Acne Scars vs Acne Marks: Know The Difference!

In order to overcome acne scars and acne marks, it's extremely helpful to know how to differentiate between the two. Most people easily confuse dark spots for acne scars but in reality, these two skin conditions are worlds apart in their appearance and how they came to be.


Acne scars often appear as colorless pits on the skin whereby acne marks shows as dark and flat spots. Acne scars are easily visible when exposed to direct lighting and they are harder to conceal as it's difficult to find something that fills them in. Acne marks, on the other hand,  are flat and can be covered up with a makeup, although it's difficult to find a suitable skin color match for people of light skin tone.

Between the two, acne marks are more noticeable on the skin, because they are simply darker. Acne scars are not similarly obvious unless viewed under dim lighting or when a person suffers of severe scarring. The question now is, which one is worse to have, acne scars? Acne scars, without a single doubt!

The pitted orange peal-like texture that acne scars give the skin are, in most cases, permanent. Unfortunately, topical creams and lotions don't do much to treat the scars. Therefore, don't be fooled into believing that such claims are true. Acne scars never go away 100%, but their appearance can be significantly reduced via cosmetic procedures, including laser therapy, dermabrasion and microdermabrasion.  Receiving silicone microdroplet injections also assists in minimizing the appearance of the scars. However, regardless of the medications or procedures that you go for, always keep in mind that the result may vary from one person to another.

While acne scars appear as visible pits, acne marks shows as flat red or brown dots left behind by pimples. They often give the skin a blotchy flat look. Unlike the scars, acne marks disappear on their own, though this process may take a very long time.

The skin of different people have different response to Acnes. Some people are more prone to scarring, while others are more susceptible to hyperpigmentation. Asian skin, for instance, can easily get dark marks, and it takes the tiniest and most short-lived pimple to do so.

Acne Marks: easily noticeable yet less
severe than acne scars.

People forget that they still have to deal with the aftermath of acne even after the skin clears out. It's not like they really have a choice. Nevertheless, the chances of getting some can be minimized by avoiding bad habits such as popping any pimples. Remember, even if you are really careful about this, your skin may still scar and there's not much you can do about it. Whether you will get acne scars or acne marks just depends on your skin. Even though there are no guarantees for never getting a scar from a pimple, you can reduce the chances of that happening by not picking at spots and learning how to treat acne the correct way.


If you have more questions about acne scar and their treatments, you can always Ask Dr. Jeswender, a long-time plastic surgeon and a pioneer of the aesthetic industry in Malaysia.