So I've had acne for the past 4 years I would say and I'm 17.
First off, I've gone to a dermatologists and have been given tretinoin and benzoyl peroxide for the past 4 years. These things are supposed to be making my skin better, but in reality, my skin has gotten significantly worse throughout the years. I started out with only acne on my cheeks and a few on the sides of my face. Now, I rarely get acne on my cheeks and the scars faded somewhat, but the sides of my face is completely scarred and red. My forehead and beard-area is starting to get scars aswell and I'm trying to prevent it from getting worse.
The thing is, I have no idea how I keep getting scars. I don't pick on the scars and never pop my pimples. I just apply the cream and thats it. The creams make the acne not pop out but it somehow stays red and gets scarred.
Can someone help me out here and give me tips on how to prevent it further because right now, it looks like I might have to just get laser treatment, even though I heard it keeps your slightly pink and not the same skin color as the rest of your body (I'm white, if that matters).
Benzoyl peroxide. That's what I would tear out of my skin care regime. Please consider doing the same! Four years is way, way, way too long to be using it. It might help with the active acne (and many people swear by it) but there are studies and cases of people finding that it impedes the healing process and actually helps to create scarring. I can't speak for everyone, naturally, but personally I believe this to be true.
I used a lot of benzoyl peroxide while I was trying to clear my acne too. Turns out that it helped in the short term but not the long term. Benxoyl peroxide does not get to the source of your acne breakouts but instead treats the acne once it has already developed on your skin, making the acne spot dry out and clear up faster. I truly believe that benzoyl peroxide contributed to my scarring as at the time I noticed that my skin would take ages to heal while using the product. Also, once I stopped using benzoyl peroxide my acne came back with a vengeance!
What really helps, and what is a million times better for your skin is Salicylic acid, Glycolic acid, and Retin-A! I strongly encourage you to look all three products up and then consider ditching the benzoyl peroxide for good. If you're not sure where to start I can give you some tips but please give it some thought!
Nowadays I personally view benzoyl peroxide as my enemy. I will never, ever use it again!
At this point in the game I would try to focus on getting the redness out of your skin and then waiting until your skin is more balanced before attempting to treat your scarring. You may find your scarring will improve in time after you change your skin care regime. If after a few months of your skin being clear and awesome, your scarring is still there, you can look at scar reduction options once you know what you're dealing with.
xx
Honestly I was in the same boat as you.. the ONLY thing that worked for me was applying Solar Sense Zinc based sunscreen daily.. it may not work for everyone but its worth a try.. I was consistently breaking out prior to using the zinc based sunscreen daily and scarring with each pimple. I haven't had a pimple in a year now and the one pimple I got recently (due to me eating cashews which I found out causes me to breakout recently) didn't even scar like it would have a year ago.. Every time I did feel a pimple coming on I would dab some sunscreen on the pimple and leave it overnight, it would miraculously be gone the next day. Like I said it may not work for everyone but its an inexpensive method to try.