Acne isn’t fun. Unless you’re one of those genetically gifted freaks who has never had a bad skin day in their entire lives, almost everyone has had to endure the discomfort and indignity of having a face covered in oozing, inflamed pustules.
For most of us, acne plagued the hormonal and emotional No Man’s Land phase of our lives otherwise known as puberty, and blessedly, for some people, that’s where acne’s trauma ends.
However, for many people, acne can leave more than just mental and emotional scars. This is why there are so many websites dedicated to answering the question of how to get rid of acne scars. There are also products and treatments for the fast removal of acne scars, as well as a good number of home remedies for acne scars.
How Acne Scars Happen
Acne can develop when the pores in your skin get plugged up by sebum (oil that the body produces naturally), dead skin cells, or dirt. Bacteria can grow here, sometimes causing the skin to get inflamed, and pus can collect around the area. In the most severe kinds of acne, red bumps and pus-filled cysts can form, damaging the skin. Different kinds of scars can result from the damage the pustules, pimples, and cysts that acne can wreak; keloid scars, discoloration, depressed areas on the skin, or raised lesions.
Some people are more prone to scarring than others, but usually, to prevent scarring from becoming permanent, problem spots should be identified and treated early so that the skin repairs itself better, making it less likely for scars to develop in the first place.
How to Get Rid of Acne Scars
Of course, sometimes, no matter how hard you work to keep scars from forming, they can still show up. Over time, scars can fade and become less visible. This is because as skin renews itself, old, damaged tissues are replaced by newer, healthy skin cells. Most of the time though, scars won’t disappear completely on their own. If you want fast removal of acne scars, there are a lot of different treatments available.
A lot of topical creams and serums can kick-start your body’s natural healing and skin renewal processes so that your scars fade more quickly. However, since scar tissue is mostly dead, damaged skin, treatments like dermabrasion or microdermabrasion, laser therapy, chemical peels, and surgical therapies like subcision are best for fast removal of acne scars.
Different Forms of Acne Scar Treatments
Dermabrasion and microdermabrasion both involve exfoliation; the removal of the damaged skin through abrasion: by simply scrubbing the dead skin away. The difference between the two kinds of exfoliation is that microdermabrasion is gentler and not as invasive. These treatments work even on scars that had formed a long time ago.
Laser resurfacing therapy, on the other hand, softens scar tissue by actually wounding skin a little using intense, microscopic light pulses. The body heals the microthermally wounded areas, repairing the scarred tissue as well, making the scars look a whole lot better than before.
Chemical peels use a solution that makes the top layer of the skin blister and peel off so that the skin that the body regenerates is much smoother and less scarred and wrinkled.
Subcision is a treatment best used for the really deep kinds of acne scars that leave depressions in the skin. With this surgical treatment, skin in the affected area is separated from the scar tissue, which lets the blood pool under the area and allows the skin to grow more level. Afterwards, other treatments, like the ones listed above will smooth out the scar tissue itself and even out the skin color.
Home Remedies for Acne Scars
The treatments listed above are great for the fast removal of acne scars, but they can be costly and uncomfortable. If you want to save some money and trouble, try some do-it-yourself exfoliation and skin renewal recipes.
One way to make acne scars look less visible is to lighten them using lemon juice. If you don’t have lemons, other kinds of citrus work too, but this works best with very sour kinds of citrus fruits. Simply apply the juice over the scars and let it stand for a few minutes, then wash it off.
Try mixing and matching fruits and vegetables to place on your face. Those rich in vitamin A, like tomatoes for example, aren’t just good to eat, but by combining pureed tomatoes with pureed cucumber and applying the mixture to your face for five to thirty minutes, you can soothe and tighten your skin, prevent excess sebum production, and renew damaged skin. Just be sure to wash your face afterwards, so you won’t smell like a pasta dish.
These home remedies for acne scars won’t show results as dramatic as conventional treatments, although if you want to figure out how to get rid of acne scars, using recipes like these frequently can really help make the fast removal of acne scars even faster. Try using them in combination with more conventional treatments for better results and healthier skin.
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i think you sould add more ways to get rid of acne scars,like one way is using white tooth paste on your face!!!
Thanks for your input Angie. Sounds like an idea worth trying. I remember using toothpaste on individual zits when I was a teen and I personally found it too irritating, but I know it worked for my friends.
Toothpaste will dry your skin and cause more harm than good!!! Try using Tomato’s or Olive Oil……
nooo. dont use toothpaste!
i used to do that all the time and i thought it worked great but it actually left a whole bunch of scars on my face.
heres what i’ve been doin recently
apply lemon juice on my scars & leaveit on for bout 10 or more minutes. this lightens the scars kinda like what bleach does with stains
every night rub olive oil on your skin. this moisturizes and makes skin more ssofter and healthier
also what works great for scars AND pimples is ice! rub it on for like 10 minutes or more. this tightens pores
Hey! Umm I Recommend Toothpaste for Black People, Cause it Worked For Me And Like I’m Just 12. For Acne Scars Definitely Lemon Juice. Now My Face Is So Smooth And Sexy!!!!
hey ummmmmmm did the toothpaste wotk on the actual scars????? And how often did u use it and the lemon juice?
Twinklez how fast did using tooth past work for you?
It works pretty fast now im not sure it will work on white but on black it goes away
I’ve tried almost everything for my acne scars and nothing seems to work does lemon juice really work, because I need to get rid of those acne scars and I try to cover then up with makeup but they are still noticable
NOOOO DONT USE TOOTHPASTE!! It just makes everything wrse and I’m only 12 but My mom told me to use lemon juice and It WORKED =) but if u want to get rid of blackheads use Olive or Almond oil !!!
HOPE I HELPED (=
….Also DONT COVER ACNE OR BLACKHEADS UP WITH MAKE-UP IT’LL JUST CLOG UP UR PORES AND IT’LL SPREAD SO U WILL GET MORE ACNE !!!!!
Acne is no longer the problem, its the scarring that stumps me. I’m a 17 yr old, white, male,work my a** off full time everyday, done with high school, and now attending my first yr of college. Anybody have some REAL tips that work for getting rid of these unsightly brown spots?
@ghost I know your post was ages ago but hopefully you read this and still need help(: I have a list of different things that do work. You should try them and hopefully get mad results.
First sudocreme this is baby nappy rash cream but if you rub it on your spots before bed it works really well
Second teatree oil 100% dab it or rub it on whenever u can it may sting a bit hut you get use to that
Make sure you exfoliate !!!!! As often as u can with a gentle exfoliant or scrub this breaks up scar tissue.
Lemon juice does work you can read many ways of using it and if you YouTube ‘ bubzbeauty facemask/ toner’ she has an amazing recipe for acne scars
Another product you should definatly try the new clearasil ultra pimples+marks wash and mask and you can also get the lotion really really worth it. But u can’t just rely on on products you need to have a healthy body. Make sure you drink the right amount of water (6-8 glasses a day ) and adding lemon water speeds up your metabolism which helps your skin (: hope this helped you all. And also eat fruit and vegetables especially berries (: oh an drink green tea !!!! Helps soooooo much
I kinda recommend the toothpaste too because im also just 12 and i had a lot of redness let from picking on the pimples and i kept putting the toothpaste overnight and in 3 days no redness jst acne scars left from the pimple so now im gonna use the lime to get rid of the acne scars so i say
Toothpaste:redness
Lime Juice: Acne scars
hey luciapp34
try nutmeg
and cinnamon paste with honey
it works like magic
(do it for 2 weeks)
I have the same problem. for some reason the more I try the more scars show up on my face. And I dont even use the products anymore, I go with all natural ingredients yet I still scar. It isnt all that noticable, but its noticable to ME. help!!
Sorry to hear that’s it a problem for you. Some people definitely scar easier than others and it unfortunately sounds like you’re unlucky in that department.
Perhaps you’ll see better results if you don’t try to mess with the scars as much. I’m guessing you have sensitive skin? It could be the case that your skin is bothered by most products, and could do better just being left alone.
And I know it can be difficult to reduce the amount of breakouts you have, but it’ll definitely help if you could. Obviously I understand that no one would have breakouts if the choice were up to them, but maybe you can look for patterns. Do you break out more when eating certain foods, stressing over certain people, sleeping late, using certain makeup brands, etc? If you can find any patterns try to break them and have more good skin days, which means less acne scars for you.
personally, ice and toothpaste work best for me. Im 13 and ive used almost every skin-cleanser out there, and i just break out more, leaving more scars:\ yeaaa so toothpaste and ice will do ya good
hey hannah 25 thnx !!!!! im gonna try it thank yeww so muchhhhhh !!!!
oooooo nd yeah i heard toothpaste wrks to but for sum ppl like myself we see NO change !!!!! so yeahhh wateva wrks for u rite ?! :p
i think using LESS products is better. people use 5 masks a day and 10 cleansers .. seriously ..???? just use a alcohol-free cleanser, such as neatrogena or however it’s spelled. use it twice a day, and u can moisturize ur skin by using oil-free facial cream. that’s it !! u can use natural remedies, such lemons like the others mentioned. u can put cucumber on ur face. u can mix honey with yogurt, works great !! and dont use toothpaste plz it’s what causes scars.
ive tried toothpaste and ice!!! they both dnt work!! help
Hey guys,
See if it works for you, and tell me. 
I’d love to see if this helped someone.
I asked one of my mates a few years ago how he got rid of his acne, as he used to have pretty bad acne then within a month it had all cleared up part from a few old scars from when he was younger.
He told me that he puts a towel on his pillow over night. A new towel every night and apparently that works.
I’ve been trying it for about a month and yes, it works, I honestly have no idea how, but it does. I have a few spots around the sides of my face where I bunch up my duvet round my ears but other than that and a few scars, I’m spot-free.
AHHH! Help i have tried toothpaste(redness)
A hotcompress (opening pores and letting dirt out)
And all of the clean and clear and neutrogena products! i am almost clear of acne but have a few acne scars on the left side of my nose that are really bothering me! I look so dumb cuz i am only 11 9oturning 12 in a few months) plz help!!
I put ice on my face for ten minutes then i directly steamed my face for 10 minutes every night for a month and it totally worked but before icing it please do use some sort of face cleanser like clean and clear, noutragina, cetephil, etc……… Hope it helps!
P.S.
you can try other things like putting a towel over your pillow every night while trying my method too!
do you need to squeeze real lemon juice or can you use the stuff from the bottle?
Most bottled lemon juice has preservatives in it. There are some brands that don’t – check on the ingredients part of the label. I would think might aggravate some people’s skin
do you just rub the lemon juice on your face with a rag or something ?
Sure, you can do that, or squeeze a couple drops onto your fingers.
i recently started breaking out, i use murad for my acne and at first it worked perfectly but now i have a ton of acne scars. i put ice on it and its helped a bit but i still have alot of scars. What is the BEST way i can get rid of them. PLEASE HELP
Hey I’ve been looking at all the inputs and i was wondering about the towel idea. Does it have to be damp or just plain dry?
The new towel on the pillow every night is because your natural oils excrete all over your pillow in your sleep so when you go to bed the next night your rubbing your nice clean face into all those oils again so by laying on a clean towel every night you will prevent that old dirt and oil from rubbing into your face in your sleep, hope i helped : )
Help and answer please do I apply lemon on my face then wash it off or do I keep it there? Also does long hair affect acne?
Leave the lemon on your skin unless you feel that it’s really irritating the skin
ohk .. so i have scarfs and some pimples around my checks i tried everything and it doesnt help and i also tend to explode them … HELP !!!!!!! plis
I used to have problems with pimples on my forehead. Girls, Pull your head back with a head band every night before you go to bed so your skin can have a break from your oily hair! Trust me. It’ll work for forehead pimples and temple pimples. And you can even wear bobbie pin your bangs back a few times a week. i’m pimple free now
Hey for the towel thing, cant you just wash your pillow case every day? Or does it really have to be a towel?
Oh and Hannah25 I would like to know more about the nutmeg and cinnamon paste with honey. How do you prepare it? Just mix it all together to make it into a paste? How long do you leave it on? And how much of the nutmeg, cinnamon and honey do you mix together?
im still 12 and im on the sixth grade . when i was on the 5th grade my skin was so beautiful now i moved into this new freakin place i have acne ! and im still 12! everybody says told me im so pretty before but when my pimples showed up it ruined my life ! help me! i tried using ice but i want something thats fast!
Ok I have suffered from severe acne for about 5 years now. I have used products like Murad, the old proactive, and SkinID. They all seem to work for a while and then stop. After learning many things, I would say in response to the comments about the towel trick, just don’t sleep with your face to the pillow. Also pull long hair away from your face just when your around the house and sleeping. Watch what you eat also. Some say food doesn’t matter, but if you arnt eating healthy, you won’t look great for many reasons. I don’t use natural remedies mainly due to the unknown affects like it actually clogging pores. And I have a real bad habit of popping all white heads. However I’m clearing up and not badly scarred.
iv’e tried a lot of things, but the best thing that works for my acne scars is Bio oil. it sounds kinda weird because it’s oil, but it doesn’t make you break out at all and your skin absorbs it fast. it fades the scars and redness in just a week.
i’m 14 years old and i have pimples on my forehead, temples and around my nose. iv’e tried many different products and i found that dove beauty bar and nivea young stay clear toner stuff is working for me.
now, i have a few pimples now and again but nothing too drastic. however, i do have some scars. i want to try lemon juice but only one my forehead. does it actually work? would it make my forehead lighter than the rest of my face? help please
hmm…Well,the new towel works.The lemon works.The nutmeg,cinnamon and honey works but I have another remedy.I tried it all.But this is another one that really helps me.Green pea dried…or toasted slightly.Grind it into powder form.Then when You wanna use it.Add lime juice and make it into a paste consistency.Rub it on ur face and leave it till it dries.When removing..It’s going to be painful.Peel it off.Don’t wash off.It really works.Continuously do this for 2 weeks.And you need to drink lots of water.2 liters per day.Ditch out soda and french fries and burger and you will even lose weight.
Remember to drink green tea for the extra glow.=)
I don’t think you should use toothpaste my older sister did and she had horrible scars and my other sister used WAY to much product, I learned from both here are some tips
1)Like Dan said sleep with a towle or change your pillow case every 2 days;
WHY? Bc when you sleep you leave all sorts of oils and dirts which stay there, it becomes your personal pimple growing factory :p
2) DONT use so much product, your skin is sensitive so don’t stress it out!
WHAT; what I use every morning and night is a gentle cleanser, and a scrub every 2 days to remove dead skin cells that could be clogging pores especially blackheads! I had many but since I started useing the scuba they’ve all gone
3) EAT healthy; try and limit yourself to one or two sodas a week, it really affects your skin! Iv tested this out as well I went one week drinking nothing but soda ( just to prove a point) to me sodas not even that great, but anyways it not only made me feel slow, tired, and lazy but it really broke my face out, the rest of the month I drank water! Guess how it looks? (;
POINT: NO PIMPLES = NO SCARS
~ if your ever to nervous to test a new product or theory just ask me and I’ll try it out for you! I’d love to help you out
Hope I helped!!!
i was really pretty in 5th grade and the bigginning of the summer i broke out. i scar very easily and now i have a lot of scars on my forehead. can someone please tell me how to get rid of them pleaseeeeeee!!!!!????
A good way to get rid of acne scars is to exfoliate your skin. This gets rid of the dead skin cells on the top layer of skin, reducing the visibility of acne discoloration. It might work a little slowly, but what you want to do is look for an oil-free cleanser that exfoliates and use it every day. Or you can exfoliate with sugar and warm water, but be sure to thoroughly wash your face immediately after. You don’t want sugar left on your face–it’s just good for exfoliating. I don’t recommend doing it every day as it may be too rough, so try to get an exfoliating wash. Ones that have salicylic acid are specially formulated to fight acne. Salicylic acid fights and treats acne–so I’ve heard–while benzoyl peroxide prevents it. Try to incorporate both into your soundest routine. Pull your hair out of your face whenever possible and sleep on your back. Not only does this prevent premature wrinkles as gravity will work with you, it will also keep your face clean from not touching the pillowcase. The towel trick mentioned earlier sounds like a great idea. I may just have to invest in some towels!
I meant *skincare routine. Sorry about the auto-correct.
ok so I am 13 and I have not acne just like 1or 2 pimples at a time on my chin and i any get them there and i have some scars too that are really annoying and i’ wondering how to get rid of them for good! I just started using an apricot scrub that seems to be sightly helping but what else besides lemon juice??? I heard aloe cream or gel, does that work???
The reason why acne treatments stop working is because your facial skin builds up an immunity to the specific product. Try using a different product every other week. This worked for me. To get rid of acne scars, use lemon juice or ice and also try takin over the counter Vitamin A pills. Also use a CLEAN TOWEL to cover your pillow every night. Use a different towel every night. Hope this helps. Thanks
Try tea tree oil.. it will get rid of acne in about 3 days
im 15 andd have acne scars i just want them to go away, im tired of feeling uglyy, iv tried everything toothpaste, lemon juice, btw all that did was make my face peel so i wouldnt suggest it. helppp?!?!
i wouldnt say i get pimples alot , but i have some scars on my face! i HATE it .. i hear alot about lemon juice so im trying it for the 3rd day .. hopefully it works! but definantly go see your derma. for the pimples ! they gave me some pills to take everyday and they work! just the scars are left : /
I’m turning 12 in 3 days, and my pimples are starting to clear up, but I have pretty bad acne scars. How long does it take for the lemon juice thing to heal up scars?
So I used to have clear skin while I was in middle school, since I got into high school, I’ve been breaking out a lot, and they’ve been leaving me horrible scars on my face. I don’t feel as confident as I did before.This stresses me out. I heard that if you mix lemon juice with salt or something, that helps? Does it really? I would like to know before I use it.
You really have to just keep trying stuff out until you find what works for you. Or else you can just wait, leave them alone and most of them will fade by themselves in time.
I had really bad acne and scars and i went to the dermatologist and they prescribed me a morning and night cream that really work. Scars take awhile to fade but be patient. To help speed things up tho i mix baking soda and water together into a paste and then rub onto face and leave iton for three to five minutes. Do this twice a day. It really helps, also drink a ton of water and excErcise regurlyand eat healthy, it really helped me and by doing all of this your skin will clear up and if you excercise and drink water you might even lose weight too! Hope i helped.
lemon juice dont work anymore becuz it will irritate ur skin
i use clean and clear and it works for me, i usually use it in the shower. what i do is i wash mt hair, then i turn the knob so the water gets a lil hotter, bythe wayy, hot water and steam opens up your pores, so i let the hot water kinda massage my face, and i usually get acne on my forehead because thats were i sweat during sports, but anyway, i just let it massage by the hot watter, then i take a dry towel and wipe my face so its dry, then take the clean and clear face wash and apply it to my whole face, no mater what. then i leave it on till i condition, and ijust let the water wash it off, and it leaves ur face feeling tingley and clean, but be sure to apply lotion after u shower, because thats when your body retains the most moisture. my acne has also reduced down alot because i use oil removing wipes. u can find them almost anywere and their
oh, and with the face wash thingg, i also put it on when im home and leave it on for a few hours or so.
handy.
turmeric is also very good to put on ur skin, it cleans it deep down.
eat healthy avoid chocolate and caffeine, and stressing out, drink alot of water, it flushes out all the bad stuff in ur skin and keeps it hyderatred.also DONT PICK AT YOUR ACNE, it only makes everything worse
Hope i helpedd!
I started vigorous workouts in a boxing gym a few months ago, and since then, really bad acne scars have shown up on my upper back and shoulders. I wanna get rid of them before the summer so I can uncomfortably go shirtless at the beach.
Any suggestions to get rid of acne scars on the back within two months??
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