Acne is a nightmare for many teenagers and adults both here in the US and around the world. Even more unfortunate is the fact that not only does it affect your appearance and self-esteem while we have it, but more severe cases can leave scarring, which can affect us long after our acne has been cured.

Ironically, acne scarring is simply the result of our body's natural response to an infection. When our follicles become clogged with sebum (a natural skin oil produced by our sebaceous glans) the bacteria P. acnes takes advantage of the situation and uses his fluid for food. The detritus thrown off by the bacteria and dead skin cells from their surrounding area plug up the follicle.

Sometimes, this is a minor condition and the infectious material simply erupts through the surface of our skin in the form of a small white header blackhead which is easily removed. Other times however, the infectious material forces its way down into the dermis, the layer of skin underneath our epidermis. Our body sees this material as a foreign invader -- which indeed, it is and it tries to get the invader out as it would any other infection. Then we have reddening of the skin swelling and even more foreign material as a result of the infection. Even after the condition is resolved, you can leave a scar.

Some people don't think that acne scars are that big of a deal because they are cosmetic issue and will not get worse over time. I have to disagree here. Not only are their self-esteem issues at stake, but if you are to have acne scarring and then you get another eruption it will be that much worse.

Like any medical condition, whether it's heart disease, skin cancer or something much less serious, the best way to take care of it is reprinted in the first place. I recommend that you treat your acne as a medical problem that is, and if you cannot get rid of it with over-the-counter medications please see a dermatologist.

The good news is that you can get rid of pimple scars, but first you need to put an end to any active outbreak. What's the point in removing scars if you're developing new ones all the while? If you're scarring is serious enough that you feel that you need treatment, then I'm willing to bet that your acne problem is serious enough that you should be seeing a dermatologist. What you resolve your current outbreak is time to take care of the problem for once and for all.

There are several different treatments available to diminish the appearance or completely remove acne scarring. In this article I'd like to concentrate on a laser treatment known as non-ablative laser for acne scar removal.

You've no doubt heard that laser technology has come a very long way indeed in the last decade. While most of the news in this area has concentrated on laser eye surgery, tremendous strides have also been made in scar removal, wrinkle removal and other kinds of cosmetic skin care. There are a wide variety of different lasers can be used to remove acne scars. It's not like the old days where they used a CO2 laser to actually tear off the top surface of the skin. This required an extended period of healing with its attendant risks of infection and skin whitening.

Nowadays it's a new kind of laser, called a non-ablative laser. This new kind of laser does not destroy the top layers of skin. For this reason there's a lot less risk to the patient during the treatment, and it actually does a better job of removing acne scars. The kind of laser that your practitioner will recommend will be at least to some extent dependent upon the kind of scars that you have. If you have red acne scars, a pulse dye laser will be the instrument used as it removes red pigmentation.

You're going to require multiple treatments, which will start seeing results within the first week. Typically you get four or five treatments over a period of 4 to 6 months. For a few days after each treatment there may be a little redness in your face may swell some, but that will fade quickly.

The downside is that this can be fairly expensive -- but I think that is more than compensated for by the fact that at last you can really get rid of your acne scars.

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