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As all those who have gone through the jumps and hoops that come with puberty can tell you, acne is an especially irksome skin condition. During this sensitive time frame in one's life, acne can cause an unfortunate decrease in one's self esteem if not produce an all out complex with one's self. By using an effective acne treatment regimen however, acne symptoms usually wither away naturally as teenagers grow into their early twenties. The issue will have become just another episode in all the quirky dramas we undergo as self conscience teenagers.

However this is not the experience for everyone. The unfortunate consequence of these bothersome zits and pimples is that if they become too inflamed, they could leave a mark that is lasting. These marks are the dreaded acne scars, and they can come in various forms. The most common are termed as rolling, ice pick, and boxcar scars.

Rolling scars come with a wave like roll that spreads across the base of one's cheeks. They have a wide and shallow depth which causes a rolling undulation to appear across other wise normal appearing skin. This type of acne scar is brought about by fibrous bands of tissue developing between the skin and the subcutaneous tissue beneath it. These unhealthy bands will pull on the epidermis, or the top layer of the skin, and eventually bind it to the deeper structures within the skin. The result is the wave-like pockmark.

Depressed fibrotic scars, or "boxcars scars," are those that have sharp edges with steep vertical sides. They have a certain resemblance to chickenpox scars, and are caused by acne inflammation. When the skin becomes inflamed to such a degree that collagen is destroyed, skin tissue is lost. When the skin loses the tissue that is supporting it as in this case, a depressed area is created. The severity of the boxcars scar will depend upon the amount of tissue that was lost.

The third main category of scars that stem from overly inflamed acne is that of ice pick scars. As their name hints to, they are deep and narrow indentions on the skin's surface that resemble the look of what an ice pick would leave if poked right onto the skin's surface. They are due to cysts and inflamed blemishes that make their way to the skin's surface. When the skin tissue is destroyed, a long column-like scar remains. Their sizes range from being a small and deep "hole" in the skin to resembling large and open pores.

Fixing acne scars is thankfully an available option when you factor in all the various treatments. For the deepest acne scarring, dermabrasion is a cosmetic medical procedure that entails "sanding" down the epidermis beyond the length of the scar. Afterwards, during several weeks of recovery, the skin will naturally regrow itself back with new tissue that has a healthier and smoother texture to it. When the acne scar is raised, microdermabrasion has a greater effect on its diminishment. It is not always recommended for when it is a sunken scar.