The scars left behind on skin after acne are called acne scars. After acne skin tries to  repair itself that leaves a red, pink, tan, or brown mark behind, depending on the breakout and the individual 's skin type. This scar is different from sunspots or hyperpigmentation that is the result of an increase in melanin production.

Acne scars can be presented in different forms:

•  Ice pick: deep but small pits.
•  Boxcar: sharp angles and edges; can be shallow or deep.
•  Rolling: tend to be wide and shallow (a wavy look) caused by damage under the surface.
•  Dark spots or staining: skin looks red to purple.
•  Perifollicular elastolysis: flesh-colored or yellow.
•  Hypertrophic: raised scar tissue where acne was.
•  Keloid: raised scar that’s larger than acne was.

There are many procedures to treat these scars. Goal is to remove damaged skin and promote new skin growth. More than one treatment is usually required.

•  Subcision: It done in local anesthesia. In this procedure the surgeon uses a hypodermal small gage needle. It is passed below the scar and fibrous tissues are broken down by needle. It improves rolling scars.
•  Fat grafting: this can be done in local anesthesia. Patient’s fat is harvested from the tummy and is injected under the scars. It will break the fibrous tissue as well as promote new collagen production as fat cells have stem cells.
•  Filler: Fillers are injected below the scars to give a better appearance. Mostly done together with other procedures.
•  Laser: Laser is now commonly used to treat deep acne scars. A gel is applied over the skin and calculated amount of laser is shot on targeted tissues without any pain to the patient.
•  Dermabrasion: A rolling device is rotated over acne scars after application of local anesthesia. It will abrades the damaged skin. New healthy skin will appear in a month.
•  PRP: PRP is prepared by patient’s own blood, that is processed and concentrates are injected under the acne scars. PRP can improve the quality of atrophic, depressed acne scars either alone or along with its treatment with ablative fractional CO2 laser.