What it is
Acne scarring is what is left when a breakout has healed badly. The inflammation reached the layer of skin where collagen sits, some of that collagen was lost or laid down unevenly, and the surface is left dented, ridged or rough.
It is worth separating from the marks people often call scars. A flat red or brown patch left after a spot is pigmentation: it is a colour change and it fades with time and with the right routine. A dent or a ridge you can feel with your fingertips is scarring, and that needs the skin rebuilt underneath.
Most people arrive with both at once, and with pores that look larger than they used to. Which of the two is doing most of the work on your skin is the first thing we look at, because it decides the plan.
Why it happens
Scarring is not a sign that anyone did anything wrong. It comes down to how deep the inflammation went and how the skin healed afterwards.
- How deep the breakout went: cysts and nodules reach the layer where collagen sits, a surface spot does not
- How long the acne was active before it was brought under control
- Picking and squeezing, which pushes inflammation deeper into the skin
- Genetics, which largely decide how readily your skin scars at all
- Healing with too little collagen, which leaves a dent, or with too much, which leaves a raised scar
What makes it worse
What makes it worse
Picking is the big one, and it is the hardest to stop because it feels like helping. Waiting is the second: pigmentation fades on its own, texture does not, so time alone rarely changes a dent. Strong exfoliating acids piled onto skin that is still inflamed thin the barrier and prolong the breakouts causing the scarring in the first place. And stopping a course halfway is the most common reason people see nothing at all, since collagen is rebuilt across appointments rather than in one.
Morpheus 8 is £500 for 60 minutes and a single microneedling session is £80, and everything we publish is on our full price list.
When to see someone
- Indents or ridges you can feel, rather than marks you can only see
- Scarring that has not changed in six months or more
- Skin that looks worse in side light than it does head on
- Rough texture and enlarged pores alongside the scarring
- Breakouts that are still active, since the acne is settled before the scarring is treated
When something else is the answer
- Flat red or brown marks, which are pigmentation rather than scarring and respond to a different plan
- Acne that is active, widespread or cystic, which needs the acne itself treated first and is a conversation to have with your doctor as well as with us
- Loss of firmness along the jawline and neck rather than texture, where HIFU is the treatment
- Scarring that is deep or tethered, where collagen treatment alone will not lift it and we will tell you so
If a skin treatment is not the right answer for you, we will say so at consultation and suggest what is.
How it is treated at Skinfolk
It starts with a consultation. We look at the scarring in side light, ask how long the acne was active, what you have already tried and what your skin is doing now, and only then is anything booked in.
Morpheus 8 radiofrequency microneedling is the treatment we reach for first, because it carries radiofrequency energy through fine needles into the layer where the collagen was lost, so the skin is rebuilt from underneath rather than resurfaced on top. It is 60 minutes at £500 on our treatment list, and for scarring it is planned as a course.
Microneedling in Droitwich is the lighter version of the same idea at £80 for a single session, and it is the better starting point on shallower texture or on skin that is not ready for Morpheus 8. It is also how an exosome infusion reaches the skin, which is what our ALL-IN treatment pairs with Morpheus 8 and LED light for £520.
Neither is a treatment for active breakouts, so where the acne is still flaring we settle that first. The change itself arrives as new collagen forms over the weeks and months that follow, which is why this is planned with the calendar in mind and why when to come back is agreed with you.
Acne scarring questions
Can acne scarring be removed completely?
Scarring is improved rather than erased. Collagen treatments rebuild the skin underneath a dent so that it sits closer to the level of the skin around it. How much change is possible depends on how deep and how old the scarring is, and we will tell you what we think at consultation rather than afterwards.
What treats acne scarring at Skinfolk?
Morpheus 8 in Droitwich first, because radiofrequency energy delivered through fine needles reaches the layer where the collagen was lost. A microneedling session where the texture is shallower or the skin is not ready for Morpheus 8. Which one suits you is agreed at consultation.
How much does it cost?
Morpheus 8 is £500 for 60 minutes and a single microneedling session is £80. ALL-IN, which is Morpheus 8 with exosomes and LED light, is £520 for 75 minutes. Every price is on our treatment pricing page.
What is the difference between acne scarring and acne marks?
Marks are a colour change: flat red or brown patches left after a spot, which fade with time and with the right routine. Scarring is a change in the structure of the skin: a dent or a ridge you can feel. They look similar in a mirror and they need different treatment, which is why we look at your skin in side light.
How many sessions will I need?
That is agreed at your consultation and not before. Scarring is planned as a course, because collagen is rebuilt across appointments rather than after one.
Can I be treated while my acne is still active?
No. Both treatments work by making controlled injuries in the skin so it rebuilds, and that is not what inflamed skin needs. The acne is settled first, and then the scarring is treated.
Is there any downtime?
The skin is pink and feels warm afterwards and settles over the following days. Neither treatment is one to book in the few days before an event, and we will say so if the timing is tight.
Where is the clinic?
Skinfolk is at The Paddocks, Woodhall Lane, Ombersley, Uphampton, Droitwich WR9 0JR. We welcome clients from Droitwich Spa, Worcester, Bromsgrove and across Worcestershire. Details are on our contact page.
What treats it
Radiofrequency microneedling is the first treatment we reach for on acne scarring, because it is the one that puts radiofrequency energy into the layer where the collagen was lost. A single microneedling session is the lighter version and the better starting point where the texture is shallower.
Exosomes are an enhancement here rather than a treatment on their own, delivered through the needling and priced as an addition on our list. Both treatments sit with the rest of our skin work on the facials page, and taken as a course they form part of our treatment packages.
Book your consultation
Twenty minutes with us in Droitwich and you will know how much of what you are seeing is scarring and how much is pigmentation, which treatment suits your skin, what a course would look like and what it will cost.
Links to Pabau, our treatment booking platform. Or call 07930 517202.
