Hydroxy acids, like salicylic acid and glycolic acid, are extensively used as exfoliating agents and for skin peels. They eliminate devitalized skin cells and also loosen and slowly minimize or dissolve skin lesions like stretch marks, skin tags, keloid scars, acne scars, moles, age spots, surgical scars, burn scars, and sun damage marks.

The secret of hydroxy acid's effects is that your healthy, flawless skin has an elevated resistance to such acids. In contrast, most skin injuries have a diminished structural integrity and are more easily broken down by the acids. The continued use of such acids over periods of a month or longer slowly reduces and even eliminates most skin lesions. This is essentially a modification of normal skin peel techniques where a very strong hydroxy acid (or other peeling agents like TCA or phenol) are applied as skin peels. Such methods work very well under ideal circumstances. However, hydroxy acids can be very irritating if the subsequent regenerative reaction of the skin is inadequate to fully heal the acid-treated skin. If there is too little skin rejuvenating, then the peeling agent can cause further scarring or inflammation.

Skin Abrasion Also Accelerates Scar Reduction

Procedures that mildly abrade skin like microdermabrasion and subcision (needling) also are useful in speeding scar elimination in concert with Hydroxy Acids. Some old scars are very hard and tough and physical breakdown allows the hydroxy acids to start dissolving the scars. For raised or flat scars, microdermabrasion works well. For depressed scars, like pitted acne scars, subcision with needles is usually performed by estheticians to break up the deeply buried scar tissue.

Reduce Scars with Skin Remodeling

The elimination or reduction of scars, blemishes, and stretch marks from the skin depends on a mechanism known as "skin remodeling". The skin is designed to cure wounds quickly to prevent blood loss and infection. Scars are manufactured from a quickly formed "collagen glue" that the body gathers into an injured area for protection and strength. In ideal skin healing, the damaged skin is quickly closed, then the healed area is slowly reconstructed to eliminate the residual collagen scars and blend the skin area into nearby skin. Scar collagen is eliminated and replaced with a combination of skin cells and fine collagen fibers. This skin remodeling can continue in a skin area for 10 years. In children the remodeling rate is elevated and scars are often rapidly eliminated from damaged skin areas. But as we reach adulthood, this rate diminishes and small scars can remain for years. One way to speed up remodeling is to produce a small amount of controlled skin damage with a needle, laser, or other means, and then let the body's repair mechanisms rebuild the skin area. A second method is to use skin healing accelerators that elevate the body's biological healing mechanisms to obtain an even better final result.