WHAT ARE PITTED SCARS? CAUSES, SIGNS AND CLASSIFICATION

Classification of pitted scars on the face by degree

The condition of pitted scars is classified into 3 different levels.

• Mild: Mild pitted scar is a condition that only when others come in close contact with them, they realize it or only feel it when they touch it. And on the face there are only a few slight dimples in some areas. This level can be covered with makeup or creams.
• Moderate: The pitted scars appear densely on both cheeks. The skin surface now appears clearly visible indentations.
• Severe: Pimples almost take over your face such as: cheeks, forehead, chin, .. with pitted scars deep down to the skin surface. Typically for severe pitted scars, you have a sharp or mixed bottom-shaped scar.

Can pitted scars fill up on their own?

Pitted scars cannot fill up on their own. Pitted scars are the healing process after the skin has been damaged. They form a partial scar to shield the skin from bacteria and other harmful agents. This is considered a permanent form of damage because the broken fibroblasts cannot produce any more collagen.

Pitted scars for a long time, the broken links are not as active as the original, become calloused and difficult to treat.

Can pitted scars be treated?

Have! With modern medicine today, treating pitted scars is not too difficult. However, the effectiveness of treatment depends on the condition of the pitted scar. In addition, patients need to go to reputable pit scar treatment facilities, examine and properly identify the condition, choose the appropriate method, post-treatment care, ..

Aged pitted scars when treated will take more time and are more difficult to achieve than new scars.

How do pitted scars affect life?

People with pitted scars lose confidence in public and become less attractive to the opposite sex. Pitted scars do not cause pain but affect spiritual life. When suffering from pitted scars, patients reduce their chances of finding a job, especially in the field of external appearance.

Diagnosing pitted scars

• Skin examination: the doctor will examine the skin and use LED lights to check the skin condition and classify the skin.
• Dermatoscopy: the skin examination is painless, takes place quickly, helping the doctor to optimize the diagnosis of skin conditions, the doctor will know the elasticity, structure, and type of skin deep inside to the dermis.

After examining and examining the skin, the doctor will diagnose the condition of pitted scars with 4 levels: macular, mild, moderate and severe.

• The macula is a red but flat scar.
• Light level: makeup can cover pitted scars.
• Moderate level: clearly visible at close range, makeup does not cover.
• Severe degree: when standing at a distance of 50cm, pitted scars are still clearly visible.

How to treat pitted scars

Currently, there are many different ways to treat pitted scars , including popular methods such as:

1. Natural ingredients

The ingredients gotu kola, aloe vera, fresh turmeric, green tea powder... collagen production and anti-oxidant.

With the above ingredients, just grind and apply gently on the scar, leave for about 15-20 minutes and rinse with water. If using fresh turmeric or green tea powder, you need to add honey, or squeeze a little lemon juice when using aloe vera.

The natural way to treat pitted scars is easy to do, you need to apply it for a long time to see the effect. However, this method is not effective in cases of severe pitted scars.

2. Chemical peels

Chemical peels (peel or biological peels) are based on the use of organic acids such as alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) or beta hydroxy acid (BHA) or trichloroacetic acid (TCA). epidermis, promote renewal, skin regeneration. The method of skin peels can overcome many skin problems such as: acne, pitted scars, dark spots, large pores ... at a much lower cost than other high-tech treatments such as: super abrasive, laser phototherm…

3. Create fake damage

Create fake lesions with 2 main methods: needle roller , microneedle.

Microneedling uses small needles to roll over the surface, causing small lesions to stimulate collagen production to improve skin conditions such as: melasma, scars, baldness, wrinkles.

Microneedle uses micro needles to act on the skin epidermis to replace the old layer of cells. Then, nutrients extracted from seaweed, fermented plants ... are injected deep inside the skin to nourish and regenerate the skin.

Microneedling is mainly in the epidermis layer of the skin, causing no pain, suitable for skin with mild or moderate pitted scars. Needle rolling causes more pain because the intervention is deeper than micro-needle, bringing a noticeable effect after each treatment.

4. Skin grinding

Doctors use a hand-held device called a dermabrasion, which creates friction to remove the outer layers of skin. This method is painless because it only affects the surface of the skin and one time it takes about 30-40 minutes.

There are 3 common types of microdermabrasion: hydraulic dermabrasion, which microdermabrasion with diamond crystals, and crystal dermabrasion. Because it only works on the surface, microdermabrasion needs you to persevere many times to bring the expected results.

5. Filler injection

Filler injection is chosen by many people with quick results after implementation. This method introduces fillers into the dermis or dermis at the site of pitted scars with the aim of raising the skin surface, supporting subcutaneous tissue and filling pitted scars. Fillers are usually liquid or gel, usually collagen, autologous fat similar to natural substances in the body.

Depending on the location, filler injections keep for 4-6 months, then dissolve and the skin returns to the state before the filler was injected. In addition, this method can have dangerous complications if the filler is of unknown origin, of poor quality or injected in the wrong way, causing the scar structure to change.

6. Laser Reconstruction

There are two types of laser skin resurfacing: fractional CO2 laser and non-invasive. Depending on the condition of the pitted scar or the nature of your skin, the dermatologist - esthetician determines which laser method is suitable.

Fractional CO2 laser therapy helps stimulate cell regeneration below the scar. Using laser light shines on pitted scars, burns the outermost layer of the scarred skin and stimulates new cell growth. After a while, the pitting is slightly reduced.

Ablative laser is a form of treatment that removes pitted skin with lasers. This invasive laser resurfacing takes weeks of care and recovery but results last for years, with no additional treatments required. However, this therapy has some risks such as changes in skin color, redness and swelling. In some cases, this method makes acne or scarring worse.

Notes to know after treating pitted scars

After the treatment of pitted scars, the skin becomes thin and sensitive. At that time, the skin has a number of other manifestations after treatment such as: red skin, self-sloughing skin and exposing young skin. This makes the patient afraid to care for fear of further harm, but the reactions will disappear if you know the right care. Some notes when treating pitted scars are as follows:

1. Follow the doctor's prescription

Dermatologist's advice – cosmetic skin care is very important after treating pitted scars. Patients should remember what the doctor tells them and take the full dose if prescribed, to avoid dangerous complications.

2. Proper skin care

•  After 1-3 days of treatment, you should use cotton pads or gauze to avoid infection.
• From 3 to 7 days, you can wash your face, but do not scrub or rub vigorously to damage the skin.
• After 7 days, use a gentle cleanser.

Later, when the skin is perfected, you should use moisturizing products and use sunscreen when going out.

3. Avoid sun exposure

During the first week of treatment for pitted scars, you should limit going out and do not use sunscreen because at this time the skin is still thin and vulnerable. If you must go out, you should use sunscreen pills and a thick mask to help protect your skin. After 7 days, use sunscreen regularly even indoors.

Measures to prevent pitted scars

In order to not have a headache, lose confidence or waste time and money treating pitted scars , you need to create a skin care routine such as: 

1. Proper skin care when acne

When you have acne, you should not squeeze it with your hands, or intentionally remove the acne core, which can easily lead to infection. You need to remove makeup, wash your face thoroughly and use a stick to squeeze acne or wash your hands to get the acne feet under the skin. After squeezing acne, apply moisturizer to the skin. This way helps the skin have a certain moisture and reduces the risk of inflammation with the acne marks just removed.

2. Use sunscreen

Sunscreen should be used when going out to prevent dirt from sticking to the skin and harmful rays to the skin. If you don't go out and sit in a light location, you should still use sunscreen, because here the ultraviolet rays can still reach the skin.

3. Exfoliate

To treat existing acne and prevent further breakouts, it is important to keep pores open and support skin cell regeneration. Choose gentle exfoliators that contain ingredients: cleansers that contain AHAs (like glycolic acid), BHAs (like salicylic acid), and retinol are all helpful.

4. Take prescription medication

If your acne doesn't improve after a few months of acne treatment, see your doctor to adjust or review your prescription.

Treat pitted scars should eat, what to abstain?

During the treatment of pitted scars, eat carefully. In addition to paying attention to foods that provide nutrition to the skin, speeding up the recovery process should avoid some foods that can slow healing or cause allergic reactions such as spicy, greasy foods. …

1. Foods to eat

Diet and rest greatly affect the results of treatment. Foods that help increase wound healing such as: meat, fish, eggs, milk, broccoli, avocado, kiwi, .. In addition, foods rich in vitamins A, B, and E are often found in sweet potatoes. , lettuce, papaya, active seeds, ... help increase collagen. And drink enough 2 liters of water every day, a good measure to hydrate the skin.

2. Foods to Avoid

Foods made from glutinous rice such as banh chung, sticky rice, banh tet, etc. should be limited. Because they have the ability to cause inflammation and scarring. Although green vegetables have many vitamins that are good for health, water spinach, spinach, and amaranth make scarring more serious. And seafood with hard shells such as shrimp, crabs, crabs, snails, etc. are also not eaten. These types of seafood make scars wider, difficult to heal.

Specialist in Dermatology - Aesthetic Skin of Tam Anh General Hospital with leading doctors with long experience in the profession, helps to accurately diagnose pitted scars. With modern machinery and equipment, we offer the most effective treatment for pitted scars. Pitted scars appear indentations on the surface of the skin, making the skin prone to premature aging. There are many methods to treat pitted scars to help restore and regenerate the skin, making the skin stretchy and smooth. Patients should choose a reputable clinic and hospital with specialists in dermatology - skin cosmetology to examine, consult, and give a treatment plan's