To treat acne scars, first up you need to know what type of scar you are treating so you can make sure you are treating it right. Did you know that there are 3 types of acne scars? There is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, caused by too much melanin during the healing phase of acne and this looks like pigmented spots on the skin - brown, red or even purple. Second, there are hypertrophic scars that are caused when too much collagen is produced during healing. These look like elevated scars (like keloid scarring) and are more severe in nature. Unlike the post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and hypertrophic scars (both created when the body creates too much of something), the third type of scarring is atrophic scars when the body does *not* produce enough collagen when healing the acne (and this usually comes from deep cystic pimples that come from the deepest layers of the skin). This can look like flat depressions in the skin and be either square in shape (known as boxcar scars), rolling and wave-like (known as rolling scars) or ice pick scars that look like the skin has been pierced in deep, small and narrow holes.

As if living and suffering from acne isn't hard enough, acne scars are notoriously difficult to get rid of. Sometimes they fade over time but those which are indentations in the skin are resistant to time being a healer.

There are proven ingredients that can help to reduce acne scars though and there are also a ton of products in the Agent range that can really help with this. First up, I'm going to run you through some of the leading ingredients that can reduce acne scars and then I'm going to give you my product selection for your post-acne healing journey.

First, Vitamin C - this is a potent antioxidant that helps to reduce redness, swelling and heal the appearance of acne scars. This is thanks to its ability to accelerate collagen production and help rebuild the skin’s matrix and structure. Vitamin C works particularly well for atrophic scars but also is great at reducing hyperpigmentation, dark spots and sun damage too. My product recommendations:

• holi (c) is vitamin C in its most stable, potent state. Our unique dry powder formula won’t oxidize, ensuring that you receive all of its regenerative benefits. Blend with our holi (water) to improve the texture of acne-prone skin.
• holi (oil) - rosehip oil is great for healing acne scars because it is abundant in essential fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamins A and C. Our face oil has been formulated to help with reducing the appearance of scarring and stretch marks.
• holi (water) - our pearl and rose hyaluronic essence which has a main ingredient as pitaya which is high in Vitamin C. 

Second, lactic acid - I absolutely love lactic acid. It is my favorite acid and it is a gentle exfoliant that dissolves dead skin cells. It is a type of AHA that can act as a gentle peel to pull away dead skin cells which in turn may help reduce the appearance of scars and smooth the skin. A recent review conducted a small study on icepick scars and the impact that lactic acid had on them, The study concluded that there was an improvement of “over 75% in one person, 51–75% in three people, 26–50% in two people, and 1–25% in one person”. Lactic acid may also help lighten dark scar tissue. My product recommendations:

• acid (wash) - our skin brightening, scar healing oil based cleanser.
• holi (bright) - lactic is also found in our resurfacing glass face mask and is also supplemented with aloe vera and beetroot - both amazing and high in Vitamin A that acts like a natural retinol.

Other ingredients like aloe, helichrysum, collagen and Vitamin A are also really important in the fight against acne scars because they have scar healing properties. Studies have shown that topical application of aloe vera can help with wound healing and aloe is found in acid (wash) and holi (bright) too. As well as having a high Vitamin C content, holi (oil) also has both rosehip oil and helichrysum extract meaning this has multiple ingredients that can help with the process of healing scars.

Alongside smart product choices, there are some skin treatments that really help. Microneedling with PRP is one of them. It’s the process of inserting tiny needles into the skin around the scar and on and into the skin to stimulate the body to make more collagen and to promote healing by smoothing out the skin. This is combined with injecting platelet rich plasma into your face to promote healing of damaged skin. I also love Morpheus8 treatments too. Morpheus8 is often called the new weapon against acne scars. It's a skin tightening and resurfacing treatment that combines microneedling with radiofrequency energy which means it can penetrate the skin up to 4-5mm. This goes deeper than microneedling. It also destroys acne bacteria and, over time, oil glands too which can help the root cause of your acne problem. I really swear by these treatments. Talk with a dermatologist to work out which might work best for you.

Love Jena

***THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN APPROVED OR REGULATED BY THE FDA. WE ARE NOT DOCTORS, THEREFORE ALWAYS CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR FIRST.