What is a scar that looks like a dimple?

Author: Marquis Bednar  |  Last update: Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Atrophic scars look like little indents or dimples in the skin and may be further classified as icepick (deep and narrow), rolling (broad with sloping edges) or boxcar scars (broad with sharp edges).

What is a dimple like scar?

Keloid and hypertrophic scars are common types of scarring that can occur as a result of the acne healing process. They appear as raised lesions of scar tissue on the skin and are a result of the overgrowth of fibrous tissue in the region where the acne lesion had developed.

Why does my scar look like a dent?

Depressed (atrophic): These sunken scars often result from chickenpox or acne. They look like rounded pits or small indentations in the skin. Also called ice pick scars, they develop most often on the face. Acne scars may become more noticeable as you age because the skin loses collagen and elasticity over time.

Why is my scar dimpled?

They may be tight if they were placed in a sub-optimal position. Equally they may become tight because it is a fundamental property of scar tissue that it tends to contract over time. If the scar does contract, it may result in dimpling of the overlying skin.

What causes sunken scars?

Atrophic Scars

They are depressed, sunken and often have a pitted appearance. Atrophic scars happen when the body does not make enough collagen while healing, which causes the loss of tissue. Acne, chickenpox or injuries involving loss of skin tissue are the usual causes of these scars.

SCARS and How to Treat Them like a Dermatologist | Doctorly Breakdown

What are pitting scars?

Pitted acne scars are hollow indents in the skin left behind by inflammatory acne. These scars develop due to the sudden loss of collagen during the skin's healing process. As cell regeneration occurs, it may not be enough to fully repair the damage. This causes depressions to form in the skin.

What are scars that look like dimples?

Atrophic scars look like little indents or dimples in the skin and may be further classified as icepick (deep and narrow), rolling (broad with sloping edges) or boxcar scars (broad with sharp edges). On the other side of the spectrum, hypertrophic scars are thickened raised acne scars.

What is scar puckering?

When the scar tissue contracts, it causes the retina to wrinkle, or pucker, usually without any effect on central vision. However, if the scar tissue has formed over the macula, our sharp, central vision becomes blurred and distorted.

How do you fix a pitted scar?

Treatment for depressed scars includes the following:
  1. Chemical peel: Applying a chemical peel to the skin helps the body produce more collagen and elastin. ...
  2. Fillers: This treatment adds volume to depressed scars. ...
  3. Laser treatment: Dermatologists use lasers to resurface skin with acne scars.

How do you fix a dent scar?

The filler of choice for filling indented scars is generally a biostimulator to lay down a new layer of fresh collagenous tissue that will continue stimulating your body to create new collagen. Radiesse® and Sculptra® are examples of fillers used to treat acne and other depressed scars.

What causes digital pitting scars?

The digital pitting scar is a common clinical feature in patients with progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS). Its pathogenesis is unclear, but it may result in small ulcerations. The clinical and histological features of these lesions are poorly understood.

What is a concave scar?

Pockmarks are concave scars that result from damage to the deeper skin layers from acne, trauma, or infection. They're sometimes used as a general term for atrophic acne scars (icepick scars, rolling scars, and boxcar scars). Pockmarks don't disappear on their own, but there are treatments to reduce their appearance.

What is a scar that looks like a smile?

A Glasgow smile (also known as a Chelsea grin/smile, or a Glasgow, Smiley, Huyton, A buck 50, or Cheshire grin) is a wound caused by making a cut from the corners of a victim's mouth up to the ears, leaving a scar in the shape of a smile.

Can scar tissue cause dimpling?

Dimpling can often result from scar tissue forming in the breast, whether due to previous surgery, infection or obesity.

What is a coccygeal pit?

A uniform definition was applied to the diagnosis of an isolated coccygeal pit: a cutaneous pit, dimple, or sinus located below the level of a symmetric intergluteal crease that is without the asso- ciated presence of any additional cutaneous anomaly.

What is the difference between dimpling and puckering?

Skin that looks indented in one spot is called puckering. It can happen when a mass underneath the skin pulls on healthy tissue and ligaments. Another potential sign of breast cancer is skin dimpling or retraction. The skin on the breast may develop an uneven texture and look like the skin is being pulled inward.

What is fibrosis scars?

In technical terms, fibrosis means thickening or scarring of the tissue. In this case, the normally thin, lacy walls of the air sacs in the lungs are no longer thin and lacy, but get thick, stiff and scarred, also called becoming fibrotic.

What does retina scarring look like?

Epiretinal membrane.

Epiretinal membrane is a delicate tissue-like scar or membrane that looks like crinkled cellophane lying on top of the retina. This membrane pulls up on the retina, which distorts your vision. Objects may appear blurred or crooked.

What is a puckered scar?

What is macular pucker? A macular pucker is a wrinkling of your retina due to scar tissue. Other terms for this scar tissue are epiretinal membrane (ERM) or cellophane maculopathy.

What does dermatofibroma look like?

Cellular dermatofibromas look like small round or oval bumps. They're usually less than 1 centimeter (cm) in diameter. They may be flesh-colored, brown or reddish-brown. Usually, dermatofibromas form on your arms or legs.

What kind of scar is indented?

An atrophic scar develops when the skin cannot regenerate tissue correctly. Unlike keloids and hypertrophic scars, atrophic scars are indented in appearance due to healing that occurs below the expected layer of skin.

Why do scars leave dents?

Indentation scarring – more common with severe acne, occurs when the top layer of skin doesn't fully heal and regenerate — leaving an indentation in the skin.

What is residual scarring?

The residual scar is less elastic (stiffer) than normal skin and, if it crosses a joint, can limit motion. A key feature of hypertrophic scar (versus keloid) is that the scar tissue remains within the confines of the original scar (although it may be widened).

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