The best way to prevent or avoid acne flaring up is to clean your face gently, avoid the Sun, and try not to touch your face too often. It’s just simply to avoid germs on your face. If you do get pimples, the good news is, most of them go away.

Once you talk to your doctor, he or she might prescribe medicine to help. There are three possibilities: birth control pills, low-dose corticosteroid drugs, or antiandrogen drugs such as spironolactone. Medications do wonders but there could be side effects such as irregular menstruation, tender breasts, headaches, and fatigue.

Source: NIAMS

A superficial laser may be used to treat irregular scars. Dermabrasion (or microdermabrasion), which is a form of “sanding down” scars, is sometimes used. Another treatment option for deep scars caused by cystic acne is the transfer of fat from another part of the body to the scar. In extreme cases, a doctor may also inject a synthetic filling material under the scar to improve its appearance.

Source: National Institutes of Health

Most pimples are found on the face, neck, back, chest, and shoulders. Acne is not a serious health threat but, it can cause scars.

Source: NIAMS

Early treatment is the best way to prevent acne scars. Once scarring has occurred, the doctor may suggest a medical or surgical procedure to help reduce the scars. A superficial laser may be used to treat irregular scars. Dermabrasion (or microdermabrasion), which is a form of “sanding down” scars, is sometimes used. Another treatment option for deep scars caused by cystic acne is the transfer of fat from another part of the body to the scar. A doctor may also inject a synthetic filling material under the scar to improve its appearance.

Source: National Institutes of Health

The hair, sebum, and keratinocytes that fill the narrow follicle may produce a plug, which is an early sign of acne. The plug prevents sebum from reaching the surface of the skin through a pore. The mixture of oil and cells allows bacteria Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) that normally live on the skin to grow in the plugged follicles. These bacteria produce chemicals and enzymes and attract white blood cells that cause inflammation. (Inflammation is a characteristic reaction of tissues to disease or injury and is marked by four signs: swelling, redness, heat, and pain.) When the wall of the plugged follicle breaks down, it spills everything into the nearby skin – sebum, shed skin cells, and bacteria – leading to lesions or pimples.

People with acne frequently have a variety of lesions, some of which are shown in the diagrams below. The basic acne lesion, called the comedo (KOM-e-do), is simply an enlarged and plugged hair follicle. If the plugged follicle, or comedo, stays beneath the skin, it is called a closed comedo and produces a white bump called a whitehead. A comedo that reaches the surface of the skin and opens up is called an open comedo or blackhead because it looks black on the skin’s surface. This black discoloration is due to changes in sebum as it is exposed to air. It is not due to dirt. Both whiteheads and blackheads may stay in the skin for a long time.

Other troublesome acne lesions can develop, including the following:

• Papules – inflamed lesions that usually appear as small, pink bumps on the skin and can be tender to the touch
• Pustules (pimples) – papules topped by white or yellow pus-filled lesions that may be red at the base
• Nodules – large, painful, solid lesions that are lodged deep within the skin
• Cysts – deep, painful, pus-filled lesions that can cause scarring.