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Just as the way acne leaves behind acne scar, it also leaves behind discoloration of the skin. The affected portion of skin may turn white, brown, purple, red or black. However, luckily the discoloration of skin due to acne is far less permanent in nature. It is also much more easy to treat than acne scar treatment. Though, you should note that it is more common too. In treatment of discoloration of skin, topical as well as surgical methods are used.

Topical Medication
OTC (Over the counter) Creams are composed of 2 percent hydroquinone. This hydroquinone is essentially a bleaching agent. On the other hand there are prescription creams too. These creams may contain a single agent like Retin - A which is 'tretinoin'.

Alternatively they may also have a combination of medications like tretinoin, hydroquinone and cortisone cream. Such type of treatments may prove to be very effective if they are used in the right way. It is always advisable to discuss the advantages / disadvantages of each type of treatment with your physician before proceeding with a particular type of treatment..

Chemical Peel for treatment
We have discussed chemical peels as a treatment method for acne scarring in earlier section of this website.. Apart from treatment of acne scar, chemical peels can also be quite effective in reducing discoloration of the skin left behind due to acne.

In treatment of discoloration, superficial type of chemical peels are generally more effective. In such cases, it is even more advantageous since the risk involved and the recovery time required is lesser. But do note that you may require several peels before you see the desired results.

Microdermabrasion
Microdermabrasion has also been discussed earlier as method for acne scar treatment. This method is quite often known as the 'lunch time' procedure. It is not proven in scientific tests, that microdermabrasion improves the appearance of the skin. However, in a lot of cases, it has been reported that the skin becomes smoother.

To properly treat the discoloration of skin due to acne, several rounds of treatment (as many as 15 treatments) may be required before it works for you. This may turn out to be an expensive option though.

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