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Chemical Peel
Chemical Peel for Acne Scars
Chemical peels work well for the discoloration acne can leave behind, but they have real limits for actual scarring. Peels like salicylic acid or TCA remove the outer layers of skin, which helps fade post-inflammatory redness or brown marks and can smooth mild surface texture. What they don't do well is fix true indented scarring, boxcar, rolling, or icepick types, because those involve tethering or tissue loss below the skin's surface that a peel can't reach. For that kind of scarring, microneedling, laser resurfacing, subcision, or filler are usually more effective, often combined with peels rather than instead of them.
After a peel, expect redness, tightness, and skin sloughing for a few days depending on depth. A good pre- and post-peel skincare routine improves results, and not every peel suits every skin type, darker skin tones need extra caution to avoid pigment changes. A board-certified plastic surgeon or dermatologist can look at your scarring pattern and build the right combination for your goals.
Clinical Context
Not all acne marks are the same: red or brown discoloration usually fades on its own over time, while textural scarring (indentations) doesn't improve without treatment. Within textural scarring, rolling scars have soft, sloping edges while boxcar scars have sharper, more defined borders, which is one reason your surgeon may recommend different tools (like subcision versus resurfacing) depending on which type you have, rather than one peel doing it all.
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