Consultations for Deep Acne Scars

Consultations for Deep Acne Scars

Deep acne scars form when prolonged inflammation extends into the deeper layers of the skin and disrupts its normal healing cycle. This process can affect both collagen (the structural protein that provides firmness) and elastin (which contributes to flexibility and resilience).

When these fibres are repaired unevenly, the skin can appear indented, irregular, or uneven in texture.

A Consultation for Deep Acne Scars at Shellharbour Skin is an educational and clinical appointment designed to help you understand:

• how and why scarring develops,
• which biological and environmental factors influence healing, and
• what evidence-based options may be discussed to support your skin’s repair and overall health under medical supervision.

Understanding Deep Acne Scars

Scarring represents the body’s natural effort to restore integrity after inflammation or injury.

When acne extends beyond the surface and damages the deeper dermal layers, the healing process may result in fibrous tissue that looks and feels different from the surrounding skin.

During your consultation, your clinician will help you explore:

• Types of acne scars: including atrophic (depressed), hypertrophic (raised), and tethered scars and what distinguishes each type based on collagen activity.
  
• The healing process: how inflammation, collagen breakdown, and new tissue formation interact during wound repair.

The role of collagen remodelling: why this process can produce smoother or uneven textures depending on the balance between collagen synthesis and degradation.

The influence of skin characteristics: how skin tone, thickness, and oil production affect inflammation and post-inflammatory pigmentation.

Lifestyle and systemic factors: examining how nutrition, hormones, sleep, UV exposure, and stress impact healing and tissue renewal.

Preventive care: understanding how early acne management, anti-inflammatory skincare, and barrier repair can help reduce the risk of new scars forming.

This consultation is designed to increase your knowledge of how scars develop and provide a framework for informed, safe, and realistic decision-making.

Approach Discussions

After your assessment, your clinician may outline educational or management pathways that align with your individual circumstances.

These discussions are evidence-based and focused on understanding options, not on promoting or implying results.

Topics may include:

Observation and review: when the scars are stable or mild, monitoring and home care may be most suitable.

Optimising skin function: advice on skincare, hydration, and sun protection to strengthen the skin barrier and support natural repair.

Professional skin treatments: exploration of approaches that target specific scar structures, such as clinically supervised resurfacing or controlled chemical reconstruction techniques used to stimulate renewal in selected areas.

These approaches are only performed after a full medical assessment and informed consent. Specific agents, concentrations, or proprietary procedures are not advertised publicly under AHPRA and TGA guidelines.

Medically directed options: for complex or tethered scars, your clinician may discuss approaches that act on deeper structures under medical supervision.

Collaborative or referred care: if specialist input (for example, dermatology review) may support your overall treatment plan.

Your clinician will clearly explain the reasoning for any recommendation, outline potential risks, and ensure you have written aftercare information before any decision is made.

The Science of Skin Repair

Collagen remodelling is a gradual process that occurs over months.

Your clinician will explain why deeper scars often require time, consistency, and sometimes multiple consultations to evaluate progress safely. You’ll also learn about cellular repair cycles, barrier function, and factors that influence scar maturation, empowering you to take an active role in your skin’s health between professional visits.

Your Consultation at Shellharbour Skin

During your consultation, your clinician will:

• Review your medical and acne history, including any previous treatments.
• Assess the type, depth, and distribution of scars.
• Identify contributing lifestyle or environmental factors.
• Discuss safe, clinically appropriate approaches for your skin type.
• Provide education about preparation, consent, and aftercare.
• Offer time for questions and clarification.

All consultations are performed within a medically supervised environment to ensure patient safety and clinical suitability.

After-Consultation Considerations

If clinical care is discussed, your clinician will provide:

• Written information about post-consultation care and review schedules.
• Guidance on temporary changes such as mild redness, peeling, or dryness.
• Recommendations for skincare, activity modification, and UV protection.
• Instructions on when to contact the clinic if concerns arise.

You are encouraged to take time to review all information and make informed decisions about any next steps.

Risks and Precautions

All aesthetic and medical procedures carry potential risks.
Temporary effects may include redness, sensitivity, or mild swelling.
Less common effects can include pigment alteration, delayed healing, or infection.
These will be thoroughly discussed before any procedure to ensure informed consent and realistic expectations.

Cost and Planning

Consultation fees vary depending on the assessment.  Any further planning, procedure discussion, or cost outline occurs only after your initial consultation and once clinical suitability has been confirmed. Written cost information is provided prior to any procedure.

Important Information

• Shellharbour Skin provides consultations for education, assessment, and clinical management planning.
• Specific products, concentrations, or prescription-only substances are not promoted or advertised.
• All care is delivered following full medical assessment, informed consent, and under medical supervision.
• Individual results and recovery vary.
• This content is educational and not a substitute for medical advice.

Practitioner Transparency

Consultations and skin treatments at Shellharbour Skin are provided by a multidisciplinary clinical team:

Dermal Clinicians – qualified skin professionals who are not registered under AHPRA but hold tertiary qualifications in dermal science or dermal therapies. They provide skin treatments and consultations within their professional scope and under clinical supervision.

Registered Nurses – AHPRA-registered health practitioners who perform skin and aesthetic treatments within their clinical training and scope of practice.

Medical Practitioners – AHPRA-registered doctors experienced in skin health and aesthetic medicine who oversee and support all clinical services.

All treatments are undertaken within a medically supervised environment, ensuring that each patient pathway is reviewed for clinical suitability, safety, and evidence-based care.

You can verify registration for medical practitioners and nurses at ahpra.gov.au