What it is
Acne scars are not one thing: narrow ice-pick scars, boxcar scars, rolling scars tethered from underneath, and marks that look like scars but are really pigment or redness that settles with time. Each type answers to a different technique, so the work starts by typing and mapping the scars rather than by choosing a device. The plan is then staged over a course — releasing the tethering, treating individual deep points, and resurfacing with laser or radiofrequency needling.
What this page covers
- Acne scar assessment, subtype mapping and classification, separating true scarring from post-inflammatory pigment and erythema
- A written staged combination programme matched to the scar map
- Subcision of tethered rolling scars, alone or supported with filler or a biostimulator
- TCA CROSS for ice-pick and narrow boxcar scars
- Fractional CO2 resurfacing for atrophic scarring
- Radiofrequency microneedling and medical microneedling for rolling and shallow boxcar scars
- Fractional picosecond for shallow post-acne marks and texture
- Platelet-rich plasma or polynucleotide used within the scar plan
- Pre-procedure candidacy screening: recent threading or waxing, unlabelled mixed creams, diabetes control, keloid tendency, herpes history and isotretinoin
Honestly
Active acne is brought under control first or new lesions undo the work, ice-pick scars respond poorly to laser or needling alone, and the stated aim is smoother and shallower rather than erased.