What acne leaves
behind on your skin
What acne leaves behind is usually a red mark, a brown patch or a small dent. They look alike and ask for different treatments: peels for discolouration, microneedling and laser for dents.
At the intake the skin therapist assesses it under light falling from the side. That is the only way to see whether there is a dent in it or whether it is about colour.
Four pictures and
what each one asks for
These four cover almost everything acne leaves behind. Which one you have is established by the skin therapist at the intake.
There is still active acne
active acne- How you recognise it yourself
- Has a new inflamed spot appeared in the past month? Then this is your answer, even if you are mostly looking at the old marks.
- What it is
- As long as new inflammations keep appearing, new marks keep appearing too. Treating what is already there while the source is still running is mopping with the tap on.
- Does it go away on its own
- Not while the acne is active. The marks fading now are replaced by new ones.
- What we do
- Calm the acne first. Only then do we look at what has been left behind, and it is often less than you think now.
No tissue has been lost. That means a different treatment, and often different advice from the one you came for.
The order of treating
Every step asks that the previous one is finished. So a scar programme rarely starts with the laser straight away.
The inflammation first
As long as new spots keep appearing, new marks keep appearing. And any scar treatment in inflamed skin makes the inflammation worse.
Then let the colour settle
Red and brown partly fade on their own. What you still see after six months is what is really there; before that you would be treating something that was going to disappear anyway.
Only then the pits
What remains is scar tissue. That is the only type where a series of treatments really changes something in the long run.
Then it starts with the acne and not with the scars.
Treating what is there while the source is still running is mopping with the tap on, and in inflamed skin it makes the inflammation worse as well.
What helps and what we advise against
Here the right order often gives more than the heaviest treatment.
This works
- Establishing first whether it is scar tissue or colour, because that often saves a whole programme
- Waiting until the acne is calm before anything happens to the scars
- Sun protection, every day. With brown patches this is not an extra but the core
- A skin analysis in side light, because in straight light you barely see pits
- Saying when waiting gives more than treating, even when you came here for a treatment
We advise against this
- Lasering or needling skin with active inflammation. That worsens the acne and can lock the scar in place
- Treating a pigment spot as though it were a scar. It is a different layer and a different approach
- Promising that pits disappear completely. Shallower and less visible is realistic, gone is not
- Squeezing them yourself raises the chance of deeper inflammation, discolouration and scars
- Starting on tanned skin
Pits only show in side light.
That is why a photo from your phone is not enough here, and neither is your bathroom mirror: straight light fills in every dent. The EVE-M records your skin under fixed light and from a fixed angle.
That way the difference can be seen later rather than believed, and with this concern that matters extra: it takes months, and you see your own face every day.
More about the skin analysisWhat we measure here
- Relief
- Where the skin has sunk in, and how deep
- Redness
- The vascular response left behind after inflammation
- Pigmentation
- Brown patches, including the ones you cannot see yet
Every axis is measured again at each check-up, under the same lighting. That way a difference later is something you see rather than something you have to take on faith.
What we use for this
Microneedling with the SkinPen
€ 180Medically certified microneedling. It works on the layer where the structure of your skin sits.
Dermapen 4
€ 180Microneedling with vibrating needles that pass through the skin evenly.
FRAC3
On requestA fractional laser that goes deeper, for texture, pores and irregularities.
Fotona Scar Repair
€ 195Laser on scars: acne scars, surgical scars and stretch marks.
Fotona Resurfacing
On requestSkin renewal with laser, for pores, texture and smoother skin.
What others
say about it.
These come from Salonized and were not picked by us on content: they are the reviews that mention scars, mostly after an acne programme.
Reviews translated from Dutch.
“Very happy overall. I came in the first time with a lot of blemishes and scars and I can say with positivity that my face looks very even and lovely.”
BraysonVisit to Diba ClinicsAbout 6 years ago “Had a really lovely Hydrafacial treatment. I have such a lovely glow! My scars have been treated for the first time too so I'm looking forward to the progress of this process :) Thank you dear Rojda.”
ElifHydraFacialAlmost 4 years ago “I've been by 3 times now for the diode laser and I genuinely see an 80% difference! The scars and spots on my skin have hugely improved too thanks to the dermapen. A forever regular anyway!!”
SaraLaser hair removalOver 7 years ago
Frequently asked questions
How do I know whether it is a scar or only colour?
With your finger and with light from the side. If you feel a dent or an edge, and you see a shadow when the light falls at an angle, tissue has been lost. If it feels smooth and you only see colour, it is redness or pigment and not a scar.
Do acne scars go away on their own?
Red and brown marks partly do, over months. Dents do not: they will sit there just the same years from now. That distinction decides whether waiting is sensible or a waste of time.
How long should I wait after my last spot?
There is no fixed period; what matters is that no new inflammations are appearing and that the skin is calm. We look at that at the measurement, and sometimes the answer is that we look again in a few months.
Can pits disappear completely?
No. What we can do is make them shallower and less visible, over a series of several sessions. We do not promise smooth skin, because we cannot know that before the measurement and usually not after it either.
Book a consultation at Diba Clinics
At the skin consultation we establish whether it is scar tissue or colour. Sometimes the outcome is that you need do nothing for six months, and then we say so.
Book a consultationNot sure yet? Ask your question