Mainly there are two types of acne scars. The simplest scar is nothing more than a spot of skin bearing a brown, pink or purple color.

The second type is called the ice pick scar. It like a small hole in the skin where the lesion used to be. Scars are left behind only by inflamed lesions, such as pustules, nodules or cysts.

Pigmented scars are the result of the skin’s own process of rebuilding the natural color in the healing tissue. The concentration of pigment can be lowered with various types of treatments, such as bleaching creams, lotions or laser surgery. The choice of over-the-counter products should depend on the type and severity of your acne.

Mild acne scars take up to six weeks to vanish. If the over-the-counter products don’t work, talk to your doctor and he or she will recommend you a stronger treatment for scars, possibly even creams based on retinoids. This is done to prevent acne flare-ups and to promote the shedding of skin cells in and around the scars.

The second type of acne scars is more commonly treated with dermabrasion or laser resurfacing. Dermabrasion means that the top layer of the skin is removed with the help of a high-speed rotary wire brush or diamond-coated stone. This procedure requires more than one session for each scar and has the downside of not removing the scar at all.