When you're battling chronic acne, your first concern may be to
banish those unsightly blemishes that are detracting from your
appearance and having a negative impact on your self-esteem.
Once you succeed in clearing up your complexion, you may be
disheartened to see that traces of your acne breakouts linger on
your face in the form of acne marks. Approximately 95 percent of
all people with chronic acne experience some degree of acne
marking after their blemishes are healed. For those with fair
skin, acne marks may range in color from pink to purple and may
occur in only a small area or be widespread across the face.
Darker skinned individuals may notice brown or even black spots
in the areas where acne was once prominent on their complexions.
Acne marks stem from a phenomenon called post inflammatory
hyperpigmentation or PIH. Breakouts of acne are caused by
infections located within the pores. Your immune system's
natural response to the presence of bacterial infections is to
increase blood flow to the affec