40 replies to this topic

[EricB]

Hey bibs, that sounds awesome! I am doing a series of fraxel and have done 3 already and have two more to go but im nost sure if its working for me... im going to try TCA cross method maybe 6 months down the road to give my skin a chance to heal from the fraxels, plus i stopped taking accutane only 6 months ago... anyway, i was wondering how the tca cross method is done... could u give me brief description of the proccess? i would really appreciate it! plus, do any doctors or pros do this method, im not sure if i would trust myself...?

thanks!

eric

[bibs]

hey eric--
i hope those fraxels work for you. not to scare you, but i did smoothbeam for my moderate acne and that was my downfall. it caused horrible cystic acne which led to the scars i have been battling today. still, i know that lasers have really helped people too, so it really is just an unpredictable science. if you've done 3 with no flare ups, then i don't think you have cause to worry.

anyway, because i knew that lasers were out for me, i researched all other scar revision techniques and TCA seemed the most low risk, high return. you could maybe find a doctor to do it, but i don't see what the point would be. i don't really think anymore that a doctor would be better at doing this because it is so easy. Also, it seems that the people who pay money to see a doctor don't see the results because maybe the doctor is not as aggressive? it took three times for me to get the results that i have today, and i think if i was paying money every time, i may have given up a long time ago.

also--how severe is your scarring? if it is severe, TCA might not be the best option, although you can always cross your more moderate scars. also, be sure to test on one isolated scar and wait a week or so to see how your skin reacts! and yes--WAIT after those fraxels!! your collagen is going to be all messed up. i would wait longer than six months i think. i started crossing over a year after my smoothbeams.

this is the method that i used and researched on this board

1) wash face and dry. don't put on any moisturizers or anything. need a naked face.

2) prepare the acid by dropping a few drops of 100% TCA into a small cup. (i used a foil muffin cup)
be sure to wear latex gloves!

3) using a toothpick, dip it into the acid until you're confident that the acid is on the pick. no drips! then, carefully and firmly, press the toothpick into the scar you want to cross. hold for couple seconds.

4) observe scar. wait a few seconds. if it frosts white, then it is working. if not, i usually cross it again.

5) for larger scars, i press a few times within the circumference of the scar. i was scared to do this at first, but it really worked!!

6) after everything frosts, wash face like normal. gently pat dry. moisturize with squalene oil (or emu oil too i hear is good!)

7) the next day you will scab. don't pick. they will fall off. wait about 2 months before next cross.

[Dazarooni]

It's VERY IMPORTANT to use acetone or alcohol to thoroughly degrease the skin just before you start to apply the TCA with the toothpick/cocktail stick.

acetone/alcohol gets rid of all oils that can hinder the effectiveness of the TCA on the skin.

[Asher2]

bibs what percentage of tca did you use and where did you purchase the TCA? thanks!

[EricB]

bibs, thanks for the reply and explanation! Yea I guess I should wait a while after the fraxels... im a bit confused though, my scarring is not bad, but how will just placing the tip of a toothpick cause the entire scar to frost? i mean most scars have a larger circumference (my spelling sux!) than the tip of a toothpick... ?

[bibs]

bibs what percentage of tca did you use and where did you purchase the TCA? thanks!

i bought my tca from
http://www.mytcapeel.com/page/page/1612385.htm but you can also get it from
http://www.loganwoodskincare.com/item-deta...m?ID=D6B0172F-3

i used 100% TCA

[bibs]

bibs, thanks for the reply and explanation! Yea I guess I should wait a while after the fraxels... im a bit confused though, my scarring is not bad, but how will just placing the tip of a toothpick cause the entire scar to frost? i mean most scars have a larger circumference (my spelling sux!) than the tip of a toothpick... ?

like i said, with the larger scars, i pressed a few times within the circumference of the scar. i didn't have many big scars, but the biggest one took about 3 points where i crossed. basically, i didn't try to get the whole thing to scab over. instead, i figure a few strategic points would help the overall area to build collagen. at first, this was the scariest part of the cross because i wasn't sure what to do myself. but it really did work. those scars are now much shallower.

[technomarine_888]

Please check this site http://www.belomed.com/services_peels_others.htm ... im from the PI and this is the only place that offers TCA peel.. where can I TCA set peels?

They even told me that it isn't effective for acne scars and dermasanding is more effective... it costs 8000php per session not good... i want TCA pls help

help... I don't like this company though.....

[EricB]

hey bibs, thanks, i will try this method out some time down the road... hopefully my fraxels will get me to a point of where i am confident again... i dont need my skin to look perfect since im a guy, i just hope someday i can look in the mirror and be satisfied with the way i look again!! i think this is possible. I have talked to many people about fixing acen scars and they all say what works for some might not work for others etc. So i think the key is to find a method that works for you and never give up... anyway, thanks for all the positive input bibs and explanations! im so happy for you that u found a method that worked for you!

[bibs]

Please check this site http://www.belomed.com/services_peels_others.htm ... im from the PI and this is the only place that offers TCA peel.. where can I TCA set peels?

They even told me that it isn't effective for acne scars and dermasanding is more effective... it costs 8000php per session not good... i want TCA pls help

help... I don't like this company though.....

technomarine--
this is where i bought my tca
http://www.mytcapeel.com/page/page/1612385.htm but you can also get it from
http://www.loganwoodskincare.com/item-deta...m?ID=D6B0172F-3

i used 100% TCA

it IS effective for acne scars as i, and all the people who inspired me to do it from this board, can attest to. it may not work for everyone though. you have to be patient. it took me a year to get here.

[mich]

i dont know why but i have done 3 crosses on my scars and they unfortunately are worse then before. i dont understand why??

[bibs]

i dont know why but i have done 3 crosses on my scars and they unfortunately are worse then before. i dont understand why??

wow, mich. i'm really sorry to hear that. since i'm not a doctor, i don't know what could have caused it. were the scars fairly shallow at first already? did you wait sufficient amout of time between crossing? did you accidently cross good skin? i once thought i had made a scar worse after a cross for a while, but it ended up filling in too. maybe you just need more time?

one thing could be that it just doesn't work for you--which is why i was careful to do a trial on one isolated scar first. smoothbeam, which worked wonders on some people, made HELL out of my skin and GAVE me my scars...so it goes to show that one person's salvation is another person's downfall.

[artlez]

Hi bibs

If it's not too much trouble, could you possibly post up a picture of what your scars did look like? Doesn't need to be you, but just any picture that has similar scarring. I just want to see if my scars are similar to yours so I can maybe look into what you did after I wait out the accutane downtime period.

Thanks

[bibs]

@artlez

oooookay. i tried to do a google image search to come up with an idea of what my scars were like. i think i had a combination of the scars below, concentrated on just my lower cheeks. they may have looked a bit like the ones in photo 1. a lot of my scars now look like thin lines, as they have closed up--so they are visible still, but less like a scar and more like a weirdly placed wrinkle. kind of like this photo , but more shallow. also, i only had one really deep one, which is still there. so it wasn't as severe as this photo , but i had one about that deep, which is now much shallower and smaller.

ack, it's so hard to do this with someone else's photos.

[jestex123]

Does TCA have to be neutralized? If so, how do you do it? Thanx:-)
Another question...In the articles that I've read, instructions are to use a sharpened wooden applicator like a toothpick. But, if the point of a toothpick is not large enough to cover the entire surface of the scar should I use something bigger like a q-tip or something? Or should I just do multiple points on the scar surface? Any ideas, suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanx:-)

[Hopesprings]

Does TCA have to be neutralized? If so, how do you do it? Thanx:-)
Another question...In the articles that I've read, instructions are to use a sharpened wooden applicator like a toothpick. But, if the point of a toothpick is not large enough to cover the entire surface of the scar should I use something bigger like a q-tip or something? Or should I just do multiple points on the scar surface? Any ideas, suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanx:-)

No neutralizition needed. It neutralizes itself.
I think it's better to used a thin toothpick and do a few points in a larger scar than using a thicker toothpick and making a mistake. With a thicker toothpick you might accidentally cross good skin. It's easier to control a thinner point. That's what I do and it works.

[casper8o8]

@artlez

oooookay. i tried to do a google image search to come up with an idea of what my scars were like. i think i had a combination of the scars below, concentrated on just my lower cheeks. they may have looked a bit like the ones in photo 1. a lot of my scars now look like thin lines, as they have closed up--so they are visible still, but less like a scar and more like a weirdly placed wrinkle. kind of like this photo , but more shallow. also, i only had one really deep one, which is still there. so it wasn't as severe as this photo , but i had one about that deep, which is now much shallower and smaller.

ack, it's so hard to do this with someone else's photos.

Hi I'm new to this message board but found it very inspiring to read your post I'm so glad for you and was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping me out where did you get your tca cross from? and if you wouldn't mind looking at my pictures and tell me if you would do it if you had the scarring as me? because it makes me feel really insecure I'm 20 years old and feel like I pay attention to my looks too much plus I'm a guy.

[Wynne]

Another TCA CROSS post.

[aaasss]

bibs- Thank you and lovvvvved your post.. so happy to hear about your TCA success Im really scared, but i just may try TCA cross on my ice picks.. (I was going to have punch excised in the future anyways)...figuring i have nothing to lose.

bibs..what % of TCA did you use??? thankies.

happy to help! i used 100%. It really worked on my ice picks, but i haven't done anything tinier than a toothpick.

Im going to try this on my ice picks too...Thank you for your quick answer. .

Hello everyone
I have done my TCA-CROSS on Friday for the first time. It is 5 days and I still have those white spots, they are not dry or black and I do not think they are going to fall off.
What should I do? Did anyone else had this problem.
Please let me know how long does it take till this white spots go away.
I am so scared.

[aaasss]

Hi Everyone
I have done the cross on Friday for the first time.
It has been 5 days and I still have those white spots, they are not dry and they are not falling off.
I am really scared and I do not know what to do.
Please help me.
Thanks