Does Retin-A Really Work for Acne Scars?

Retin-A does two things for the skin. First, it increases cell turnover so dead skin cells are shed faster. This evens out skin tone and brightens the skin. Second, Retin-A stimulates collagen growth, which will even out the skin's texture to a small degree. 'It works well for superficial acne scars and discoloration, but for deeper scars that extend into the deep layer of skin called the dermis, other techniques like excision, laser, chemical peel, or dermabrasion are needed to get the best improvement.

Retin-A and retinol derived products help with skin turnover.  Combined with a lightening cream this can help dark pigmented scars and can help with texture.  Major changes to the skin are not to be expected and other modalities should be considered as first line therapy.  Best Dr. Anil Shah

Retin-a (Tretinoin) works by increasing (stimulating) cell turnover and collagen production in the skin. If you think about it, retin-a works similar to a very light chemical peel: when applied topically, the retin-A increases the rate of cell turnover, thus increasing the skin’s own exfoliation process to remove dead cells while stimulating new skin cells faster, resulting in better skin texture and appearance. So yes, retin-a should work as a treatment for acne and can help minimize the appearance of acne scars.

Prescription-strength topical retinoid such as Retin-A has been shown to stimulate collagen, enhance textures of the skin over time. It can be helpful as an adjunctive therapy to laser resurfacing for acne scarring. However, as a monotherapy, the scar revisional benefit of topical retinoid for significant acne scarring is quite modest. The keys are strict daily sun protection as sun exposure takes away collagen, no smoking, and see a board-certified dermatologist to minimize new acne cysts.

Hello,
Although retin A increases the skin cell turnover that may help with acne blemishes, we often find that patient's skin (especially medium to darker skin types) do not fair well with retinoids.  In fact, retin A can make red blemishes worse.  In our practice, we rely on a bleaching product called hydroquinone for brown acne blemishes as well as Q switched YAG laser treatments.  For red-based acne lesions, we use a pulsed dye laser for light to medium skin types. 
Although some lasers and hydroquinone work well for acne scarring involving color, texture is better addressed with laser resurfacing vs retinoids.

Patients requesting improvement of acne scars are typically concerned about several things:

Improvement in pigmentation
Improved quality of surrounding skin on face
Improvement in contour irregularities and ice pick scars on the face

Retin A is an active exfoliator that speeds the skin cycle and increases deposition of collagen in the dermis. The retinoic acid will improve pigmentation by increasing cell turnover and speeding up the elimination of melanin in the dermis. It will also increase collagen and improve fine wrinkles and improve the overall quality of the skin. It does not, however, have an effect on deep contour irregularities and ice pick scars.

Thank you for you question!
Retin A is beneficial for new shallow acne scars. Acne scars, depending on their type, usually need a combination of treatments to improve including chemical peels, microneedling, subcision, laser resurfacing and even injecting fillers to elevate the depressions.
Hope this helps!

Thanks for your question.Retin-A will definitely give your skin an improvement in texture as well as regulate your sebum production to prevent further outbreaks. In regards to scarring by increasing cell turn over the appearance of the scars will be reduced.Kind Regards

Retin-A can provide some benefit for acne scarring, but the type of acne scarring you have (e.g. ice pick, rolled, box car etc) should be assessed by a skin expert (e.g. dermatologist or plastic surgeon) and then the best treatment can be suggested in light of your risk tolerance, budget etc.

The effect of Retin A is superficial, and the changes that are seen are primarily epidermal. Therefore the only scars that can be improved would be those that are extremely shallow. The depth of your acne scars must first be evaluated once determined the proper treatment depth can be performed. If the scars are deep then there are alternatives such as TCA peel, dermabrasion, laser resurfacing and subcision.