Acne Marks
& Scarring
Doctor-led treatment planning for acne-related scarring, pigmentation, redness and uneven skin texture.
What Acne
Can Leave Behind
Once active breakouts settle, the skin doesn't always go back to how it was. What's left behind is usually a mix of a few different things, and they don't all respond to the same treatment — which is why it's worth understanding what you're actually looking at.
Most people have more than one of these at the same time. Telling them apart matters, because pigment, redness and structural scarring are improved by quite different approaches.
What We Can
Help Improve
We focus on the marks and texture changes acne leaves behind — not the active condition itself.
Softening the appearance of rolling and shallow boxcar scarring over a course of treatment.
Fading flat brown or grey marks and evening out overall skin tone.
Reducing flat pink or red vascular marks that persist after spots have healed.
Refining surface roughness and the appearance of enlarged pores.
Improving skin firmness and quality across the treated area over a course.
Deep icepick and tethered scars may improve partially rather than fully. What's realistic for your skin is confirmed at consultation — not from a general promise.
If your acne is still active — painful, cystic, inflamed, or getting worse — that usually needs to be brought under control before any work on marks or scarring makes sense. Treating the surface while the underlying acne is still flaring tends to disappoint, and in some cases isn't appropriate at all.
Active acne is a medical condition. The right first step is usually your GP, an NHS dermatology referral, or another appropriate registered medical service, who can look at medical options for the acne itself.
Once things have settled and stayed settled, we're glad to look at what's been left behind. If you're not sure which stage you're at, that's a fair thing to raise at consultation — we'll give you an honest steer, including telling you if it's too soon.
What We
Can Offer
The right option depends on what you're dealing with — structural scarring, pigment, redness or texture — and a plan usually combines more than one. Nothing is decided before a consultation.
Stimulates the skin's own collagen to soften shallow scarring and refine texture over a course. Well tolerated across all skin tones, including deeper Fitzpatrick types.
Learn about SkinPen →Radiofrequency delivered through microneedling, used for texture, pores and firmness alongside scarring. Adds depth of remodelling to needle-based treatment.
Learn about Exion →A calming, no-downtime light therapy, often used alongside other modalities to settle lingering redness and support recovery between sessions.
Learn about Dermalux →May suit some patients to improve overall skin quality alongside other approaches. Injectable treatments assessed for suitability individually — no brand names assumed.
Learn about Skin Boosters →Chemical peels are also used to address surface pigmentation and tone. Discussed as appropriate at consultation.
How We Choose
the Right Plan
There's no single best treatment for acne marks, because "acne marks" isn't one thing. A plan that's right for shallow rolling scars is wrong for flat pigmentation, and what suits lighter skin with lingering redness may carry more pigmentation risk in deeper skin tones.
At consultation we look at your skin in person, identify what's actually there — structural, pigment, vascular or textural — take your history and skin tone into account, and talk through what's realistic. If a course over several months is what it'll take, we'll say so. If we don't think a treatment is right for your skin, we'll tell you, and where we can we'll suggest an alternative.
The Treatment
Journey
Most concerns are treated over a course rather than a single session, because collagen remodelling and tone correction happen gradually.
No treatment is booked before this. We look at your skin in person, identify what's there and talk through what's realistic — including how long it's likely to take.
Typically spaced a few weeks apart, with session count depending on your skin and what's being addressed. Decided at consultation, not at booking.
Texture and tone tend to show first. Structural improvement in scarring is slower and builds across the course — collagen remodelling continues for months after the final session.
Sun protection matters across the whole course — unprotected sun exposure can worsen pigmentation between sessions. We review progress as we go rather than promising a fixed result by a fixed date.
Acne Marks & Scarring
Questions Answered
Can you get rid of acne scars completely?
It depends on the type of scarring. Shallow rolling and boxcar scars tend to soften well over a course of treatment, and improvement can be significant. Deep icepick scars and tethered scarring are more resistant — they can improve partially, but complete resolution is unusual. We'll tell you honestly at consultation what's realistic for what's actually there.
What's the difference between acne scars and the marks left after a spot?
A true scar is a structural change in the skin — a depression or texture difference that won't fade on its own. Most of the flat marks left after a spot heals are either post-inflammatory pigmentation (PIH), a brown or grey discolouration, or post-inflammatory erythema (PIE), a flat pink or red vascular mark. These can be stubborn, but they're not structural — they respond to quite different treatments than scarring does. Telling them apart changes the plan.
I still get the occasional breakout — is it too soon?
The occasional spot doesn't necessarily mean it's too soon. What matters is whether the acne is active and inflamed on an ongoing basis — cystic, painful, or worsening. If that's the case, bringing it under control first (usually via your GP or a dermatology referral) makes more sense before working on what it's left behind. If you're not sure which side of that line you're on, that's a fair thing to raise at consultation — we'll give you an honest view.
Does treatment work on darker skin tones?
Yes, though the approach matters. Darker skin tones carry a higher risk of post-inflammatory pigmentation from certain treatments, so the choice of modality, depth and aftercare is adjusted accordingly. We assess skin tone as part of every consultation and choose parameters with that in mind. Sun protection between sessions is especially important for managing PIH risk in deeper skin tones — we'll explain what that means in practice.
How many sessions will I need?
Most concerns are treated over a course rather than a single session. The number depends on what's being addressed — shallow scarring and surface pigmentation may respond over three to four sessions, while deeper structural scarring tends to need more. The session count and spacing are confirmed at consultation, not at booking. We'll give you a realistic number based on what we actually see.
How long until I see a difference?
Texture and tone changes tend to show first — often from four to six weeks after the initial sessions. Structural improvement in scarring is slower, because collagen remodelling takes time and doesn't happen overnight. The most visible change usually develops over three to six months across the course, and remodelling can continue for up to a year after the final session.
If acne has left marks, scarring
or uneven texture behind
A consultation is where we work out what's actually there and what can realistically be improved.
Questions? Contact us