Want To Get Rid Of Acne Scars? — Just Add These Products To Your Beauty Cabinet

This isn't news to anyone, but I feel it bears repeating: Acne scars are rubbish. Anyone who has suffered from post-pimple hyperpigmentation knows this truth to be self-evident. And, post-puberty, they affect every age and skin colour. They manifest as red or brown marks that can last weeks — and sometimes, for the really unlucky, months. As someone from that unlucky category, I can confidently tell you that I have tried every — and I mean every — remedy known to man.

I'm also a realist: I know the only permanent ways to eradicate this woe immediately are lasers and Retin-A. But those options continue to be out of reach for the majority of those who are afflicted with this stupid, infuriating skin condition. (What? I'm not bitter.)

That said, quite a few at-home, non-prescription products do a damn good job of fading those marks faster, to get you back to the even-toned complexion you had before that massive breakout. And, for the most part, they don't cost an arm and a leg. As anyone who has spent hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars over the years in a fruitless effort to win the war on spots knows, that's a huge selling point. While these products, for the most part, have no real effect on actually preventing blemishes, we know that fading those dark marks is half the battle.

Ahead, check out these tested scar lighteners that are the everyday heroes of our beauty arsenal. And, if I missed any, let me know in the comments what you swear by. Knowledge is power.