51 replies to this topic

[rockmeamadeus]

I have posted here before about my scars and how I was treating them with serums and chemical peels from Make Up Artists Choice.
Well, the time has come where I need to realize that I cannot fix these myself. So I have scheduled a consultation at skincare institute in my city that does scar revision.

They offer the Lumenis FX Deep Repair, photofacials, microdermabrasion, Candela VBeam, Obagi peel, subcision, excision, punch grafting, cross therapy and fillers like Juvederm, Restalyne and Sculptra.

I am researching all of these, and know a lot about most from these boards, but am mostly interesting in subcision with Lumenis afterwards. I am excited to get my face examined by a professional and hear an opinion. I am really wanting to hear the words, 'It can be fixed' but I am not getting my hopes up too high. Any improvement that is permanent...I will take.

Costs are what worries me, but I have decided after dealing with this for years and having it dictate my life and what I do and how I view myself-there IS no price tag. I have gotten a second job and the institute says it offers financing. I am crossing my fingers that we can decide on a course of action and I can get started on it.

I am including some pictures, to maybe get opinions from people with similar skin, or even just give someone else with similar skin the feeling that they are NOT alone. Looking at pics from other users has always made me feel better after a day of feeling upset and alone in this.

My scars upset me more because in some lighting, you cannot TELL whatsoever I have scarring! And in some pictures, my skin looks FLAWLESS. But the second the light catches it, it just looks a textured mess. It's so damn deceiving. Some lighting it looks worse than others, of course. It seems to be shallow scarring, the problem is it is on every surface. If I wear makeup or not, it looks the same. Sometimes I still get breakouts, which just really is the cherry on top, but thank god those have lessened a great deal. I just hate to look at my skin, really. I hate it.

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Edited by rockmeamadeus, 24 September 2012 - 11:24 AM.

[Murph89]

You are gorgeous!! Seriously!! Fuck those scars. They don't change how gorgeous you are.

[Lilly75]

I can't give any opinions or advice regarding scar treatments, but just wanted to say that you look beautiful - really, the scars don't even matter. I know they would to you though so I hope you find a treatment that works well for you so you can be really happy

[betterliving]

I think my scars are similar except they are more towards my temples, upper cheeks and under my eyes. I'm thinking of having Fraxel: Repair done on mine. And you are very, very pretty, no matter what scars you have.

[DRaGZ]

Subcision + Deep FX sounds like a good idea. If they offer TotalFX (which they should), you may want to consider that as well, although it is more expensive. If you opt for DeepFX, makes sure they get the areas of skin surrounding your scars as well, because just spot treatment won't be as effective. Do NOT go for just ActiveFX, though, ActiveFX will do next to nothing for scars.

Subcision is, fortunately, cheap. Deep/Total FX, unfortunately, is not. Consider all the options available in your area, not just one doctor. Also make sure that it's actually a doctor that is doing the procedure, not an esthetician, and check up on the doctor's track record. Ask for his credentials, what board he's certified by (American Board of Dermatology is the bare minimum), and ask if he could show you pictures of his OWN patients' before and afters, not the company's.

[FIGHTER]

scars don't look to deep but am sure they will ask you if you still get pimples that scar you. am sure scars can be fixed just get right treatments and give it some time to heal. i got laser treatments and they helped smooth the skin and create new collagen.

Edited by FIGHTER, 02 September 2012 - 10:54 PM.

[Green Gables]

First off, I'd like to comment and say we should be careful about telling people they're gorgeous/beautiful/hot in spite of their acne/scars. People with both beautiful and ugly facial features have acne. Many have asked for help with their scars and no one has told them how hot they are anyway. It is very telling when only young girls with nice eyes get a lot of praise for their beauty on these boards "even though" they have acne. What about those people who have acne and weren't blessed with great eyes or facial symmetry to compensate? Let's focus on the acne problem and keep comments on someone's attractiveness to ourselves...just my opinion.

To OP: Laser treatments can definitely help you. They will not come cheap. Before you take out a loan to pay for it (and believe me, any "personal" or "cosmetic" loan will have an interest rate not much better than a credit card), have you ever been on a strong retinoid for an extended period of time? Compared to the price of laser, you would be paying next to nothing to get a Tazorac or high-strength Retin A prescription. It will take some time and it won't give you flawless skin. But it could mean the difference of thousands of dollars, e.g. getting only 2-3 DeepFX treatments instead of 4 or 5. I fully encourage you to take care of your scars, and laser and subcision is definitely the best option. But getting crushed under a mountain of debt will not help you either. If I were in your shoes, I would milk a Tazorac prescription for as much collagen production as I could, and then I would get laser.

A retinoid actually communicates with the base layer of your skin and tells it to reform and produce collagen. The results are much more significant, not superficial like the chemical peels you've been using.

There is a post on this board, I believe it's called Man in the Mirror? That has pictures and answers a lot of questions about subcision used in conjunction with TCA peel. Strongly recommend you look into that.

Edited by Green Gables, 02 September 2012 - 11:41 PM.

[*Inspired*]

First off, I'd like to comment and say we should be careful about telling people they're gorgeous/beautiful/hot in spite of their acne/scars. People with both beautiful and ugly facial features have acne. Many have asked for help with their scars and no one has told them how hot they are anyway. It is very telling when only young girls with nice eyes get a lot of praise for their beauty on these boards "even though" they have acne. What about those people who have acne and weren't blessed with great eyes or facial symmetry to compensate? Let's focus on the acne problem and keep comments on someone's attractiveness to ourselves...just my opinion.

I totally agree with this statement!

To OP: Laser treatments can definitely help you. They will not come cheap. Before you take out a loan to pay for it (and believe me, any "personal" or "cosmetic" loan will have an interest rate not much better than a credit card)

That's not necessarily true. Many cosmetic dermatologists, doctors, medispas, dentists, etc. offer financing which is interest free, provided you pay it off within a specified time period. I used Care Credit to pay for some work, and was given 18 months to pay it off $3000, interest free. I didn't use it for cosmetic work, but have noticed just about every doctor in Los Angeles who offers laser work also accepts Care Credit. Doctors who offer this type of financing do take a hit when you use it, so their fees are normally higher. They normally lose 20-25% of their fee to the finance company to offer you the option of interest free financing. If the doctor really wants your business, you can negotiate some pretty good terms. They normally start low at 12 months interest free, and will then give a little if you say you can't manage it. The longer the time period, the more the doctor loses to the finance company.

I think the OP would benefit best from fractional co2 laser treatment.

Edited by TokyoGirl, 03 September 2012 - 04:40 AM.

[pumpkin21]

Have u tried combo of derma roller/pen and tca cross? I think a round of these treatments will yield some good results for those scars

[jbird12]

I think a fractional CO2/subcision combo would do wonders for your skin. Your scarring looks similar to mine in that there is a lot of scarring but it isn't particularly deep. I would just advice to get the most out of the laser treatment and don't let them talk you into any kind of mild treatment options. If you want to correct your scarring, you really need to go after them. It might mean more downtime and pain in the short term but it will save you time and money over the longterm.

[Green Gables]

First off, I'd like to comment and say we should be careful about telling people they're gorgeous/beautiful/hot in spite of their acne/scars. People with both beautiful and ugly facial features have acne. Many have asked for help with their scars and no one has told them how hot they are anyway. It is very telling when only young girls with nice eyes get a lot of praise for their beauty on these boards "even though" they have acne. What about those people who have acne and weren't blessed with great eyes or facial symmetry to compensate? Let's focus on the acne problem and keep comments on someone's attractiveness to ourselves...just my opinion.

I totally agree with this statement!

To OP: Laser treatments can definitely help you. They will not come cheap. Before you take out a loan to pay for it (and believe me, any "personal" or "cosmetic" loan will have an interest rate not much better than a credit card)

That's not necessarily true. Many cosmetic dermatologists, doctors, medispas, dentists, etc. offer financing which is interest free, provided you pay it off within a specified time period. I used Care Credit to pay for some work, and was given 18 months to pay it off $3000, interest free. I didn't use it for cosmetic work, but have noticed just about every doctor in Los Angeles who offers laser work also accepts Care Credit. Doctors who offer this type of financing do take a hit when you use it, so their fees are normally higher. They normally lose 20-25% of their fee to the finance company to offer you the option of interest free financing. If the doctor really wants your business, you can negotiate some pretty good terms. They normally start low at 12 months interest free, and will then give a little if you say you can't manage it. The longer the time period, the more the doctor loses to the finance company.

I think the OP would benefit best from fractional co2 laser treatment.

That's good to know. The last time I looked into cosmetic financing (and I believe I looked into CareCredit specifically as well) the terms were not nearly that good. But maybe I didn't cover all my bases or things have changed. Thanks for the heads up.

[luvskincare13]

It seems like you have ice-pick scarring on the front of your cheeks. Not sure if those are rolling scars elsewhere though. Maybe for the ice-pick tca cross and then for the rest of your skin subcision with laser if they are rolling and possibly a filler.

[DudleyDoRight]

You are definitely a good candidate for Fractionalized Ablative CO2 (think Re:pair or DeepFX). You will require multiple sessions at a high setting, in the case of Repair all of mine were done at 70mj-60%.

[oopli]

First off, I'd like to comment and say we should be careful about telling people they're gorgeous/beautiful/hot in spite of their acne/scars. People with both beautiful and ugly facial features have acne. Many have asked for help with their scars and no one has told them how hot they are anyway. It is very telling when only young girls with nice eyes get a lot of praise for their beauty on these boards "even though" they have acne. What about those people who have acne and weren't blessed with great eyes or facial symmetry to compensate? Let's focus on the acne problem and keep comments on someone's attractiveness to ourselves...just my opinion.

Of course this opinion had to come from another female....figures.

[Theoneandonly]

Jealousy is not a good look cough cough hint hint

[*Inspired*]

Jealousy is not a good look cough cough hint hint

Where does jealousy come into play with this? Of course, it would be a man who totally missed the sensitivity factor. That's not a good look either.

[Lee1234]

As someone previously said, this is a board for acne sufferers thus making a reference to one physical attractiveness is redundant. You're most likely trying to make said person feel better about themselves, but they came here for advice and I assume not to fish for compliments. What about those who aren't deemed conventionally attractive? your lack of reference towards their "beauty" may do more harm than good, after witnessing how people respond to someone who is conventionally attractive on these boards. You may indirectly made them feel ugly. I wish the moderators would edit out these comments, as it clearly shows bias on these boards. Mostly towards young girls. I am a man btw.

On-topic- I have no idea how to deal with scars, but OP I'd trust the members of these boards with their recommendations. When it comes to scarring, there's a lot of room for error, so you must be careful choosing the correct treatment for yourself because only you will have to live with the consequences.

Edited by Lee1234, 05 September 2012 - 03:43 AM.

[rockmeamadeus]

I would like to thank everyone for their input, ideas, opinions, kind words and compliments.


As for the tiny problem I see occuring, I want to put my opinion. We have ALL felt ugly and inferior because of our condition. Every one of us. It is the top reason why acne causes such emotional damage. So, it's understandable and really appreciated when we say uplifting things and compliment each other on our attributes BEYOND the acne and scars. I think if someone mentions in their post that they have a severely warped view on themselves and how attractive they are, naturally people are going to try to say kind things to make them feel better. However, these boards are for comfort, for the kind of empathy we can't get in our real lives, so if others feel offended or hurt feelings in ANY way, it should absolutely be avoided.

We all our own worst critics. Maybe we should all comment on at least one post of someone else and compliment them on whats attractive about them. The results can really make a difference.

[Xesro]

Screw the damn scars, you are one of the most beautiful girl I've ever seen !
I know somewhere inside you, it hurts to see those scars. I am not worthy to tell you much since I only have one or two scars, but I think a laser surgery could be the only thing. But I know many will love you just the way you are, and you are damn pretty, I don't give a damn about the scars. Sp just don't pay attention to them, live your life the way you are.

Edited by Xesro, 05 September 2012 - 11:03 AM.

[luvskincare13]

Are these rolling scars on the side of her face? Or are these boxcars? If they are rolling wouldnt she benifit from a silicone filler the most. And on her front cheeks tca cross?