Radiofrequency heat delivered at depth through fine needles, the option for deeper, pitted scarring when needling alone is not enough.
Explore RF MicroneedlingAcne Scars & Texture
The breakouts stopped, and the marks stayed: pits on the cheeks, rough texture along the jaw, dark spots that outlast every spot treatment. Scars sit in the skin's structure, so the fix has to reach that deep.
- Treatments that address it
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- 45-minute consultation
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- Same day
Which marks did your breakouts leave?
Book a free consultationWhat’s
going on?
Acne leaves two kinds of marks, and they need different things. Textural scars are changes in the skin's structure: rolling scars that give the cheeks a wavy look, broad boxcar depressions, and ice pick scars, the narrow deep pits. They formed when a breakout damaged the collagen underneath, and no cream reaches that layer. Then there are the flat dark spots, the post-acne marks left after the bump itself is gone, which are more common on medium and deeper skin tones.
The treatments split the same way. Textural scars need the collagen under them rebuilt: PRP microneedling for rolling, boxcar, and ice pick scars, and RF microneedling when the pits are deep enough that needling alone is not enough. Dark marks and rough surface texture respond to the Secret DUO's 1540 nm laser, which works on the dermis while the surface stays intact, and to the VI Peel's Purify with Precision Plus formula, made for the scarring and dark spots that follow breakouts.
If you have darker skin, you may have been told that resurfacing is not for you. Aesthetics has underserved Fitzpatrick IV to VI skin for a long time, and Rewind was built to change that. Microneedling carries the lowest risk of pigment changes of the resurfacing options, the laser's wavelength is absorbed by water rather than pigment, and the VI Peel was formulated for all six Fitzpatrick types. Your provider still assesses your skin and sets every depth and energy for it.
Many people who fought acne carry both kinds of marks. At the consultation your provider maps your scars, reads your skin tone, and matches the plan to how much change you want and how much redness you can schedule. If a treatment is not going to get you there, we will say so.
Rolling, boxcar, and ice pick scars that you can feel as well as see. These point to collagen rebuilding: PRP microneedling as the gentler series, or RF microneedling when the scarring calls for more depth than needling alone can give.
Flat post-acne spots and uneven tone, often on skin that scars dark. These point to laser resurfacing, which evens pigmentation from below with the surface untouched, or to the VI Peel's Precision Plus formulas, on any Fitzpatrick type.
Pits and dark marks together, with a surface that catches light unevenly. The usual answer pairs one collagen treatment with the laser or a VI Peel; RF microneedling and the laser share one device and are often combined in a single plan. The consultation decides the order.
Rebuild what the breakouts took
A scar is missing or disordered collagen, so every scar treatment here works by making the skin build new collagen where the damage is. PRP microneedling does it with fine needles and your own blood. Thousands of controlled micro-channels prompt the repair, and platelet-rich plasma, spun down from a small blood draw, is applied over them so its growth factors go exactly where the healing is happening. Rolling, boxcar, and ice pick scars all respond, and the collagen fills depressed scars from the inside out over the weeks after each session.
RF microneedling is the same idea with heat added at depth. Rewind treats with the Secret DUO by Cutera, which delivers radiofrequency through gold-plated microneedles set anywhere from 0.5 mm to 3.5 mm deep. That heat tightens the collagen already there and triggers more of it, which is why it is the option for deeper, pitted scarring when needling alone is not enough. The laser resurfacing half of the same device works without needles: a 1540 nm laser heats the dermis at a depth your provider sets, breaks up scar tissue, and evens post-acne marks, while the surface above stays intact.
A VI Peel comes at the marks from the top. The Purify with Precision Plus formula was built for acne plus the textural scarring and dark spots it leaves, and the peel pairs well with microneedling for scarring. It also happens to be the peel formulated for Fitzpatrick I through VI, where many peels stop at III, so it belongs in the plan for the skin tones that have most often been left out of it.
Depth, downtime, and your skin tone
The tradeoff is depth against downtime. RF microneedling and laser resurfacing reach below where many devices can, and ask little of your calendar: about 15 minutes of numbing, about 30 minutes of treatment, and little to no downtime. The laser leaves the surface intact, and its redness fades by the next day. RF microneedling is usually three to four treatments, four to six weeks apart; you start to see a change after the second, and the best result appears about three months after the last, because the collagen keeps building long after the session that triggered it.
PRP microneedling is gentler in the skin and louder on the face. The session runs 30 to 45 minutes after the blood draw and numbing, most people describe the sensation as light sandpaper, and then the skin is noticeably red for a few days you will want to plan around. Rewind recommends at least three sessions, four to six weeks apart. A VI Peel is 20 to 30 minutes in the chair and a week of visible peeling at home, and acne scarring usually calls for three to six peels; how often you can have a VI Peel explains the spacing.
If your skin is medium to deep, the order of these questions changes: the first is which treatments are safe for your tone, and only then which is strongest. Microneedling carries the lowest risk of pigment changes, the laser's wavelength is absorbed by water rather than pigment, and whether the laser is used at all is decided case by case at the consultation. That consultation is free and takes about 45 minutes. Your provider maps your scars, tells you plainly what will and will not move them, and gives you one clear plan before anything is scheduled. Treatment can begin the same day.
The treatments we reach for.
Listed in the order we most often recommend them. Your consultation decides which actually fits your skin, your goals, and your downtime.
The Secret DUO's 1540 nm laser breaks up scar tissue and evens post-acne marks from underneath, surface intact, on every skin tone.
Explore Laser ResurfacingThe Purify with Precision Plus formula for the textural scarring and dark marks that follow breakouts, formulated for Fitzpatrick I to VI.
Explore VI PeelNeedling with your own plasma for rolling, boxcar, and ice pick scars, and the lowest risk of pigment changes for darker skin.
Explore PRP MicroneedlingWhere to next?
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Clear congestion and calm active skin
Start from the concernReady when you are.
Bring the concern.
Leave with a plan.
A free 45-minute consultation is the first step. Your provider looks at what is actually going on, tells you plainly which treatments fit and which do not, and can treat you the same day.
Prefer to talk? Call 908-427-4675
Medically reviewed by Dr. Jonathan Martinez, MD, Internal Medicine, Medical Director at Rewind Bar Med Spa. This page is for education and is not a substitute for a consultation with one of our providers.