When you’re fighting acne and you want to know what causes acne scars, you should realize that scarring is a natural process, in which the skin heals itself by producing collagen. Even if you can’t stop this process altogether, there are plenty of things you can do to decrease the risk of scarring.
The causes of acne scars can also include different factors that have big effects on the skin’s healing process. Making sure you prevent these problems is the best way to avoid the serious causes of acne scars.
Excessive Touching of Your Face
Inflammation plays a big role in scar development, so one of the biggest acne scar causes is touching your face and picking at scars and scabs.
Even when your hands have just been washed, touching your face can spread bacteria from one place to another, increasing the likelihood of scaring. Try to avoid touching your face with the exception of once or twice a day, when you cleanse it.
Scrubbing Your Skin
Even scrubbing your face with your regular towel can be harmful and when you’re wondering what causes acne scars, scrubbing and rubbing your skin plays a big part in the scarring process.
Either air dry your face after washing it or pat it with a soft towel and use gentle products that won’t irritate your skin further.
Sun Exposure
When you’re not using sunscreen correctly, you’re risking an elevated melanin production, which may impact the color of any part of your skin that is healing.
As one of the biggest acne scar causes, ultraviolet radiation can increase the pigment in scars, causing them to darken and heal slower. To prevent this unfortunate side effect of sun exposure which is one of the causes of acne scars, always protect your skin with a broad spectrum sunscreen. UVA/UBV protection with a SPF of at least 15 can help with this issue, as long as the sunscreen is reapplied every few hours for prolonged sun exposure.
Vitamin E Treatments
Applying vitamin E directly on the healing tissue can also be one of the causes of acne scars. In most cases it either has no effect or it slows down the healing process leading to scarring.
Bad Diet
While not directly considered one of the acne scar causes, a diet rich in fast food, processed foods and alcohol can impede the healing process and may lead to permanent scarring. If you’re dealing with severe acne, try to eat a balanced diet and use the right skin products that won’t contribute to inflammation of the skin and acne scarring.
See also:Fight Acne with a Healthy DietZinc Oxide Sunscreen: The Best Way to Protect Your SkinChia Seeds Benefits for Skin and Health
