Acne is cruel. Once you have overcome the embarrassing and unsightly pimples and spots, and lived with the self-esteeming sapping problem during your teenage years (and often beyond), you can still be left asking how to get rid of acne scars. Unfortunately, most severe cases of acne will leave some trace on the skin in the form of an acne scar or blemish. However, because technology and treatments have come on so much in recent leaves, these are not something you have to live with. There are successful treatments for acne scarring.

There are several different types of acne scars. The most common are 'ice pick scars', so called because they are depressions, or pits in the skin tissue. 'Box car acne scars' can usually be found on the cheeks and look a lot like the scars left by chicken pox. 'Rolling scars' describe scarring that gives the skin a wavy look, and, last but not least, are 'hypertrophic scars' which are thickened scars. Regardless of the type of acne scars you have, there are solutions.

Although you could go down the natural route (see later), these are the most common treatments that people are recommended in response to the question: How to get rid of acne scars fast.

Micro-dermabrasion is the process of removing a layers of skin form the acne scarred area. It used to be a procedure that would require the expertise of a trained plastic surgeon, but it can now be carried out at home with the aid of a home treatment kit. Micro-dermabrasion is an effective treatment for light and less-severe acne scars, but it will not be sufficient to cure severe acne scarring.

Dermabrasion is a much more severe form of treatment that is suitable for more deeper acne scars. It is a form of surgery and will require a specialist, anesthetic and specialist equipment and expertise. This process removes a significant portion of scarred skin, and can result in bleeding during the procedure and a recovery time of two or three months.

The use of lasers is becoming more common in treating acne scars. A laser is pointed at the affected area, removing the scarred tissue and revealing the layers of unblemished skin below. The process can be very painful, but it is often very effective and it can show results very quickly. Chemical peels are another form of treatment that people also can employ to get rid of acne scar.

Just as there is for treating the acne itself, there are lots of natural remedies put forward that claim to cure acne scarring. Some of the most popular ones involve putting honey based concoctions on your face. Whether these remedies work is open to debate, but they probably won't make the scarring any worse so it might be worth a try.

The acne scar treatments detailed above have been proven to work, but they are more severe. Whatever approach you decide to adopt in order to remove your acne scars, make sure you research the treatment thoroughly (there are lots of products and procedures listed online), and commit to it fully. That way you will manage to remove you acne successfully.