Acne scars can be a headache. Acne scars can be broken down into three categories: atrophic, hypertrophic, and keloidal scars. You will most likely need to employ your whole vegan skincare arsenal to help you fade those scars.
We have listed the best vegan skincare for acne scars in 2024. These products are designed to improve your skin texture and tone, reduce redness, and fade acne scars over time.
See also: Treating Acne With Vegan Skincare
PS all products below are vegan and cruelty-free, meaning they are free of animal-derived ingredients and have not been tested on animals. 💚
Best Vegan Skincare Products For Acne Scars
Here are the best vegan skincare products for treating acne scars in 2024.
Murad InvisiScar Resurfacing Treatment
Murad’s vegan acne scar treatment is the best. It includes vitamin C and salicylic acid to address both the skin tone and texture of the scar. When used consistently, the scars become a lot less visible and the skin is overall much smoother. Love the lightweight, creamy consistency.
vitamin C, salicylic acid
Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Extra Strength Daily Peel Pads
Dr. Denns Gross has made excellent vegan peel pads to exfoliate, smooth, and brighten acne scars. Their Extra Strength peel is great at blurring scars by reducing their depth and brightening their color. It helps get rid of dead skin cells and reduces the size of post-acne scarring.
Derma E Scar Gel With Panthenol And Allantoin
This vegan scar gel from Derma E reduces acne scars by soothing the skin and reducing redness with panthenol and allantoin. The gel is natural, effective, and also very affordable. From the same line, we also recommend the Scar Cream Sun Protectant SPF 35.
Paula’s Choice Clinical 1% Retinol Treatment
Retinol is also one of the best ingredients for fighting acne scars. We especially recommend this 1% Retinol Treatment from Paula’s Choice. Along with a high concentration of skin-clearing and collagen-boosting retinol, it also has vitamin C to fight the discoloration of the scars.
Pai Skincare Rosehip BioRegenerate Oil
If you are looking for a natural plant-based solution to fight acne scars, try this organic rosehip oil from Pai Skincare. Safe for sensitive skin, this oil boosts the regeneration of new skin cells and brightens the skin. While rosehip oil does not have the best scent, it really works for scars.
Shop on: Amazon, Cult Beauty
Best Vegan Skincare Ingredients For Acne Scars
Here are the best vegan skincare ingredients for treating acne scars.
- Salicylic acid – Salicylic acid is a vegan BHA acid that works best for exfoliating and smoothening acne scars, both atrophic and hypertrophic. It also helps with post-imflammatory pigmentation. See our vegan BHA skincare here.
- Glycolic acid – Glycolic acid is the most effective AHA in treating acne scars (especially atrophic scars) by exfoliating the skin and stimulating collagen production. Glycolic acid is also vegan. See our vegan glycolic acid skincare here.
- Pyruvic acid – Pyruvic acid is effective in reducing moderate atrophic acne scars and acne-related pigmentation problems. Derived from glucose, pyruvic acid is vegan.
- Vitamin C – Vitamin C is one of the best ingredients for reducing post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Vitamin C is also vegan. See our selection of vegan vitamin C skincare.
- Allantoin – With excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, allantoin helps to reduce hypertrophic acne scars by promoting tissue repair and wound healing. The ingredient is also vegan-friendly.
- Panthenol – Often coupled with allantoin, panthenol helps to keep the skin moisturized, soft, and calm, thereby also reducing the appearance of hypertrophic scars. Panthenol used in skincare is vegan.
- Retinol – Retinol promotes collagen production and reduces the visibility of atrophic scars along with treating post-inflammatory pigmentation. In topical skincare, retinol is vegan. See our selection of vegan retinols here.
- Rosehip oil – A natural plant-based ingredient, rosehip oil has been shown to promote cell generation, wound healing, and reduce hypertrophic acne scars.
Vegan Skincare Routine For Acne Scars
With acne scars, it is essential that your vegan skincare routine addresses both skin tone and texture irregularities. But all in all, be gentle on your skin and keep a consistent routine so your scars can fade over time. The last thing you want to do is inflame the scar tissue.
From vegan exfoliators, we suggest using exfoliating acids to get rid of excess skin and dead skin cells on the scar. To lighten the scar and even out skin tone, use skin-brightening and antioxidant vegan serums made with vitamin C or alpha arbutin.
Remember to also keep your skin hydrated with a vegan moisturizer. If your skin is smoother and plumper, your scars are less visible. Anti-inflammatory agents like niacinamide, panthenol, and allantoin are also great for soothing the skin, which again, reduces the visibility of scars.
Anti-aging ingredients like retinol are also useful in boosting collagen production which evens your skin tone, improves texture, and reduces scarring, especially atrophic scars. For SPF, we recommend a tinted vegan sunscreen that hides the scarring better.
If your scarring is severe and deeper down in the dermis, we also recommend seeing a dermatologist for prescription-strength products and a possible laser or microneedling treatment.
FAQ About Vegan Skincare For Acne Scars
Vegan skincare can be great for acne scars since most of the popular scar-treating ingredients (e.g salicylic acid, glycolic acid) are already vegan-friendly.
The best skincare for acne scars includes Murad InvisiScar Resurfacing Treatment, Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Daily Peel Pads, and Derma E Scar Gel.
No. This gel is not considered vegan since Differin is a brand that still tests on animals.
No. This serum is not vegan since CeraVe still tests on animals. The company has not also labeled this product vegan.
No. The oil is free of animal ingredients but since the company sells in mainland China, which requires animal testing by law, we cannot call this product vegan.
Summary
We hope you enjoyed our collection of vegan skincare for acne scars. Fading acne scars can be a massive confidence boost. Luckily, some vegan skincare products are able to help with that.
With scars of any kind, it is important to keep a consistent skincare routine and use effective yet skin-friendly products that will not irritate the skin and inflame the scar tissue.
As we find new vegan scar treatments, we will add our favorite products to this list.
See also: Best Vegan Skincare For-Acne-Prone Skin
Article update on May 04 (2023): Fact checked and medically reviewed by MD Shimona Garg
Article update on February 18 (2023): Added more references
