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Unfortunately, due to the fact that body acne is often more severe than facial acne, scarring is more likely, and the scarring is likely to be more significant. Sadly, there has been less research carried out into scarring on the body, and therefore many of the recommended treatments for facial scars that are cited on the scar treatments section of the board are not suitable for body scars. Therefore, I am attempting in this thread to provide information and links for treatments that may be effective in helping to reduce or fade body scarring.
Please be aware that it is likely that no treatments will actually rid you of your body scarring, but also keep in mind that the scarring will probably fade considerably over time.
There are three stages in body scarring.
Open wound stage
- this is the stage following the bursting of a cyst. The cyst can be likely to bleed and then leave a very sore and painful wound. Traditional antiseptics such as savlon and sudocrem are not, in my experience, gentle enough for dealing with these types of wounds, and they also contain lanolin, which can worsen the situation by encouraging more active acne.
These are my healing recommendations at the open wound stage.
1)Cleanse lightly with mildest cleanser you can. The one I recommend is the pure olive oil castile bar available from http://www.puredeming.com/products/
2) Apply an antiseptic, but gentle gel – preferably manuka oil and honey antiseptic gel available from https://www.livingna...id=102&cid=1932 This will encourage healing whilst preventing infection and reducing active acne. It is very soothing see THIS linkhttp://www.acne.org/... nature living
3) Apply 100% pure manuka honey to the inside of a plaster, then apply over the wound, to reduce pain and infection. Manuka honey is available from health stores, or fromwww.comvita.com Try and get honey with a UMF of 10+ (this is the antibacterial rating) This will help with the healing of the wound. See this link:http://www.acne.org/...l=manuka honey
Change the plaster regularly and repeat the regimen above.
Try taking 400 IU Vitamin E, 50mg Zinc and 2 grams Vitamin C every day at this stage.
See this thread for more info on vitamins:http://www.acne.org/...showtopic=31390
Propolis capsules may also be beneficial. (see this link: http://www.acne.org/...862&hl=propolis)
Scabbing stage: gradually, a scab will form over the wound. The scab may come off easily, in the shower for instance, but it is best to try and allow the scab to remain on for as long as possible.
Healing recommendations:
Cleanse again with a gentle cleanser, ideally puredeming castile bar.
Apply manuka oil and honey antiseptic gel
Apply emu oil to encourage moist healing. ( and possible reduction in scarring) available here: http://search.ebay.c...rectZ1QQfromZR8 SEE THIS LINK:http://www.acne.org/...showtopic=14887
Red Mark stage: At this stage, the scar will have fully healed, but it may leave indented or raised scar tissue that will initially be red or purple, and inflamed. This redness will fade naturally within a year or so, but the healing may be accelerated by following the following regimen.
Cleanse with puredeming castile bar
Apply manuka oil and honey gel (although less important at this stage)
Apply amino plex spray (available by e-mail from Loganwood skincare) or copper peptides. Both are quite expensive, and some members feel they are not worth the money. However, they can help somewhat. SEE THESE LINKS: amino-plex, Copper peptides
Moisturise with emu oil/ rotate every few weeks with a week of bio oil (see this link: http://www.acne.org/...topic=19108&hl=) to see if this gives any better improvement for you.
Apply some form of silicon pad over scar and wear continuously for at least 12 hours a day– reduces redness significantly. I would HIGHLY recommend these for reducing redness. They are available in Chemists. The elastoplast ones are particularly good. SEE THIS LINK:http://www.acne.org/...topic=25216&hl=
Twice weekly lactic acid peels.available here:Loganwood skincare or here (puredeming) SEE THIS LINK: http://www.acne.org/...19370&hl=lactic(however, DO NOT follow Laet's advice and leave the lactic on for 30 minutes! This can be quite dangerous - Laet only did this because she had built up her skin to tolerate lactic acid)
Look into microdermabrasion. SEE THIS LINK:http://www.acne.org/...crodermabrasion
Final scar stage: By this point the redness in the scars should have completely faded, but the scars may remain as white, possibly shiny and hairless areas of skin. These are known as atrophic macules, and are different to the type of scarring on the face. Over time, they will fade considerably, usually ending as a pale-ivory colour that should blend in with your skin. They should not be too noticeable, but for people who feel self-conscious about their scars, there are a number of options. Treatments such as dermabrasion and TCA CROSS are NOT recommended for body scarring.
The following have been used on body scarring with some reported success:
Course of microdermabrasions (see link above) - quite a few may be needed to make any significant difference to body scarring.
Skin needling. A procedure whereby the scar is 'tatooed' without any ink. This damages the scar tissue underneath the dermis, causing it to restructure and possibly rise to the surface. This is good for deep rolling scars. SEE THIS LINK:http://www.acne.org/...354&hl=needling
Subcision. This procedure involves the scar tissue being cut away from the healthy skin in an attempt to rise it to the surface. It can theoretically raise round, 'crater' like scars significantly although it is not always successful and can cause significant bruising. SEE THIS LINK:http://www.acne.org/...32&hl=subcision
Scalpel Excision - This involves a crater like atrophic scar being stitched up to form a thin, thread-like linear scar. However, excisions on the back can be problematic - due to the amount of movement the back and shoulders carry out in daily life, the excisions can be easily torn apart, leaving you back at square one. if successful, though, this is probably the best option for atrophic macules on the back and shoulders. The chest area is usually too tight to have successful excisions performed.
Smoothbeam This is a type of non-ablative laser, which can stimulate collagen production. It may also help with active acne. It could be used in conjunction with subcision or needling. You may need several smoothbeams to see any results. SEE THIS LINK: http://www.acne.org/...0&hl=smoothbeam
IsolagenA procedure where skin cells are extracted from a part of your body such as the backs of your ears and then grown in a lab, before being injected into the scar tissue. It is a relatively new procedure but there is reported success with indented scars. SEE THIS LINK: http://www.acne.org/...506&hl=isolagen
Micropigmentation - This involves artificial pigments being injected into the macular area to help blend in the colour of the scars with the surrounding skin colour. This can be successful in camouflaging scars, but the scars will become more noticeable again if the surrounding area becomes tanned.
Hope this is helpful. Remember that helpful information on all forms of scarring and treatments can be found over in the 'scar treatments' section of the message boards.
Good luck to everyone treating their body scarring.
Rossignol.
