Skin conditions
Acne has two stories. The breakouts you have now, and the marks and scars they leave behind. BioPlus treats both, in the right order, with a physician built plan.
Physician led. Burnaby and Richmond. Every skin tone since 1996.
Book a complimentary consultationA physician assesses your skin and explains your plan before you decide anything.
Understanding the condition
Acne is a chronic inflammatory condition of the hair follicle and its oil gland that causes blocked pores and breakouts, and can leave dark marks, red marks and scars behind.
Four things happen inside the pore to create acne, usually together. The lining sheds skin cells too quickly and clogs the opening, the oil gland produces more oil, a normal skin bacterium multiplies in the trapped oil, and the immune system reacts, so the pore becomes inflamed. Every effective treatment works on one or more of these four drivers, which is why combining treatments works better than repeating one.
Acne is one of the most common skin conditions in the world, and it is not limited to teenagers. Adult acne is common and more common in women, and it tends to persist, so a managed plan beats one-off treatments.
The forms it takes
Each needs a different tool, so we name each one before we treat it.
Blackheads and whiteheads, which are open and closed blocked pores. The non-inflamed kind, it responds to exfoliating and pore-clearing approaches, including medical facials.
Red, tender papules and pustules, and at its deepest, nodules and cysts. Deep nodulocystic acne is the kind that scars, and it needs a physician involved early.
The flat red or brown mark left after a pimple is discolouration. Red marks are dilated vessels, brown marks are pigment. Marks sit flat, scars change the texture, and each needs different tools.
Narrow, deep, V-shaped pits under 2 mm wide. The most common atrophic type, and the most stubborn, because they reach deep into the dermis.
Round or oval depressions with defined edges, like a thumbprint pressed into the skin. They respond to deeper remodelling and resurfacing.
Broader, shallow waves caused by fibrous bands tethering the skin from below. They respond well to collagen remodelling.
The BioPlus difference
Skin tone changes what acne leaves behind, and it changes which treatments are safe. Many BioPlus patients are Fitzpatrick III to VI, and our plans are built for that reality. In deeper skin tones the pigment cells respond to inflammation by making extra melanin, so the mark often outlasts the pimple. In published research, dark marks from acne affected 65.3 percent of Black patients, 52.7 percent of Hispanic patients and 47.4 percent of Asian patients. Treating the acne early, before each spot has time to leave its mark, is the single most effective thing we can do.
Lighter skin tends to hold red marks from surface vessels. Deeper skin tones tend to hold brown marks from pigment. The two need different tools, and treating one as the other wastes months.
The jawline, chest and shoulders are high-tension sites where raised scars form most readily. We take a personal and family scar history before any needle or energy treatment.
Broad-spectrum light like IPL is absorbed by melanin, so in the deepest skin tones we route around it to radiofrequency microneedling and the 1064 nm and 1927 nm wavelengths, set conservatively.
Most people with significant acne develop some scarring. In one clinic study, 95 percent of acne patients had some facial scarring, and it was worse in those whose acne went longer without effective treatment. Every inflamed spot left to run its course can leave a mark or a scar behind. The single most effective thing we can do about acne scarring is to calm the acne early, before it has the chance to scar.
Which is why every plan we build starts by settling the acne itself.
How your visit works
Acne plans succeed or fail at the assessment, so we do the careful work first.
A physician grades your acne, records your Fitzpatrick skin type, and takes your history, including whether breakouts track your cycle or your jawline.
We separate red marks and brown marks from true scars, classify any scars by type, and build a staged plan for your skin and your skin tone.
We calm the active acne first, then clear the marks, then remodel the scars, with settings matched to your skin tone at every step.
We photograph progress at each review and adjust the plan as your skin changes, because acne is managed over time.
How care is built
No two acne plans are the same, because no two cases are the same mix of breakouts, marks and scars. The plan follows a sequence the evidence supports.
Scar treatment done while breakouts continue gets undone by the next breakout. Active inflammation is settled first, with medical facials, light and energy devices matched to your severity, and prescription care where the physician recommends it.
Once the skin is quiet, red marks and brown marks are treated on the vascular or pigment pathway that fits them, with settings matched to your skin tone.
True textural scars are treated by type. Rolling and boxcar scars respond to collagen-remodelling treatments, and the physician will tell you plainly which scars will respond well and which will only soften.
Treatments we may use
Grouped as clearing active acne first, then treating the marks and scars it leaves. Which appear in your plan depends on your skin tone, your marks and your scar types. Every device below holds an active Health Canada medical device licence.
Physician-supervised program
The BioPlus staged program for active acne, the marks it leaves and the scars that follow. It sequences care the way the 2024 acne guidelines advise, combining treatments that target different acne drivers, with photographs at each review and prescriptions where the physician recommends them.
Why this oneOne coordinated plan instead of single sessions that leave cleared acne with untreated scars.
Learn more →Long-pulsed 1064 nm laser
A BioPlus signature protocol on the Elite iQ. The deep heat calms overactive oil glands and the small vessels feeding inflamed lesions. A 2023 randomised trial found long-pulsed 1064 nm comparable to fractional CO2 for inflammatory acne.
Why this oneThe zero-downtime option for inflammatory acne and redness across every skin tone, including deep tones where IPL is unsuitable.
Learn more →Collagen induction, no heat
A motorised pen drives fine needles to trigger new collagen under scars, with no heat and no light. A meta-analysis of randomised trials found it significantly improves atrophic acne scars. Rolling and shallow boxcar scars respond best.
Why this oneThe lowest-pigment-risk collagen treatment in Fitzpatrick IV to VI, and a route for patients declined lasers elsewhere.
Learn more →Radiofrequency microneedling
Coated needles release heat from 0.5 to 4 mm, remodelling the dermis under scars while sparing the surface. Systematic review evidence supports it for atrophic scars, and the same needle-delivered heat also calms overactive oil glands.
Why this oneDeeper energy than traditional microneedling for firmer, tethered scars, with pigment risk kept low at conservative settings.
Learn more →Radiofrequency microneedling
A Cutera system with semi-insulated needles at 0.5 to 3.5 mm. In Korean studies it improved atrophic acne scars by 57.3 percent combined with a fractional laser, against 38.9 percent for the laser alone, and it also reduced active acne severity.
Why this oneStrong device-specific acne scar data, and a gentler depth for medium scars and first energy treatments.
Learn more →Dual-mode radiofrequency microneedling
Its pulsed mode deposits very little heat, designed for pigment-prone and redness-prone skin, while a continuous mode reaches deeper for scars. A 2026 pilot in patients with skin of colour reported improved acne scarring with a good safety profile.
Why this oneThe option we reach for when acne scarring sits in pigment-reactive or melasma-prone skin.
Learn more →755 nm picosecond laser
Picosecond pulses shatter pigment by pressure, and a Focus lens creates remodelling zones under an intact surface. A JAMA Dermatology study of six sessions measured a 24 to 27 percent reduction in scar volume, and it also clears the brown component of post-acne marks.
Why this oneMeasurable scar softening and brown-mark clearance, with days of redness rather than a week of peeling.
Learn more →1927 nm thulium laser
A water-targeted resurfacing laser that sheds pigmented surface cells where post-acne marks live and rebuilds fresh collagen. A split-face trial against Er:YAG showed scar improvement with less downtime, and its key trials were run in Asian skin.
Why this oneA safer resurfacing class for brown marks and shallow scarring in Fitzpatrick IV to VI, under a week of downtime.
Learn more →BioPlus by the numbers
What to expect
Device-based acne plans typically run 3 to 5 sessions over 6 to 12 weeks, with visible calming usually between week 4 and week 12.
Red marks respond over 1 to 3 vascular light sessions. Brown marks fade over a resurfacing or pigment series of 3 to 5 sessions, with daily sunscreen doing half the work.
Collagen remodelling is a series of 3 to 5 sessions, or 1 to 3 for radiofrequency microneedling, about 4 to 6 weeks apart, with improvement continuing for 2 to 3 months after the last session.
Facials have none. Light and picosecond spots flake for a few days. Thulium resurfacing is 2 to 7 days of bronzed flaking. Microneedling and radiofrequency microneedling, 1 to 3 days of redness.
Here is the part we say plainly. Collagen treatments soften scars, they do not erase them, and in a published study six sessions of picosecond laser reduced scar volume by roughly a quarter. Deep icepick scars improve least with any single method, and your physician will tell you which of your scars will respond well and which will only soften, at the start rather than after. For the marks, daily broad-spectrum sunscreen is not optional, because sun exposure is what turns healing skin back into pigmented skin.
Acne is two problems, the breakouts and what they leave behind. We treat both, in the order that works.
The BioPlus approach to acne
Questions patients ask
Marks are flat discolouration, red or brown, and they fade. Scars are changes in the skin's texture, indented or raised, and they do not fade on their own. Red marks are post-inflammatory erythema, left by dilated blood vessels. Brown marks are post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, left by excess melanin, and they are more common and longer-lasting in deeper skin tones. Marks and scars need completely different treatments.
There is no single best treatment for acne scars, because the right choice depends on your scar types and your skin tone. Rolling and shallow boxcar scars respond well to microneedling and radiofrequency microneedling, defined boxcar scars suit deeper remodelling and resurfacing, and narrow icepick scars are the most stubborn. Most patients have a mix of scar types, so most effective plans combine methods over a planned series.
Most acne scar plans run 3 to 5 sessions, spaced 4 to 6 weeks apart, with radiofrequency microneedling sometimes needing only 1 to 3. Improvement continues for 2 to 3 months after the last session while new collagen matures. In a published study of picosecond laser treatment, six sessions reduced scar volume by roughly a quarter, which is a realistic picture of what a full series achieves.
Darker skin produces more reactive pigment cells, so the inflammation of a pimple triggers extra melanin that stays behind as a brown mark after the spot heals. This is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and in published research it affected 65.3 percent of Black acne patients, 52.7 percent of Hispanic patients and 47.4 percent of Asian patients. Treating acne early, before each spot has time to pigment, is the most effective prevention, followed by daily sunscreen and pigment-safe treatment of the marks that remain.
Yes. Acne scars in Fitzpatrick IV to VI skin are treated safely when the device and settings are chosen for your skin tone. Microneedling uses no heat and no light, radiofrequency microneedling delivers energy through needles so pigment is not a target, and the 1064 nm and 1927 nm laser wavelengths have the widest safety margins in darker skin. BioPlus has treated every skin tone since 1996.
Acne first, always. Scar treatment done while breakouts continue gets undone by the next breakout, and every new inflamed spot can add new marks and new scarring. The working order is to calm the active acne, then clear the red and brown marks, then remodel the true scars. Starting the first stage early is also what limits how much scar treatment you ever need.
Neither is better across the board, because they suit different scars and different skin. Microneedling has strong trial evidence for atrophic scars and carries the lowest pigmentation risk in darker skin. Fractional and picosecond lasers remodel more per session and also clear brown marks. Radiofrequency microneedling sits between them, with a 2026 split-face trial finding it comparable to fractional CO2 laser for atrophic scars with faster recovery and better pigmentary safety.
Yes, adult acne is common, especially in women. In a study of adults over 20, acne affected 35.2 percent of women in their thirties and 26.3 percent in their forties. Adult hormonal acne typically sits on the lower face and jawline and flares with the menstrual cycle, and it responds best to a managed plan.
Cost depends on which treatments your plan uses and how many sessions your scars need, so clinics quote after assessment rather than from a menu. At BioPlus the consultation is complimentary, and a physician maps your marks and scars, sets the number of sessions honestly, and gives you a written plan with exact pricing before you commit to anything. Our services are private esthetic services and are not covered by MSP.
A physician examines your skin, grades your acne, separates marks from true scars, records your skin type, takes baseline photographs and builds a staged plan, and the consultation is complimentary. You leave knowing which stage comes first, how many sessions are realistic, what each stage costs, and what your skin tone means for device choice. Both the Burnaby and Richmond clinics run the same assessment.
Related concerns
Beyond acne
Scarring that extends past the face, or texture change that is not from acne, continues here with the same remodelling tools.
Dark patches
The brown marks acne leaves are pigment, and melasma-prone skin needs the same pigment-safe device logic explained here.
Redness that is not acne
Persistent facial redness is often mistaken for post-acne marks, and adult acne and rosacea are easily confused.
Texture and pores
Adult acne patients often plan texture, pore and collagen work in the same visit.
Complimentary consultation
Bring us your breakouts, your marks or your scars, at any stage. A physician maps what is happening in your skin, explains your plan in plain language, and gives you honest numbers on sessions, timelines and cost. You decide from there. Physician led since 1996.
Book a complimentary consultationExplore treatmentsOur services are private esthetic services and are not covered by MSP.