Skin & Complexion
Flat red, pink, or brown marks that remain after acne blemishes have healed.
Physician-led assessment · individualized care · Vancouver clinic
Understanding Acne Marks & Post-Inflammatory Pigmentation
The pimple's gone, but the spot it left behind is still there weeks later, pink on some days and brown on others. That's usually an acne mark, and the good news is that it's a change in colour, not a change in the skin's surface.
Red or pink marks come from tiny blood vessels that stay a little dilated after the skin heals. Brown marks come from extra pigment your skin made while it was inflamed, and they're more common and slower to fade in medium to deeper skin tones. Both sit flat and both tend to fade with time, though pigment can take many months, and sun and picking keep it around longer. Once we confirm you're looking at a mark and not an early scar, we can choose treatments that help it fade sooner.
Causes and Contributing Factors
These marks follow the inflammation of an acne lesion. When small blood vessels remain dilated after healing, the skin can stay pink or red (post-inflammatory erythema). When inflammation pushes pigment-producing cells to make extra melanin, a flat brown or tan mark can remain (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation). Sun exposure and picking or squeezing lesions can deepen and prolong pigment marks.
Signs and Symptoms
Assessment
We'll look at your skin in person, first checking whether the change is flat colour or a change in texture. We'll see whether redness is coming from blood vessels or darker areas from pigment, and we'll take your skin tone, sun habits and any active breakouts into account. Red and brown marks respond to different treatments, so your plan is built around your marks, your timing and your budget.
Cosmetic consultations are complimentary.
Prevention and Ongoing Care
Home care makes a real difference to how quickly marks fade. Daily broad-spectrum sunscreen keeps brown marks from darkening and helps protect the results of in-clinic treatment. Gentle cleansing and a barrier-friendly moisturizer keep skin calm, and ingredients such as retinoids, vitamin C and azelaic acid help even out tone between visits. Leaving healing spots alone gives your skin the best chance to clear without new marks.
Our team can suggest a routine for your skin, and you'll find our recommended products in the online shop.
Treatment Options
These are some of the options connected to this concern. The appropriate plan depends on assessment, suitability, and your goals.
Most plans start with calming any active acne, daily sun protection and gentle skincare, which help marks fade and keep new ones from forming. Medical Acne Skincare brings in evidence-based ingredients chosen for your skin, and it's a good base for everything else.
From there, in-clinic options depend on the colour of your marks and your skin tone. Chemical Peels encourage surface renewal and help even out post-acne marks. For brown pigment, Pigmentation & Sun-Damage Treatment uses selected wavelengths such as PicoWay, and BBL BroadBand Light treats both pigment and redness. Where marks sit alongside early texture change, Laser Skin Resurfacing can be part of the plan.
These treatments are delivered by our senior laser technicians under the medical direction of Dr. Gidon Frame. Some treatments can affect pigment in deeper skin tones, so choices and settings are tailored to your skin.
A physician-guided topical and skincare program using evidence-based ingredients to help control acne, oil, inflammation and post-acne marks.
Uses selected laser and light-based wavelengths, guided by assessment, to help address excess pigment, sun damage and uneven skin tone.
Controlled laser energy that renews the skin surface and stimulates repair, helping soften texture, scars, fine lines and sun damage.
A controlled chemical solution that encourages renewal of the skin's surface and helps concerns such as uneven pigment, post-acne marks or rough texture.
For the fuller picture, explore the treatment pages above or discuss the options during a consultation.
A good skincare routine is enough for some marks. In-clinic care joins the plan when you'd like them to fade sooner.
Medical Assessment
A sudden or unusual pattern of pigmentation that isn't clearly linked to past acne is worth having a doctor review, as is acne that keeps forming new marks despite treatment.
Frequently Asked Questions
They're different. Acne marks are flat changes in colour, while scars are changes in the skin's texture, such as indentations or raised areas. They respond to different treatments, so we'll confirm which you have before planning anything.
Many do, but the timeline varies. Red marks can take weeks to months, and brown pigment marks can take several months or longer, especially with ongoing sun exposure. If you'd like them to fade sooner, in-clinic treatment can help speed things along.
They can be, with the right choice of treatment and settings. Brown marks are more common in medium to deeper skin tones, and some treatments can affect pigment, so our senior laser technicians tailor the approach to your skin under Dr. Frame's medical direction. We'll talk through the options that suit you at your consultation.
Physician Assessment
An assessment can help clarify what may be contributing, which options may be appropriate, and what a reasonable next step could look like for you.
Visit Our Clinic
Anti-Aging Medical & Laser Clinic combines medical assessment, individualized planning, physician oversight, and a broad range of treatment options in its Vancouver clinic.
Bring your questions, treatment history, and goals. Your provider can help you understand appropriate options, expected recovery, and realistic outcomes.
Make an Appointment
Use our consultation form below and the clinic can guide you toward the appropriate starting point.
