How to Treat Acne and Acne Scars | Beauty Rehab Dillon CO
How to Treat Acne and Acne Scars
Acne and Acne Scars
Why You Have Acne (and Why Scars Form)
Oil Production Changes
Hormones, stress, and the skin’s natural rhythms can cause oil glands to go into overdrive. Excess oil becomes the perfect environment for clogged pores and inflammation.Slower Cell Turnover
When dead skin cells shed too slowly, they build up inside the pores. This traps oil, bacteria, and debris, which creates swollen, painful blemishes.Inflammation
Inflamed acne (like cystic acne) runs deeper in the skin. These lesions stretch and damage tissue beneath the surface, making scars more likely.
Pigment Response
After a breakout heals, the skin sometimes overproduces pigment in the area. This leads to long-lasting brown or purplish marks known as acne hyperpigmentation.Scar Formation
When inflammation damages collagen, the skin repairs itself unevenly. This creates visible acne scars like icepick, boxcar, rolling, or tethered scars.
Medical-Grade Skincare
What It Is
A curated acne-focused routine using patented ZO® formulas that regulate oil, improve turnover, and support your skin barrier.How it Helps
Skincare is the foundation of all acne treatment. Medical-grade formulas increase cell turnover, reduce excess oil, and keep pores clear so breakouts are less likely to form in the first place.
Unlike a mix of drugstore or “clean beauty” products, a medically guided routine uses ingredients that are actually strong enough to interrupt the acne cycle. Each product is chosen to work with your unique skin, so your barrier stays protected, inflammation stays down, and every in-clinic skin treatment you get heals faster and delivers better results.Explore Skincare- Reducing Acne Breakouts
- Cystic Acne
- Hormonal Acne
Microneedling
What It Is
SkinPen microneedling creates precise micro-injuries in the upper layers of the skin to trigger acne scar repair.How it Helps
Microneedling targets the surface-level signs of past breakouts, like bumpy areas and rolling or shallow boxcar scars. It breaks up old collagen strands and tells your skin to rebuild fresh collagen right where the scars are, softening shallow boxcar scars and smoothing away the bumpy “orange peel” texture that often forms after years of breakouts.Explore Microneedling-
Shallow Acne Scars
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Bumpy Skin Texture
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CO2 Laser Resurfacing
What It Is
A deeper-reaching resurfacing treatment that removes damaged skin cells and stimulates collagen in the layers where acne scars form.How it Helps
CO2 laser resurfacing reaches deeper into the dermis: the skin layer where cystic acne does the most damage. It smooths deep boxcar scars and reduces long-standing dark marks by speeding up skin cell turnover.
CO2 also helps regulate oil production, making it useful for clients with ongoing breakouts as well as scarring.Explore Laser Resurfacing-
Medium-Deep Acne Scars
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Oily Skin
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Chemical Peel for Acne Scars
What It Is
The ZO® 3-Step Chemical Peel is a professional-strength peel using TCA, salicylic acid, lactic acid, and retinol to exfoliate the damaged top layer of the skin and accelerate cell turnover.How it Helps
Chemical peels actively treat acne and improve the most visible parts of acne recovery: the lingering dark marks, uneven skin tone, and clogged pores. This peel loosens the buildup in pores, reduces blackheads, dissolves post-acne pigment, and speeds up how quickly your skin replaces damaged cells, making healthier skin cells more visible.
It also helps to refresh the top layers of the skin so deeper treatments can work more smoothly, and gives your daily skincare a boost in preventing future breakouts.Explore Chemical Peels-
Brown Post-Acne Marks
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Hyperpigmentation
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Large Pores
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Biostimulators (like Sculptra)
What It Is
A collagen-stimulating injectable, placed strategically into acne scars to rebuild healthy tissue where the skin has been damaged.How it Helps
Some acne scars sit “stuck down” because they’re tethered to deeper tissue.Sculptra allows us to “break up” and release that old scar tissue, then rebuild collagen inside the indentation so the skin rises and blends more evenly with the surrounding area. This approach helps improve the toughest acne scars (like icepick, tethered, and deeper boxcar scars) that are typically resistant to surface treatments.Explore Biostimulators-
Severe Acne Scars
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Deep Acne Scars
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Cystic Acne Scars
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Best Treatments for Acne and Acne Scars
If you feel like you’ve tried everything, you’re not alone.
Acne is a chronic, multi-layered condition, which is why one-off treatments or trendy products rarely make a dent. What actually works is a strategic, layered treatment plan that strengthens the skin, clears active acne, and repairs the damage left behind.
The Acne Repair Package
The Acne Repair Package combines six proven treatments that work at different layers of the skin to stop breakouts, repair damage, and smooth scars that have lingered for years.
This package includes:
3 SkinPen microneedling treatments to smooth bumpy texture and soften shallow scars
1 CO₂ laser resurfacing to remodel deeper acne scars and calm oil production
1 Sculptra session to rebuild healthy tissue inside deeper, tethered scars so they lift
1 ZO® 3-Step Chemical Peel to clear pores and fade dark post-acne marks
ZO® Complex Kit, Exfoliation Accelerator & LED Blue Light to reduce active acne and create a healthier baseline for skin renewal
Why don’t facials and over-the-counter skin products work to clear my acne?
Most OTC products aren’t strong enough to regulate oil, reduce inflammation, or speed up cell turnover in a meaningful way. Acne facials can calm breakouts but won’t interrupt chronic acne cycles the way long-term, consistent skincare will. Medical-grade skincare and in-clinic treatments work together to treat the underlying causes of acne so you can finally live acne-free.
Do cystic or hormonal acne need different treatment plans?
Often, yes: but not in the way most people think. Hormonal and cystic breakouts stem from hormonal changes within the body, but your skin’s resilience determines how severely those breakouts show up on the surface. When your skin is healthy, balanced, and turning over properly, it can handle hormonal fluctuations with fewer cysts, less inflammation, and far less scarring.
That said, if your acne is driven by significant hormonal changes, we can guide you and connect you with dermatology or hormone specialists when needed. Our goal is to strengthen your skin while also helping you address the root cause.
What’s the difference between treating active acne and acne scars?
Acne treatment focuses on stopping breakouts by regulating oil, reducing inflammation, and keeping pores clear.
Acne scar treatment focuses on repairing the damage breakouts leave behind.
This is why most clients need both: targeted skincare and chemical peels help prevent new breakouts, while microneedling, CO2 resurfacing, and Sculptra rebuild healthy skin after the acne has healed.
Is CO2 laser or microneedling better for acne scars?
They each treat different types of scars, so the best option depends on what’s happening in your skin.
Microneedling works well for shallow rolling scars and generally bumpy texture because it remodels the upper layers of the skin. CO2 laser resurfacing reaches deeper into the dermis, where cystic acne creates tougher boxcar scars and long-standing dark marks. Most clients get the best results when they combine both, since acne scars rarely live in just one layer of the skin.
Can acne scars ever really go away?
Most acne scars can be dramatically improved, if not removed entirely: but most will not disappear after just one treatment. Scars need repeated stimulation: microneedling for surface changes, CO2 for deeper remodeling, and Sculptra to rebuild tissue inside the scars themselves. With a layered approach, pitted acne scars become softer, shallower, and blend more evenly into the surrounding skin.
What is the best acne scar treatment?
There is no single “best” treatment because acne scars form in multiple layers of the skin. Shallow scars respond well to microneedling, while deeper boxcar or tethered scars often need collagen remodeling from CO2 laser resurfacing or Sculptra. The most effective acne scar treatment plans use a combination of therapies that work together to rebuild healthy tissue at every layer.