Yes, boils can leave scars, and most do leave at least a small mark after healing. The size and permanence of that scar depends on how large the boil was, how deep the infection went, and how it was treated (or mistreated) during the healing process. A small boil that drains on its own typically leaves a faint scar that fades over months, while a large or poorly handled boil can cause permanent, noticeable scarring.
Why Boils Leave Scars
A boil is an infection that forms deep in a hair follicle, creating a pocket of pus beneath the skin. That pocket destroys some of the surrounding tissue as it grows. Once the pus drains and the infection clears, your body repairs the damaged area with scar tissue rather than regenerating the original skin structure. This is the same process that happens with any wound that reaches below the surface layer of skin.
Boils range from roughly the size of a cherry pit to the size of a walnut. Smaller boils damage less tissue and tend to leave only a subtle, flat mark. Larger boils, and especially carbuncles (clusters of boils that merge into a deeper connected infection), destroy more tissue and are far more likely to leave a visible, lasting scar.
What Boil Scars Look Like
Most boil scars fall into one of two categories. The more common type is a shallow, slightly sunken mark where the skin lost tissue during the infection. These indented scars form because the body couldn’t fully replace the collagen destroyed by the abscess. They often look similar to certain types of acne scars.
Less commonly, especially in people prone to aggressive healing responses, boil scars can become raised and firm. This happens when the body overproduces collagen during repair. People with darker skin tones are more susceptible to this type of raised scarring.
Many boils also leave behind a dark or discolored spot even after the scar itself has flattened. This post-inflammatory pigmentation isn’t technically a scar, but it can persist for months and is often the most visible reminder of the infection.
What Makes Scarring Worse
The single biggest risk factor for a bad scar is squeezing or cutting open a boil at home. Squeezing pushes the infection deeper into surrounding tissue, spreading the damage and increasing the area your body has to repair. It can also force bacteria into the bloodstream. The National Institutes of Health lists permanent scarring as a direct complication of boils, and improper handling is a major contributor.
Other factors that increase scarring:
- Size and depth. Boils larger than 2 cm and carbuncles that extend deep into tissue cause more destruction and leave bigger scars.
- Delayed treatment. The longer an infection sits untreated, the more tissue it damages before draining.
- Repeated boils in the same spot. Recurrent infections break down the same area of skin multiple times, compounding the scarring.
- Location. Areas with thicker skin, like the back of the neck or thighs, tend to scar more noticeably than thinner-skinned areas.
How to Minimize Scarring
The best thing you can do while a boil is active is apply a warm, wet washcloth several times a day. Hold it against the boil with gentle pressure for 10 to 15 minutes per session. This increases blood flow to the area and encourages the boil to come to a head and drain naturally, which causes less tissue damage than a forced rupture.
Once the boil opens and begins draining on its own, keep it covered with a clean bandage or gauze. Change the covering regularly. Keeping the wound moist and protected helps the skin repair itself more evenly and reduces the chance of a deep, pitted scar. Resist the urge to pick at the healing skin or remove any scab that forms.
For larger boils that don’t drain on their own, a doctor can perform a controlled drainage. This involves a small incision to release the pus, which sounds like it would cause more scarring but actually tends to produce a smaller, cleaner scar than letting a large boil rupture unpredictably. The incision is precise and shallow compared to the ragged opening a boil creates when it bursts through the skin surface on its own.
Treating Scars After a Boil Heals
Most boils heal and clear up within two to three weeks. The scar left behind will continue to mature and change for several months after that. Fresh scars are usually red or dark and slightly raised, then gradually flatten and lighten over three to twelve months. Some improvement happens on its own without any intervention.
For indented scars that don’t improve on their own, dermatologists can offer treatments like chemical peels, microneedling, or laser resurfacing, all of which stimulate new collagen production to fill in the depression. For raised scars, silicone sheets or gels applied consistently over several weeks can help flatten the tissue. Steroid injections are another option for particularly firm, raised scars.
Dark spots left behind by boils respond well to topical treatments containing vitamin C or other brightening agents. Sun protection is essential during this phase, as UV exposure can darken post-inflammatory pigmentation and make it last much longer. Even a healed boil site that looks fine can darken with sun exposure in the first few months.
Boils That Are More Likely to Scar
A single small boil that you treat with warm compresses and leave alone will probably leave a mark so faint you forget about it within a year. The boils worth worrying about, from a scarring perspective, are the ones that grow large before draining, the ones that recur in the same location, and carbuncles that involve multiple connected pockets of infection. Carbuncles go deeper into the tissue than ordinary boils and routinely leave noticeable scars even with proper treatment.
If you get boils frequently, addressing the underlying cause (often related to bacteria on the skin, friction from clothing, or conditions that affect immune function) can prevent the cycle of repeated infections and cumulative scarring in the same areas.