Acne Scar Treatment & Removal Singapore

The cost of acne scar treatment and removal depends on your scar types, how severe they are, and how many sessions and methods are needed. Because plans are personalised to your scar pattern rather than sold as a fixed package, Dr Sin Yong gives a clear quote after assessing your skin at consultation.

There is no single right treatment for pitted or depressed acne scars — it depends whether they are ice-pick, boxcar or rolling scars. Deep ice-pick scars often need TCA CROSS, boxcar scars respond to resurfacing and RF microneedling, and rolling scars usually need subcision. Most people benefit from a combination.

Each has a role, for different scars. RF microneedling remodels scar tissue at depth with minimal surface disruption, while fractional CO2 laser resurfaces and refines the surface. Dr Sin Yong may use either or both depending on your scar type and skin, rather than relying on one device for everything.

Yes. Flat brown or red marks left after acne are pigmentation rather than true scars, and they are addressed with pigment-focused and toning lasers rather than resurfacing. These are often treated alongside a scar plan so pigment and texture are planned together.

They can. Atrophic acne scars sit in skin that gradually loses collagen, fat and elasticity, so a scar that looked shallow in your twenties may cast a deeper shadow later as the support around it thins. This is one reason a scar plan sometimes includes collagen stimulation or volume support alongside release and resurfacing. Dr Sin Yong assesses both the scars and the surrounding skin quality at consultation.

It can be used in Fitzpatrick III to V skin, but the main risk is post-inflammatory pigmentation around each treated scar, so acid strength, technique and sun protection are planned with that in mind. Because only the scar itself is treated, the skin between scars is left alone. Whether TCA CROSS suits your scars and skin type is decided at assessment.

Bring a list of earlier scar treatments, your current skincare and medicines, including any isotretinoin, and mention a history of cold sores or keloid scarring. Avoid a fresh tan in the weeks beforehand, because tanned skin is more prone to pigment change after resurfacing. Retinoids and exfoliating acids are usually paused before resurfacing, and active acne should be under control. Specific instructions follow the method chosen at assessment.

Most methods are carried out under local or topical anaesthetic. Subcision is usually described as pressure and movement rather than pain, resurfacing as heat during the laser, and TCA CROSS as a brief sting on each scar. Tenderness, bruising or a warm, tight feeling afterwards depends on the method and settles as the skin heals. Comfort measures are discussed before treatment, since tolerance varies.

There is no single interval that applies to everyone. Older advice was to wait several months after stopping isotretinoin before resurfacing or subcision; more recent reviews suggest some procedures may be reasonable sooner, but the evidence is limited. Timing is weighed case by case, taking into account the method, the depth of treatment, your skin and whether the acne is controlled, and is agreed at assessment.

Treated scars do not usually return, because the change in the dermis is structural. Two things can make scarring look worse later: new acne forming new scars, which is why acne control continues, and ageing, as the collagen and fat around a scar thin and its shadow deepens. Sun protection and a maintenance routine help preserve the surface, and a later review can address either.

Sculptra, which is poly-L-lactic acid, and Ellansé, which is polycaprolactone, are collagen biostimulators like Radiesse, but they work through different materials on different timelines. Radiesse is the biostimulator placed into the released space in Dr Sin Yong's 4D Scar Reconstruction sequence; whether another material suits a particular scar is decided at assessment. None of them can be dissolved with hyaluronidase, and none raises a narrow ice-pick scar or changes scar edges.

It is worth considering for depressed scars that bother you, once acne is controlled and expectations are realistic: many scars can be made shallower and smoother, though not all disappear. It is a poorer fit for flat brown or red marks, which need pigment-focused care, or for anyone expecting every scar to vanish.

No duration can be promised. Collagen change is gradual, and longevity depends on scar type and depth, skin ageing, sun exposure, new breakouts and how the skin heals. Scars rebuilt from within tend to be more stable than those only smoothed at the surface. Review timing and any maintenance are set at consultation.

Treatment usually needs a planned course, not one visit. Resurfacing involves scabbing and redness while the skin heals, subcision can bruise, and injectables can cause lumps. Some scars improve less than others, particularly deep or tethered ones, and darker skin needs extra care to avoid pigmentation. Active acne must be controlled first.

It is set by scar type. Tethered rolling scars are released by subcision first. S3 Resurfacing Lift (multi-depth CO₂ on DEKA Tetra Pro) is the protocol Dr Sin Yong uses most for ice pick, boxcar and rolling scars. Secret RF is added for shallow rolling scars and overall skin quality. Most faces are mapped and planned with a combination.

Yes. Acne scars are one of the six concerns he treats day in, day out, and S3 Resurfacing Lift is his own protocol for them.

Yes, for superficial scars: shallow boxcar scars, fine textural scarring and post-acne marks. Its advantage is a shorter recovery than S3 Resurfacing Lift. Deeper ice-pick and boxcar scars need S3, which resurfaces at multiple depths; Dr Sin Yong grades the scars at assessment and says which applies.

At Dr Sin Yong’s clinic on Orchard Road, the assessment, subcision, TCA CROSS and every laser pass are performed by Dr Sin Yong himself. There is no hand-off to a therapist for the treatment itself; the scar grading at the first visit is what sets the plan.

Reduction is the accurate word for most atrophic scars: subcision, resurfacing and RF microneedling remodel the scar so it is shallower and less visible under normal light. TCA CROSS is directed at the floor of a sharp ice-pick pit so its walls can contract inward; a wide rolling scar is softened rather than erased. Dr Sin Yong says which is realistic for each scar at the consultation.

Depth decides. Superficial scars, shallow boxcars and textural marks suit FSX Laser, which has a shorter recovery than S3. Deep ice-pick and boxcar scars need the S3 Resurfacing Lift, a multi-depth fractional CO₂ protocol that reaches the scar floor. Many faces need both, on different scars.

The fee follows the plan: how many scar types are present, whether subcision or TCA CROSS is needed before resurfacing, the area treated, and the number of sessions the depth calls for. Dr Sin Yong writes the plan and its fee factors down after the assessment; see how fees are set.

Two, chosen by depth. FSX Laser for superficial scars, with a shorter recovery than S3, and the S3 Resurfacing Lift (multi-depth fractional CO₂ on the DEKA Tetra Pro) for deep ice-pick and boxcar scars. A picosecond pass is added for the brown marks, not the scar itself. See acne scar laser treatment Singapore.

There is no registered specialty called acne scars. Aesthetic physicians, dermatologists and plastic surgery specialists all treat them; what matters is who performs the procedure, which scar types they treat with which tools, and whether the plan is written down. Dr Sin Yong performs every step himself. See who treats acne scars.

Grading each scar under angled light, the stretch test for tethers, a check of skin type, earlier treatment and active acne, and a written plan with fee factors. No treatment is done on the first visit unless it was planned beforehand. See the acne scar removal clinic visit.

Rarely. Punch excision, punch elevation and grafting are surgical and are referred to a plastic surgery or dermatology specialist for large or deep scars. Subcision is a minor procedure Dr Sin Yong performs in clinic; lasers, RF microneedling and TCA CROSS are not surgery. See acne scar surgery in Singapore.

Resurfacing means remodelling the surface layer of a scar: fractional CO₂ (S3) for deep scars, surface-directed FSX Laser for superficial ones. It does not release a tether, which is why rolling scars are subcised first. See acne scar resurfacing.

Reduction is the honest word for most atrophic scars: the aim is a shallower, less visible scar under normal light, judged by you at review. Sharp pits respond most completely to TCA CROSS; wide rolling scars are softened rather than erased.

The tools are the same; the settings, staging and preparation are not. Fitzpatrick III–V skin carries a higher risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation after ablative energy, so passes are lighter and spaced further apart, and surface-sparing options are favoured where the scar allows.

The word has no clinical meaning. What changes the fee is the plan: how many scar types are present, whether subcision or TCA CROSS is needed before resurfacing, the area, and the number of sessions depth calls for. See acne scar treatment cost: the fee factors.