The American Academy of Dermatology defines a scar as a result of skin repairing itself from accidents, diseases and surgery. The greater the damage to the skin and the greater the length of healing time determines the visibility of the scar. And, believe it or not, younger skin often results in larger, thicker scars as a result of over-healing tendencies. Unfortunately, it's when we're younger that we suffer from acne the most. Luckily, there ways to reduce the appearance of acne scars.

Don't Pick

Prevention, of course, is the best medicine, and picking at acne is one of the leading causes of acne scars. If acne scars are deep and numerous, more severe treatments are required to reduce their appearance. Picking not only can lead to bigger, deeper acne scars, but it can also cause a greater infection, spreading the acne and increasing the chances of acne scars on a wider area of skin.

Drink Water

Keeping your skin hydrated is one of the best things you can do for your skin. It helps to optimize your skin's health, enabling it to heal faster and maintain a "plump" look and feel, which, on its own, can help to reduce the appearance of acne scars. The American Chronicle advises drinking a minimum of 80 ounces of water to help the skin maintain its maximum health potential. As you work to heal your skin, water also helps to flush toxins away, preventing infection.

Exfoliate

Exfoliating the skin's surface helps to scrape away scar tissue and blend it in with the surrounding skin. Dermabrasion has long been used to treat acne scars, and with rotating wire brushes, actually removes the top layers of skin for a more dramatic effect. Microdermabrasion uses fine crystals instead of the wire brushes to achieve the same thing. Home kits are available to perform microdermabrasion, though it will not remove as many layers of skin as ones applied by dermatologists. With regular recurring treatments, home microdermabrasion kits can reduce the appearance of acne scars.

Moisturize

Especially after exfoliating, applying a moisturizer or scar cream will help topromote the healing of new skin. Vitamin E is a well-known treatment for scars, as it has the ability to penetrate deep into the skin and work at the scar from the base up. Puncture a vitamin E capsule and apply directly on the scar area to help fade the scar away.