Look for an oil-free sunscreen meant for sensitive skin. Oily sunscreens may contribute to additional acne breakouts. Cover the area with clothing (e. g. , by avoiding low-back tank tops) whenever possible as well, but apply sunscreen even when the area is covered with clothing.
Apply the product as directed to your skin, focusing on your back acne discoloration scars. You may need to enlist the help of a friend to apply it to hard-to-reach spots on your back.
Apply the product as directed on the package or by your dermatologist. Hydroquinone is banned in Europe due to concerns over skin reactions, which can include skin dryness, redness, irritation, and sometimes cracking, blistering, and bleeding. [4] X Research source
If you run your fingers over your back and the skin feels generally smooth, most of your back acne scarring is likely actually post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. However, the only way to know for sure is to visit your dermatologist. Treating other types of back acne scarring with post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation treatments is very unlikely to cause any further problems, but also unlikely to significantly improve the scarring. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation can also occur after cuts, scrapes, and other injuries to the skin, and all the remedies mentioned here should be equally effective in those cases as well.
Tea tree oil has possible anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties, which may make it useful as an acne scar treatment. As with other home remedy treatments, there is little to no medical evidence that tea tree oil works for reducing back acne scars. Also, like with other home remedies, it may be difficult for you to reach the acne scars on your back yourself. You may need to enlist the services of a helper to apply the treatment.
This is ideal to do once daily before you take a shower, which is the easiest way to rinse the baking soda paste off your back. Baking soda may provide some antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, and it serves as an exfoliator that may help reduce the appearance of your back acne scars. If you have red, inflamed acne on your back, do not exfoliate it. That will make the inflammation worse. [8] X Expert Source Mohiba Tareen, MDFAAD Board Certified Dermatologist Expert Interview. 26 March 2020.
The antioxidants in green tea may provide anti-inflammatory benefits to reduce scarring. Drinking 2-3 cups of brewed green tea per day might also potentially be helpful.
Alternatively, you can mix the ground oatmeal with honey to make a paste and apply it to your back acne for 15-20 minutes, then rinse it away. Oatmeal acts as an exfoliant and may help reduce skin irritation and inflammation.
Aloe may help soften your skin, reduce irritation, boost skin cell growth, and serve as an antifungal agent. It’s possible, but of course far from guaranteed, that you may see improvement within several days to several weeks.
“Ice-pick” scars: narrow, deep scars “Boxcar” scars: deep circular or oval scars with steep sides Rolling scars: undulating, wave-like scars with undefined edges Hypertrophic scars: raised scars Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation: not raised or pitted, not technically a scar, and the most common type of back acne “scar”— a discoloration that can be pink, red, purple, brown, or black
Non-ablative laser treatments don’t destroy the top layers of skin, and instead stimulate new skin-tightening collagen formation from beneath. They’re quick, painless, and leave no redness, but are only useful for hyperpigmentation or very minor scars. [14] X Research source It takes weeks to months for the skin to regenerate without the scars, so this isn’t a quick fix.
Punch grafting includes using skin grafts (usually from behind the ear) to replace the tissue from very large acne scars. While you’re trading one type of scar for another, the suture scarring will usually disappear within several months. Your dermatologist might use dermabrasion treatments to speed the process along.
Dermal fillers are a good “quick fix” technique if you want to reduce the look of back acne scars as soon as possible.
This treatment works best on rolling scars that create a wavy texture on your skin. Your dermatologist can perform this procedure quickly using local anesthesia. You can see immediate results with this procedure, but you may have some minor discomfort and scarring at the small incision sites.
Steroid treatments can take several months to be effective. If you are given a steroid cream to apply, follow the application instructions exactly as prescribed.
Microdermabrasion is more akin to sandblasting, and impacts only the very top layers of skin. As such, it is only effective on discoloration scars. It can be done at day spas as well as medical offices, and usually requires several treatments to be effective. You’ll have to wait at least a few weeks for the redness to subside before you’ll really notice any positive results.
