Acne can be painful and embarrassing. For some, it’s a temporary teenage affliction, but for others, it continues into adulthood. Adding insult to injury, acne often leaves behind scars that serve as constant reminders of past pimples and zits, and these acne ghosts are just as problematic as the original condition.
When you’re tired of trying to mask your acne scars with makeup, turn to Robert A. Guida, MD. Dr. Guida helps people throughout Staten Island and New York City, New York say goodbye to their acne scars using the most effective and advanced technology available. Here’s what you need to know.
Acne occurs when sebum (the natural oil that keeps your skin moist) gets clogged in the tiny hair follicles under your skin. This sticky substance mixes with dead skin cells, dirt, and bacteria, and infection sets in. Eventually, the wall of the hair follicle breaks under the pressure of the inflammation, and the debris leaks into nearby skin tissue, spreading the infection and causing an outbreak of pimples and lesions.
Your body gets to work immediately trying to repair the damage. In addition to fighting the infection, it attempts to rebuild the damaged skin tissue by sending collagen to the scene, just as it does if you cut your finger or scrape your knee.
The problem is that your collagen production system doesn’t care what the repair looks like, it just wants to patch the problem quickly. Too much collagen results in raised scars; too little collagen can make them appear depressed.
That’s how scars are formed, whether in a response to a laceration or an acne outbreak.
There are several different types of acne, including whiteheads, blackheads, papules, pustules, nodules, and cystic acne. The type of acne you have (or had) influences whether you’ll develop scars or not. In general, nodules and cysts are the most inflammatory and damaging types and are most likely to cause scarring.
Of course, picking, popping, and squeezing your pimples is one of the main causes of acne scars. This not only ruptures the surface of your skin, it also breaches the follicle wall and sends the contents deeper into your skin layers. More damage equals more scarring.
Early professional treatment can help you minimize scarring, but genetics also plays a role in your likelihood of developing acne scars.
From topical creams to clinical facials, you’ve probably tried multiple ways to diminish your acne scars without success.
As a board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Guida approaches your acne scarring from a different perspective. Rather than addressing your acne scars from the surface, he tackles the problem from the inside out.
To accomplish this, he uses UltraPulse® DeepFX™ and ActiveFX™ fractional lasers to resurface your skin and eliminate acne scars. He first numbs your skin with a local anesthetic, then he directs the laser energy over your scarred skin. Dr. Guida customizes your laser treatment to precise depths to address your unique scars.
The laser creates countless microscopic channels in your skin tissue that break up scar tissue and trigger the production of new collagen. But this time, the collagen remodels your skin gradually and evenly.
The treatment session typically lasts for 20-30 minutes, and most people see improvements after just one treatment.
To find out if you’re a good candidate for laser skin resurfacing, call us today or book online to talk with Dr. Guida about getting rid of your acne scars once and for all.
