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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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?
Here she is… the one we’ve all been waiting for!
Lorraine, our incredible Assistant Manager, was the very first patient to have The Quantum Lift.
She’s now approaching 12 weeks after her procedure - the point at which we really start to see the result mature - and she is absolutely over the moon with her new jawline.
It’s been especially exciting watching this result develop because Lorraine was patient number one and I think you’ll agree, she set the bar pretty high.
What do you think of her result?
This is not a facelift.
This patient is just one week after The Quantum Lift, immediately after having her tape removed - you can still see a little residual adhesive on her cheeks.
The Quantum Lift is our new minimally invasive approach to rejuvenating the lower face and neck. We first use precision liposuction to remove excess fat from beneath the chin and around the jowls, sculpting a cleaner jawline. We then use QuantumRF beneath the skin to contract and tighten the tissues of the lower face and neck.
What has impressed me most about QuantumRF is the degree of tissue contraction we can achieve. You can actually see the tissues tightening during the procedure itself, but that`s only the beginning. Most patients are through the main recovery within a week or two, while tightening and collagen remodelling continue for 3–6 months afterwards.
So, at only one week, this is still a very early result but she`s already delighted with the improvement.
No facelift. One week post-treatment. And plenty more improvement still to come.
What do you think?
Dr Rhona is back!
We’re delighted to share that Dr Rhona Cameron will be returning to clinic at the beginning of September following her maternity leave and her diary is now open for appointments!
We know many of you have been looking forward to seeing Rhona again, and we’re so pleased to welcome her back!
If you’d like to book an appointment with Dr Rhona, you can do so via our website or app, or contact the team on 0141 370 0509.
We’ve shown you lots of side profiles from the Quantum Lift, but what does it look like from the front?
This lovely patient is just four weeks after her procedure, and I think the front view really shows how much we can change while still keeping the face looking soft and natural.
As part of her Quantum Lift, we removed unwanted fat from beneath the chin and around the jowls. Rather than simply discarding that fat, we used some of it to restore volume to her chin and jawline, helping to replace some of the volume she had lost over time and bring back a little of the youthful softness to the lower face.
You’ll also notice a small amount of lumpiness beneath the chin. At four weeks, this is very common after liposuction in this area and is part of the healing process. She’s now using firmer massage to help soften this over the coming weeks, and we would expect the result to continue settling and refining.
Most importantly, she’s absolutely over the moon with the change, and we are too!
What do you think of the front view?
Once again, the combination treatment wins the day!
This patient came to us hating her neck and jowls, but she would not consider anything invasive. Treating the neck is always a challenge especially with non-invasive treatments only.
For this patient we first of all reduced the fat under the chin using CoolSculpting, then we did some hyaluronic acid under the mandible to define the jaw and finally we did some Sofwave to tighten the skin.
The patient is over the moon with her results. 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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