The body’s natural response to destroy an acne impaction is to send in white blood cells. The problem with that is that quite often, the white blood cells turn on the surrounding tissue within the follicle while trying to destroy the acne impaction. This results in inflammation, and the longer the inflammation goes on, the more damage is done to the skin.
When the inflammation has gone on for quite some time, the body will send in reinforcement cells to replace the initial white blood cells. These new cells are called monocytes and macrophages. Unfortunately for the acne sufferer, this is not good. Not only do these cells start destroying the follicle wall, but they also dissolve the collagen, leaving behind crater and pitted scars.
Sometimes the body goes another route when trying to battle the acne, and keloid scars develop. If the inflammation has gone on so long that even the monocytes and macrophages can’t get a handle on it, the body will send in fibroblasts in an attempt to mend the damaged tissue. These cells produce collagen to mend and wall off the affected tissue, resulting often in a raised, hard, and fibrous lump. And thus a keloid is formed.
Probably the worst kind of acne scarring a person could experience follows when they have been suffering from necrotic acne. The body responds to the acne with a severe inflammatory response, flooding the area with so many white blood cells that they actually become worse than the problem itself. This results in tissue death as the skin is eaten away. This type of acne is most likely found on the chests and backs of acne sufferers and is extremely painful to endure and treat. Severe scarring is inevitable.
Obviously, it is extremely important to get a handle on the inflammation before it gets out of hand. Icing your face is the best way you can do that. Icing an acne impaction will reduce the inflammation and keep the white blood cells from forming in the first place. The moment that you feel a pimple coming up that is starting to either itch or hurt, that is the perfect time to start icing it. You will be happy that this simple trick can truly save your skin.
