How did you get rid of your acne scarring?

[BettyHumpter]

Without paying for private healthcare/ cosmetics!

I’m not sure you can? Maybe retinol would smooth skin a bit. I have almost learned to live with mine - and now I am perimenopausal. I will say, the oily skin which contributed to my acne has also meant I am not very lined or wrinkled. Be careful what you do to your skin- don’t be too harsh.

How bad is it? Red marks or pock marks in the skin?

Exactly this. The pigmentation of my scarring has faded a lot over the years and now it’s just the texture that’s bad, but I’ve learned to live with it. I can even go out of the house without foundation sometimes. Like you say, the trade-off is fewer wrinkles and fine lines than the average person my age.

OP you can try one of the monthly subscription creams like Skin&Me or Dermatica; there’s always a code around which brings the price down. You could ask the GP to refer you to an NHS dermatologist but it’s probably a postcode lottery. Some people have a lot of success with light therapy masks from Amazon or similar; I’ve never tried one, so read the reviews.

Don’t bother buying creams and potions from the high street or beauty brands, even luxury ones. The active ingredients aren’t strong enough to do anything apart from waste your money.

If you’ve got indented (ice-pick) or raised (hypertrophic) scars, no topical treatment will get rid of those. You will need a course of laser therapy. It’s worth finding a couple of clinics near you and asking how much it would be. It might not be as expensive as you think.