Acne can be distressing enough while it’s active. But for many people, the real lasting challenge isn’t the breakouts themselves — it’s the marks and scars they leave behind. Pimple scars and post-inflammatory pigmentation can persist for months or years after the acne has cleared, creating textural changes and discolouration that no amount of makeup fully covers.
At La Peau Skin Rejuvenation in Birkdale, Brisbane, treating the ongoing effects of acne — both active and post-inflammatory — is one of the clinic’s areas of genuine expertise. With over 30 years of experience, the team offers a range of evidence-supported treatments for scars from acne, including collagen induction therapy and LED light therapy, tailored to every skin type and concern.
Understanding Acne Scars and Pimple Marks
Not all post-acne marks are the same, and understanding the difference is the first step toward choosing the right treatment.
Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (PIH)
When a pimple heals, the inflammation it caused can trigger the overproduction of melanin in the affected area, leaving a flat, darkened mark — red, pink, brown, or purple depending on skin tone. These are often referred to as pimple scars but are technically not scars at all — they are pigmentation changes in the skin’s surface. They typically fade with time, but that process can take many months, and without treatment, UV exposure can deepen them significantly.
True Acne Scarring
Acne scarring proper occurs when the inflammation from a breakout damages the collagen and elastic tissue in the dermal layer. This produces textural changes — depressed ice-pick scars, boxcar scars, and rolling scars, which create an uneven, pitted surface. Unlike PIH, true acne scars don’t fade on their own. They require treatments that stimulate collagen remodelling and resurfacing to visibly improve over time.
Treatments for Scars From Acne at La Peau Skin Rejuvenation
Collagen Induction Therapy (Microneedling)
Collagen Induction Therapy — commonly known as microneedling — is one of the most effective treatments for scars from acne, particularly for textural scarring. A precision device creates controlled micro-channels across the skin’s surface, triggering the skin’s wound-healing response and stimulating the production of new collagen and elastin fibres.
Over a series of treatments, the new collagen production progressively fills in and smooths depressed scars, improves the skin’s overall texture and resilience, and refines the pore structure that breakouts often leave enlarged. La Peau Skin Rejuvenation offers professional collagen induction therapy as part of a targeted acne scar treatment protocol, with the number and spacing of sessions tailored to the type and severity of scarring.
Skin Peels
Chemical peels are a highly effective treatment for pimple scars — particularly for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and mild surface scarring. By applying a carefully formulated acid solution to the skin, a skin peel accelerates the shedding of the damaged outer layers of the skin, revealing fresher, more evenly pigmented skin beneath.
La Peau Skin Rejuvenation offers skin peels using GERnétic and Medik8 professional formulations, both of which are designed to deliver meaningful results while respecting the skin’s barrier — an important consideration for skin that has been through the stress of acne.
IPL and Fotofacial
For post-inflammatory redness and vascular pigmentation, Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) treatment is highly effective. By targeting the haemoglobin in reddened, inflamed areas, IPL reduces post-acne redness and helps even out the skin tone more rapidly than topical products alone.
LED Light Therapy Treatment
LED light therapy is another powerful in-clinic tool for treating pimple scars — and at La Peau Skin Rejuvenation, it works as a natural complement to the other treatments in your acne scar protocol rather than a standalone offering.
LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. Different wavelengths of light penetrate the skin to different depths, each producing a specific therapeutic effect relevant to acne scarring and post-inflammatory pigmentation:
Red LED (630–700nm) — Penetrates into the dermis to stimulate fibroblast activity and collagen production, reduce inflammation, and accelerate the skin’s natural healing and renewal processes. For acne scarring specifically, this means faster collagen remodelling, improved skin texture, and a progressive softening of depressed scars over a course of treatment.
Blue LED (415nm) — Targets the bacteria responsible for acne breakouts, reducing bacterial activity within congested follicles and lowering the risk of new breakouts forming — which means fewer new marks developing as existing scars are being treated.
Used in combination with Collagen Induction Therapy, skin peels, or IPL treatments, LED light therapy amplifies the results of each session by supporting the skin’s healing response in the hours and days following treatment. La Peau Skin Rejuvenation currently offers an in-clinic LED intensive programme — 8 sessions delivered twice per week over 4 weeks, priced at $480 (normally $880) — making it highly accessible as part of a broader acne scar treatment plan.
LED light therapy is entirely non-invasive, involves no downtime, and is suitable for all skin types — including sensitive skin that may not tolerate more aggressive resurfacing treatments.
To book a consultation or enquire about the LED programme or treatments for scars from acne, visit La Peau Skin Rejuvenation’s treatments page or call the clinic on 07 3207 4100. La Peau Skin Rejuvenation is located at Suite 12/120 Birkdale Road, Birkdale, Queensland.
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