6 replies to this topic

[TokyoGirl]

Hello,

I've been reading the board for several months now, and have done extensive search online on the treatment of acne scars, specifically boxcar & icepick. It's extremely easy to find bad reviews on laser, but I am wondering if anyone has had success with it. If you've had a positive experience, please share it here.

To give a little background about myself, I have done both TCA Cross and Deep FX to treat boxcar & icepick scars. I regret the TCA Cross and feel the Deep FX had a much greater impact on minimizing my scars. It has been 3 months exactly since my Deep FX treatment. I only had it done on my cheeks. My icepick scars are more like indents now. Actually, I would say they are more like shallow boxcar scars with the smaller ones resembling slightly enlarged pores now. I'm curious to know if this is normal, and whether those shallow indents will ever smooth out. Or, more like, whether anyone has experience with this and if so, I'd appreciate it if you could share your experience. I assume the scars go through phases of transformation.

Also, I am 39 years old. I'm half Asian. I have suffered from hyperpigmentation and some discoloration from the laser. I expected this, and was willing to deal with the temporary discoloration to improve my skin. Healing from the laser was far easier to tolerate than TCA Cross. To be frankly honest, I believe there are more positive reviews on TCA Cross because it's more cost-effective and available to home users. There is a serious risk of causing more damage from this method. I had it done by a dermatologist, and wish I had gone with laser from the start instead. I just find it a bit scary how many people are attempting this method at home. It is not worth the risk of long-term damage, and if I could turn back time, I would not have gone with the majority of opinions on this forum regarding Cross
.

Edited by TokyoGirl, 17 May 2012 - 11:40 PM.

[DudleyDoRight]

Tokyo, I am an advocate ot Fraxel Re:pair which is very similiar to DeepFX Re:pair is the only thing that has worked for me. Anybody that can do fractionalized ablative CO2 should bypass the "natural" remedies.

[Nyssa]

I had good results with fully ablative CO2 resurfacing, though it took several attempts to make the worst scars (a pair of ice-picks) virtually unnoticeable. I had three sessions on one cheek and five on the other. I did have temporary hypopigmentation, but no serious hyperpigmentation issues. I am pale and blond, so it worked well for me. I do believe the number of treatments I had made my skin more fragile. A very aggressive microdermabrasion session I had about two years later aggravated some of my scarring, but it is not as deep or jagged as before.

I have also heard of people having bad experiences with laser and I think quite a bit of that is dependent on the person's skin, the character of the scarring, and the quality of the doctor.

[TokyoGirl]

Thanks for sharing your exprience. If I can figure out how to post pictures at this forum (is there a guide?), I would love to show my results so far. Like I said above, I've had one Deep FX treatment. It was done Feb 16th, so almost 3.5 months ago. I see a *major* improvement and am truly amazed. I didn't take pictures of my scars for a month, so I am just realizing now how much they've improved. If you check realself reviews for just Deep FX, you will note that this laser also has raving reviews there. I realize it won't work for everyone but I wanted to share my experience because it has been absolutely positive so far. I believe it is safe, while there may be more risk when adding Active FX to the treatment. Although, I am hoping to take that additional risk as well in 2.5 more months to even out what remains of my shallow scars. Even in my current state, this was the best decision I've made for treating my scars.

ADDED PICTURES HERE:
http://www.acne.org/...x-before-after/
Please let me know what you think so far.

Also, my derm was NOT aggressive. I wish I had gone with someone who was willing to be aggressive, as I think my results would have been better.

Edited by TokyoGirl, Today, 04:51 PM.

[LZOMG]

TokyoGirl, on 26 May 2012 - 04:20 PM, said:

Thanks for sharing your exprience. If I can figure out how to post pictures at this forum (is there a guide?), I would love to show my results so far. Like I said above, I've had one Deep FX treatment. It was done Feb 16th, so almost 3.5 months ago. I see a *major* improvement and am truly amazed. I didn't take pictures of my scars for a month, so I am just realizing now how much they've improved. If you check realself reviews for just Deep FX, you will note that this laser also has raving reviews there. I realize it won't work for everyone but I wanted to share my experience because it has been absolutely positive so far. I believe it is safe, while there may be more risk when adding Active FX to the treatment. Although, I am hoping to take that additional risk as well in 2.5 more months to even out what remains of my shallow scars. Even in my current state, this was the best decision I've made for treating my scars.

ADDED PICTURES HERE:
http://www.acne.org/...x-before-after/
Please let me know what you think so far.

Also, my derm was NOT aggressive. I wish I had gone with someone who was willing to be aggressive, as I think my results would have been better.

Wow nice Improvement, would you attribute most of your improvement to the DEEP FX laser?
because i have similar scars to you and I did the active fx, which did nothing =/.

Also how much less are you being charged for gettign the DEEP FX for the 2nd time vs the 1st time.

[TokyoGirl]

LZOMG, on 26 May 2012 - 07:01 PM, said:

Wow nice Improvement, would you attribute most of your improvement to the DEEP FX laser?
because i have similar scars to you and I did the active fx, which did nothing =/.

Also how much less are you being charged for gettign the DEEP FX for the 2nd time vs the 1st time.

I definitely believe the DEEP FX improved my scars. I don't really have age on my side, and have not invested in any expensive topicals or cleanser. I have been taking Vitamin C, Zinc & Fish Oil but I'm not sure if that had any impact.

I just posted another picture with different lighting, so that I'm not misleading anyone. I still have scars but I am ecstatic with the improvement so far. I realize I will always have scars, so I am only hoping to minimize them.

Also, what's missing from this is I had TCA CROSS done in October 2011, right after I took the before picture. CROSS was a bad decision on my part. It actually made my scars worse. Unfortunately, I did not keep pictures of that phase of my scar treatment. I was just horrified by what I had done to my face in trying to treat/improve my scars. I'm just so happy the laser reversed much of that additional damage.

My right cheek is actually worse than my left. I'm trying to find my before pictures of that cheek. When I do, I will post some more pics. The improvement is not as impressive because the scars are deeper and wider on that cheek, plus I had a really bad response to TCA CROSS on that cheek. However, I am sure there has been improvement there too.

To answer your question, I paid $1000 to have DEEP FX done on my cheeks and one temple. My dermatologist is offering to treat the same areas with TOTAL FX for $1000. However, I am planning to switch to a plastic surgeon who specializes in faces for one more treatment because my derm is less experienced with laser. As a result, he is unwilling to be more aggressive with my deeper scars. Next time, I am going with someone with a proven track record, who can produce results faster.

It's my understanding that Active FX is not for acne scars. It helps smooth the top layer but does not go deep enough to smooth the underlying scarred tissue. With Deep FX, you don't peel like Active FX. It targets deep under your skin where the damage exists.

Edited by TokyoGirl, Today, 07:38 PM.

[LZOMG]

I tried telling her that I dont think the Active FX would help acne scars, but she insisted. And I have not much choice because she is the only person in my city that offers Fractional Co2. Sometimes I feel like she is all about the money because she tries pushing her products on me.
But hopefully she will do the DEEP FX this time, and the only thing the ACTIVE FX was help even out my pigmentation