produce tissue damage, and some of these chemicals have other potential hazards. For example, glycolic acid should not be used when pregnant [3], and excessive use of salicylic acid (20% salicylic acid applied to 50% of the body surface) can lead to salicylic acid poisoning [3].
That being said. I’ll here are the options that are readily available online:
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Salicylic Acid: One of the best peeling agents for acne scars [3]. Instructions can be found here: http://www.skinlaboratory.com/salicylic-acid-20
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Glycolic Acid: Might cause more irritation than Salicylic but has a proven track-record: http://www.skinlaboratory.com/glycolic-acid-35
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Lactic Acid: Another chemical peel sometimes combined with salicylic acid: http://www.skinlaboratory.com/lactic-acid-50
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Jessner’s Solution: A combination of salicylic acid, lactic acid, and resorcinol, called HQ+ on the Skin Laboratory website: http://www.skinlaboratory.com/hq
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Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA): “Unfortunately the use of TCA concentrations above 35% TCA can produce unpredictable results such as scarring” [3]. I actually can’t believe this is available online at levels above 35%. Just because you can buy it online doesn’t mean it’s safe!
Acne Scar Home Remedies – Procedures
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Skin Needling: Basically, when scars heal, they can heal with too much or too little collagen. If they heal with too much collagen, they become raised scars; if they heal with too little collagen, they become sunken scars. Skin needling re-injures the collagen beneath the skin without damaging the surface. By repeatedly re-injuring the collagen, new collagen growth is stimulated, hopefully restoring collagen to its pre-acne level. The main product is derma-roller: http://www.derma-rollers.com/44/skin-needling
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Microdermabrasion: At-home microdermabrasion machines are a possible acne scar remedy, but as you can imagine, it’s very hard to find reliable information about them. Here’s an example, but I can’t vouch for its effectiveness one way or another:
Sources
[1] Sadick, Neil S. “Their role in dermatology practice.” Journal of Drugs in Dermatology 2.5 (2003): 529+.
[2] Kockaert, Michael, and Martino Neumann. “Systemic and topical drugs for aging skin. (Focus On: skin rejuvenation).” Journal of Drugs in Dermatology 2.4 (2003): 435+.
[3] Fabbrocini, Gabriella, et al. “Acne scars: pathogenesis, classification and treatment.” Dermatology Research and Practice (2010).
