A scar is a mark left on the skin after an external injury or wound has been treated. The human body was built to sustain a variety of aggressions, including penetrating trauma, burn trauma, etc. All of these happenings set into action an orderly chain of events that are involved in the healing response, in which the healthy functional tissue (skin) is substituted by connective tissue (scar) and the curing response is characterized by the movement of specialized cells into the wound site, resulting in a scar.

Healing is the complex and dynamic process that results in the restoration of anatomical continuity and function. There are some basic responses that can happen after an injury has appeared:

* Regeneration (exact replacement)

* Average repair (reestablished equilibrium)

* Exaggerated healing (fibrosis and contractures) and

* Insufficient healing (chronic ulcers)

When an injury happens; be it a cut or an acne infection, a variety of different cells come quickly to the aid of the wounded area and the complex healing process starts. This is the body's natural way of protecting itself from harm. However this innate defensive process usually leaves behind scarring evidence, leaving you with a sudden need of getting rid of unwanted acne scarring.

Scars are made up mainly of collagen, a protein fiber normally found in the skin's middle layer, these scars are the body's method of repairing itself. Luckily, scars will disappear in time, but for those scars that don't disappear new treatments like laser therapies can minimize them significantly. However your best option is always prevention.

The next list of things you should and shouldn't do when following any acne scar treatment guide.

* Don't cleanse wounds with hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is known to destroy new skin cells.

* Don't treat your skin with vitamin E. Research done in the University of Miami demonstrated that Vitamin E impairs wound healing. (In addition, one-third of the patients tested also showed an allergic reaction).

* Don't expose new scars to the sun. Ultraviolet rays can delay the healing process and, since they excite melanocytes (the cells that produce pigment), can cause dark coloration. When you're outdoors, always use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher.

* Do cover a wound. There is a popular misconception that injuries need to 'breathe' in order to heal, but this isn't true. As a matter of fact, moisture prevents the creation of a hard scab and can delay the healing process by as much as 50%. It's advised to treat the damaged area daily with an antibiotic ointment like Neosporin (which will prevent infection, another impediment to healing) and maintain it protected with a bandage. After a week, change to simple Vaseline petroleum jelly and continue using it below the bandage until new skin grows over the wound.

* Do maintain constant pressure on the wound with special bandages or silicon e sheeting pads. Several studies have demonstrated that products like these help to compress scars-even keloids, scars with hard tissue that grow impetuously over their original limits.