916SKIN - Acne Treatment Clinic website.
Yes, picking can cause acne scars. Picking at your zits creates inflammation, which can cause the skin to darken in the area where you have picked, leaving a brown or a red mark - also known as post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH). Most acne sufferers that have PIH, refer to this as acne scarring, but true acne scars develop from an explosion of bacteria that contaminates the deeper tissues. The deeper layer of skin known as the epidermis is supposed to be neat and tidy. That means, no bacteria wandering around messing the place up. When you push and poke at a pimple, the bottom of the the follicle can break, spilling all of its bacteria into the dermis. Very messy. The clean up crew, which are your white blood cells, have to push all the other tissue structures out of the way in order to clean up the mess. This is what causes the scarring. Box scars, pick scars, rolling scars... basically scars that have an indentation. When you have the urge to pick at your pimples - go grab an ice cube instead. Ice will help reduce the inflammation and alleviate the pain.
To schedule a consultation with an Acne Specialist
please call the clinic at (530) 680.2027
