can anybody tell from the pictures if i have actual scarring or just post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation?


as well, in the morning after i wake up, my face looks a lot less red and the tone matches far more than it does in the photo (taken about an hour after the night's face wash), why is this?

the second i wash my face (day or night), my cheeks are red as if i was slapping myself. i do not scrub or apply lots of pressure, i gently massage the soap into my face.. i use the same amount of pressure on my forehead as i do my cheeks, but my forehead is NEVER red.

most of my acne is on my cheeks. i do get the occasional zit on my forehead, but not very often.

It's kind of hard to tell from the pictures. Are the marks indented or bumpy, or are they just discolored?

they're not bumpy at all, unless i've got a zit.
the really dark mark in the middle photo is a zit that recently came to a head the other day, so the bump is still there.

over the right size of my face (1st pic) it's smooth

If they're smooth--like healthy skin, only discolored--they might be PIH.

oh good, thanks for the input.
is my face being red only after face washing possibly linked to PIH?

it is hard to see, they look bumpy which could mean there might be some
small acne there but on most part, i'd say PIH - good news as its not permanent
and its easy to get rid of with treatments

the bumps you're seeing are live zits. i'm still experimenting with my regimen so i haven't been able to rid them 100%, but it's a billion times better than it was this time last month.

i took a few more photos under different angles and lightning and i look to have a few craters from where i had acne the worst. i wonder why they didn't show up in these photos. it's not something i can easily see in the mirror because it's on the side of my cheeks. to the touch, they're nonexistent.

does the redness have to go away before i can get the craters taken away by a professional?

what is usually the best treatment for PIH?

best treatment is obviously a laser, but chemical peels like gycolic work well.
retin-a like green cream also do good job.

defo go to your derm for help

what kind or type of laser treatment? of course i've done some research on my own but it's hard to get a definite answer. i see you've had some success doing peels, how bad was your redness and or pih


the derm that prescribed me accutane is being a ass and telling me there is no treatment for pih...just have to wait for it

This post has been edited by Kraven Moorhead: Nov 7 2009, 04:44 PM

i've never had any treatment yet but i'm certainly considering it.
the red marks aren't really a bother to me considering they will fade away. the crater scarring is a bit stressful, however.

i've heard of people getting permanent scarring, red marks from peels (permanent red marks was my worry in creating this topic!)
a relative of mine just told me she knows a few people personally who got the scarring from peels, so i'm leaning more toward the surgical route. somebody posted this link the other day: http://www.skincarephysicians.com%2Facnene...acne_scars.html

curious if anyone had the laser treatment to get rid of the boxcar-type scars. if so, how much did it cost? did you go to a dermatologist or plastic surgeon?





attached some pics of my face on an angle so the craters can be seen more clearly. for some reason these don't show up with flash.

This post has been edited by plt: Nov 7 2009, 09:37 PM

yeah some derms just dont want to help you and say time is all it takes.
i too was turned away, he said they should be gone after 1yr

low and behold i came back 1yr later with my face still red, no improvement at all.
i told him how it caused me distress and he agreed to help

kind of stupid though as the treatment was there all along

what level would you say your PIH was....im trying to figure out if the gycolic peel would be worth my time....right now mine is pretty bad

both cheeks had red marks, some dark and some light
had some on forehead too, but they were hardly noticeable

for cheeks i'd say 7-8 out of 10, 10 being all covered in red
glycolic peel defo helped, i would go to derm and get one asap

If they are indented, they are scarred. If you can't tell, I would not worry about it because you can tell if it actually leaves a dent.

i have some denting. to me they're fairly mild as they show under yellow light (indoor/house ('earth-friendly-bulbs')
...only (neon light / 'normal light' - as in street lamp lighting) doesn't show them

irregardless i'd like to get rid of them. is my only option a peel? i know there are lasers, but are mine deep enough to go that route?

i see my esthetician end of nov, but i'd like to get secondary input from others with experience with this kind of scarring (if possible).



the redness doesn't worry me, as others have stated theirs went away. it's the indenting i have a severe issue with.

whatever your washing your face with is obviously irritating your skin. what do you use? i suggest using a natural facial cleanser without harsh chemicals.

any soap i've ever used, has always made my face red. regular bar soap, facial soap, acne soap, etc.

right now i rotate between neutrogena deep clean and obagi clenziderm