McKeown Medical
167 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4SQ
Can You Get Rid of Acne Scars? Your Questions Answered
Published by Dr Rhona Cameron
Date posted — 7.05.25
If you’ve struggled with acne, you’re likely all too familiar with the scars it can leave behind. Acne scarring can be an extremely distressing condition to deal with, particularly since it serves as a constant reminder of the emotional trauma at the time of the original acne. While there are plenty of at-home treatments promising results, the truth is, many of these solutions aren’t effective in significantly improving scars. There are effective treatments available in clinics that can significantly improve the appearance of your scars, especially laser treatments, although no treatment is able to get rid of scars completely.
What are acne scars?
Acne scars occur when acne lesions inflame the skin deeply enough to damage the tissue beneath it. When your body tries to heal these damaged areas, it does so by creating scar tissue. Acne scars can look different depending on their type:
- Atrophic scars: These are scars that are indented in areas where tissue has been permanently lost. There are three main types of atrophic scars: ice pick, which look like a small slit in the skin, similar to what you might imagine an ice pick might make; rolling scars, which are depressed areas of the skin; and boxcar scars which are said to look more ‘punched out’. The thing that all of these scar types have in common is that they are the result of tissue loss.
- Hypertrophic scars: These are raised scars that are caused by too much collagen production during healing. They look more like raised bumps on the skin and are often associated with red or brown marks on the skin, which are the result of longer-term inflammation.
Understanding your acne scars can help you choose the right treatment.
Can acne scars be removed permanently?
While completely removing acne scars might not be achievable, significant improvement is possible, especially when combination treatments are employed. Acne scars are famously stubborn, and results can vary greatly from person to person depending on scar severity. However, advanced combination treatments can reduce the appearance of acne scars, enhancing your skin’s texture and boosting your confidence.
What are my treatment options?
Acne scarring treatments fall into several categories:
At-home treatments
- Topical creams and gels
- Microneedling devices
Dermatological treatments
- Chemical peels
- Steroid injections (particularly effective for hypertrophic scars)
- Botox (used occasionally to reduce the appearance of scars by relaxing surrounding skin, especially on the forehead or around the eyes)
- Filler injections – this is especially effective for atrophic scars, where loss of fat below the scar makes the lesion look deeper and more noticeable.
Surgical treatments
- Minor surgical techniques, such as punch excision. This is especially helpful for ice pick scars.
Laser treatments for acne scarring
Laser treatments are particularly effective and are generally considered the most effective treatment. At McKeown Medical, we specialise in several advanced laser treatments:
- Full Laser Resurfacing: Ideal for deeply scarred skin, this intensive treatment significantly improves texture by removing the outer layers of skin and stimulating collagen production during the healing process.
- ProFractional Laser Treatment: Targets specific areas with precision, allowing for faster healing despite going very deep within the skin.
- HALO Laser Treatment: Combines both ablative and non-ablative technology to deliver impressive improvement in scars associated with poor skin texture. This treatment has the benefit of less downtime.
- BBL® Treatment: Intense pulsed light therapy that gently addresses redness and pigmentation issues often associated with acne scars. We normally use this as an adjunct to other types of lasers when treating acne scars.
Each treatment has its own indications, and at McKeown Medical, we’ll help identify the best approach tailored to your skin and your particular pattern of scarring.
Getting the results you want at McKeown Medical
While acne scars can be tough, achieving clearer, smoother skin is entirely possible. McKeown Medical has proven results in reducing acne scarring, helping many patients regain their confidence. Our expert team will work closely with you to achieve the best possible outcomes through advanced laser treatments.
At McKeown Medical, we can help you achieve the results you desire with our range of laser treatments. Check out our gallery to see patient results.
Book a consultation to discuss the options that would be right for you.
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...Another beautiful deep plane face and neck lift result from @bramhallplasticsurgery . For patients who want the best possible improvement the deep plane remains the gold standard!
Ok. So this is a younger patient in her late 30s and a lot of people might reasonably say "She`s gorgeous, what does she need anything done for?"
And I agree. But she had a little bit of excess fatty tissue around her jawline and neck which really bothered her, especially when she moved her neck. She wanted her jawline to look a bit slimmer and more defined and so we did a Quantum Lift for her.
This is her just 24 hours later. Her bruising and swelling is not too bad at all, mainly because she didn`t have a huge amount done - although she still has a lot of healing to go over the next few months.
She is already loving the result however! What do you think?
Arm lift is rapidly becoming one of our most popular procedures in the clinic. For more minor cases we can often achieve enough tightening simply with some liposuction and Quantum RF.
When patients have more skin excess, however, and want the tightest result possible you cannot beat a traditional brachioplasty, which is what this patient had with the very talented Dr Kavita. The patient is delighted with the result.
What do you think?
This is a little sneak peek of our upcoming podcast between Dr Darren (@drdarrenmckeown) and our new body contouring expert, Dr George Christopolous (@gchristopoulos). The full video will be going live later this week.
On a scale of 1-10, how excited are we for George to start his body contouring in Scotland?
Thank you to this lovely 67 year old patient who has allowed us to share the early results of her deep plane face and neck lift.
She’s just three weeks post her procedure which she had under local anaesthetic and sedation with the ever-talented @bramhallplasticsurgery here in the clinic, and while she’s still a little swollen around the jawline (where swelling tends to hang around the longest), we think she’s looking absolutely fabulous already.
The patient is delighted. What do you think?
I’m super excited to welcome Dr George Christopoulos to the dream team at McKeown Medical.
George is a plastic surgeon with a particular interest in body contouring: liposuction, tummy tucks, arm lifts and thigh lifts.
What I really love about George’s work is his approach to liposuction. It’s not about simply emptying out as much fat as possible. He approaches the body almost like a sculptor, thinking about shape, proportion, contours, highlights and shadows. It’s those details that can elevate a fairly standard liposuction result into something really special.
You can check out some of his work on his own page @gchristopoulos
I’ve also filmed a podcast with George where we get into all things body contouring — what makes a great liposuction result, loose skin, tummy tucks, lipoedema, technology and quite a lot more. I’ll be posting that over the next couple of days.
In the meantime, if you want to meet the man himself, George’s diary is now open for consultations at McKeown Medical.
What does filler look like? This!
So many people are terrified of fillers. When it’s done well, this is what it looks like. Everything looks softer. The bags under the eyes look less obvious. But nothing looks different.
The patient is delighted. What do you think?
IS THE QUANTUM LIFT A CUT-PRICE FACELIFT?
No, and here’s why.
A deep plane facelift goes deeper into the face, removing deep fat, muscle and salivary glands which is how you get those sharp neck contours. The Quantum Lift works more superficially, tightening skin and reshaping jowls in 90 minutes under local anaesthetic, but it can’t reach those deeper structures.
I believe in the Quantum Lift. I just won’t pretend it suits everyone.
Good aesthetic medicine means the right procedure for the right patient, not one treatment doing it all.
#QuantumLift #FaceliftAlternative #NonSurgicalFacelift #SkinTightening #AestheticMedicine MedicalAesthetics GlasgowAesthetics GlasgowClinic
Some more Quantum Lift magic!
This patient is just 24 hours after her Quantum lift with fat redistribution. As part of the procedure we sometimes take some of excess fat that’s been removed from the neck and jowls and replace it along the chin and jaw to create more definition.
Although she’s still bruised and swollen, I think we can all already see where this result is heading.
The patient is delighted! What do you think?
Join us on Instagram to keep up with the latest results and expert insights from the clinic team.
Our dedicated team of experts are on hand to help you as you navigate your journey with us.
When you first make contact with us you will be assigned your own personal Patient Relationship Manager. They’ll start by understanding your needs and liaising with our doctors to book you an appointment with the most suitable specialist. For any additional questions or needs, you can message or call them anytime and they’ll be delighted to assist you. Our entire team is dedicated to providing you with the best possible treatment and care tailored to your needs.
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