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Rian, I used 50% TCA that I ordered from Loganwood Skincare. Richard told me to cross each scar 3x...What I did was dip the toothpick into the TCA bottle and press it into the scar and then repeat 2 more times. I also did all of these tiny round pin prick type scars that are all the same size and perfectly round. They are just a little bit larger than the toothpick. Perfect! I kept marveling at how great this procedure was for these scars. The toothpicks fit into each little pin prick pore/scar perfectly. I did around 100 of them on my forehead as well as all of my ice pick and boxcar scars. My scars were all frosted for about an hour and my cheeks and forehead were swollen and red from so much TCA, I suppose. I pretty much filled up almost my entire forehead with it. 
The next day some of my scars still had a white film on them so I called Richard and he told me that was okay. All of the pin pricks had turned brown and by that evening my face was covered in scabs that lasted for a week. I now have significant improvement in 3 of my larger scars, say 50%, and my forehead and cheeks look much smoother after I apply my make-up. My forehead still has lots of little red pin prick marks on it. I'm very pleased and looking forward to more improvements.
Richard said it can take up to 6 months to see full improvements and not to cross more than every 3 to 5 months but I will probably cross sooner.
Jan31
Anna, How bad is your scarring?
I personally have many scars on my forehead and both cheeks and I have to say that TCA has worked very, very well for me. I just did a cross about 2 weeks ago and some of my scars have actually closed up and all of them have decreased in width and depth... I haven't used anything else since then, except Retin A, and also, TCA Latte for a peel. I'm very pleased with the results, overall.
Jan31
Hi Jan31,
Did you perform the TCA yourself or get it done in a clinic?
What % was the tca and did you get the full face done or just scarred areas?
Thank u
Anna,
The doctor that I was going to before had me prep my face with Retin A...She also used a 35% medical grade TCA mixed in with the Obagi Blue Peel and she did this a few months after having done several rounds of subscision...I got significant improvements. A lot of the scars were leveled and my entire complextion greatly improved. With her method I not only had what looked like a small cyst in each scar, but my face also peeled after about a week for a few days.
The thing is that my scars have sunken back in a bit...I believe due to the normal wear and tear of living. So, here I am doing TCA CROSS on my own. I got much better results this time by crossing each scar 3x. (see my post to Rian above). It hasn't even been a month and I'm seeing improvements and I intend to continue to do this. I might have to do it several times a year for maintenance, but that's okay, I'll do it along with some other things like CIT and saline injections. It's so worth it.
As soon as I can take a week off of work I'm going to do a 25% TCA Peel.
Oh, yeah, Richard said that you can cross more than 6 times. You don't become immune to TCA! I was reading the old posts about that...
Jan31
Hi January 31st-
I am so happy to hear that you've had success with your treatment choices!
I have an eclectic collection of scars, some of which have been treated quite successfully with spot dermabrasions and subcisions and fillers, and recently the ACV. The ones that continue to bother me are the icepicks on my nose. I have tried TCA CROSS with 100% TCA (with some success) on those but they are still there. They frustrate me...hence my never ending quest... I should start using Retin-A again.
I don't know what the next treatment path will be.
Thanks, Anna
There's something I think we are all forgetting. If regeneration comes to fruition and is one day available then we might run into a paradox. Regenerating lots of scar tissue on the face would also reconstitute the sebaceous glands which would probably be overactive and cause more acne and scarring.
For instance the man whose finger tip was regenerated. He noticed that it did not crack in winter. This is because the new skin had more numerous and active sebaceous glands.
Thanks!
As far as a guide, no problem, just look up TCA CROSS here on the forum and you'll find lots of threads, including one that's over 70 pages.
Wow Jan,
Im really happy for you to get those kind of results!
I would like to try it sometime in the near future but ill need to find a guide on how to perform it on myself.
I did around 100 of them on my forehead as well as all of my ice pick and boxcar scars. My scars were all frosted for about an hour and my cheeks and forehead were swollen and red from so much TCA, I suppose. I pretty much filled up almost my entire forehead with it.
I missed this part when i read earlier,
This is my problem, my forehead is a complete mess and i think this is the only method i can do to get improvement.
So im totally chuffed it is working for you jan, it gives me a great boost.!
When you do the cross do you do a little around the scars so it blends?
all the best
rian
Very good question!
No I haven't. I'm afraid to because it's 50% TCA, although a bit does sometimes go outside of the scar I'm crossing because the acid spreads. Perhaps I could use 25% TCA on the outside? Very interesting idea. 
I did around 100 of them on my forehead as well as all of my ice pick and boxcar scars. My scars were all frosted for about an hour and my cheeks and forehead were swollen and red from so much TCA, I suppose. I pretty much filled up almost my entire forehead with it.
I missed this part when i read earlier,
This is my problem, my forehead is a complete mess and i think this is the only method i can do to get improvement.
So im totally chuffed it is working for you jan, it gives me a great boost.!
When you do the cross do you do a little around the scars so it blends?
all the best
rian
I've been kind of following this thread and am excited about some of the newer developments for scar treatments. However, I just want to say that about 2 years ago when I was depressed and desperate about doing something for my scars I got caught up with the TCA cross treatments and ordered off 2 websites that were highly praised on the scar threads. I tried it and I think they made my scars worse. I don't recall all the details but I do remember some of the posts were sketchy. I think many of the people that post about it are sellers and just trying to make money. Looking back, I can't believe I spent over $100 on products off the internet! Just be carefuL! You just never know who's behind them.
Are you referring to me??? I think you might be since I'm the only one who posted anything about TCA on this thread...Maybe you could go in and look at the 71 page TCA CROSS thread on the forum , as well as many others, posted by people like Maya and Jasmine and Wynne, etc., who got EXCELLENT results from TCA CROSSes and also, where they bought theirs from...I'm only relating my experiences and I'm not trying to get anyone to buy off of a particular vendor. The main reason that I mentioned a particular one was because not only have I been buying it from him, but I had also called him, several times, and was relating some of his advice for other people...If you do some research here before trying to warn people about my postings on TCA you will see that many people have gotten it off of this vendor as well as other vendors, like Julie Robbins or mytcapeel. I'm sorry you had bad luck with it. Honestly, most people do not. And I hope that most of the people here are familar enough with my postings to know that I am an honest person who is also suffering from cystic acne scarring.
I don't appreciate you trying to damage my reputation on this board.
Thank you,
Jan31
I've been kind of following this thread and am excited about some of the newer developments for scar treatments. However, I just want to say that about 2 years ago when I was depressed and desperate about doing something for my scars I got caught up with the TCA cross treatments and ordered off 2 websites that were highly praised on the scar threads. I tried it and I think they made my scars worse. I don't recall all the details but I do remember some of the posts were sketchy. I think many of the people that post about it are sellers and just trying to make money. Looking back, I can't believe I spent over $100 on products off the internet! Just be carefuL! You just never know who's behind them.
Interesting article. For anyone familiar with the history of ACell, Integra is the matrix product that Johnson & Johnson had patented. J&J felt that ACell infringed upon their proprietary rights. ACell prevailed in the defense and the judge ruled that ACell was different enough to not fall under J&J's patent.
Interesting article. For anyone familiar with the history of ACell, Integra is the matrix product that Johnson & Johnson had patented. J&J felt that ACell infringed upon their proprietary rights. ACell prevailed in the defense and the judge ruled that ACell was different enough to not fall under J&J's patent.
I agree with the Judge, I do not see how they are similar. The video on the integra site is kind of interesting, however it seems to still be in it's primitive stages because the burn person's final outcome still didn't look good enough to try on anything less sever than a burn. I wonder what effects are possible if Integra and Acell were used together. Acell wasn't a scaffold correct? It was basically factors that promoted regeneration? Scaffolding (integra) and such factors (Acell) could be interesting. Maybe the first primitive regeneration approach we will have will be ablation, Juvista and dermal scaffolding (Integra) with a topical Acell dressing.
A informative report about scarring:
http://www.itsmybody.co.nz/images/ProductC...ring_Report.pdf
At the end of the report, experts opinion are that a "scarless future" is just 10 years away...
ACell was/is still a scaffold. The main difference between it and Integra was which part of the pig bladder it was made of. I believe ACell exclusively used the outer membrane...don't quote me on that I need to find my ACell file.
I wish it was as simple as peeling back our epidermis, replacing the dermis with a scaffold and then pulling back our epi so all this healing stuff could be done behind the scenes so to speak under our epi.
ACell was/is still a scaffold. The main difference between it and Integra was which part of the pig bladder it was made of. I believe ACell exclusively used the outer membrane...don't quote me on that I need to find my ACell file.
I wish it was as simple as peeling back our epidermis, replacing the dermis with a scaffold and then pulling back our epi so all this healing stuff could be done behind the scenes so to speak under our epi.
I wish it was too!
sorry if this has been posted earlier, if it has I have missed it
I though it was interesting because they studied excised moles...and I thought that an excised mole scar would be similar to an excised acne scar, scar. They said that their study design was flawed, however I think that may be a cute way of saying that they didn't get the results they wanted.
Anyways I hope these drugs get approval fast so we can start to see if any synergy can be made when used in combination.
P.S - Does Acell come in two forms? Didn't the guy that regenerated his finger tip use a powder?
sorry if this has been posted earlier, if it has I have missed it
I though it was interesting because they studied excised moles...and I thought that an excised mole scar would be similar to an excised acne scar, scar. They said that their study design was flawed, however I think that may be a cute way of saying that they didn't get the results they wanted.
Anyways I hope these drugs get approval fast so we can start to see if any synergy can be made when used in combination.
P.S - Does Acell come in two forms? Didn't the guy that regenerated his finger tip use a powder?
Exactly hopeseed. Excisional scars are the scar model we need to refer to when assessing treatment efficacy. Of course this would be in the form of scar revision, unless they come up with a TGFB3 cream that people use on any active blemish or wound, to prophylactically prevent any wound from scarring.
The theory behind ACell is that it is a matrix (think of an electrical patch wire) which allows the bodys regenerative signal to carry nutrients to rebuild lost tissue.
ACell does come in both a powder and sheet form, but in either form it is an extremely sensitive material that requires very precise care in terms of bandaging and cleansing. A lot of common cleansers will denature it.
If you already have excision or other surgical scars could Acell or Juvesta (sp?) still be used? What about ReCell? Is this the same thing as Acell and has it been approved yet? I'm sorry to ask, I went through and read the thread but I still have these questions...
Jan31
sorry if this has been posted earlier, if it has I have missed it
I though it was interesting because they studied excised moles...and I thought that an excised mole scar would be similar to an excised acne scar, scar. They said that their study design was flawed, however I think that may be a cute way of saying that they didn't get the results they wanted.
Anyways I hope these drugs get approval fast so we can start to see if any synergy can be made when used in combination.
P.S - Does Acell come in two forms? Didn't the guy that regenerated his finger tip use a powder?
Exactly hopeseed. Excisional scars are the scar model we need to refer to when assessing treatment efficacy. Of course this would be in the form of scar revision, unless they come up with a TGFB3 cream that people use on any active blemish or wound, to prophylactically prevent any wound from scarring.
The theory behind ACell is that it is a matrix (think of an electrical patch wire) which allows the bodys regenerative signal to carry nutrients to rebuild lost tissue.
ACell does come in both a powder and sheet form, but in either form it is an extremely sensitive material that requires very precise care in terms of bandaging and cleansing. A lot of common cleansers will denature it.
If you already have excision or other surgical scars could Acell or Juvesta (sp?) still be used? What about ReCell? Is this the same thing as Acell and has it been approved yet? I'm sorry to ask, I went through and read the thread but I still have these questions...
Jan31
Juvesta, ACell, and ReCell all would need to be used at the time of initial wounding or revision, so if you already have a scar it would need to be excised. I'm not sure what the approval status is of ReCell. There is some talk of integrating ACell into Restylane or some type of filler to perhaps turn it into a more permanent solution for sunken defects or scars.
Anna, Thanks
Jan31
If you already have excision or other surgical scars could Acell or Juvesta (sp?) still be used? What about ReCell? Is this the same thing as Acell and has it been approved yet? I'm sorry to ask, I went through and read the thread but I still have these questions...
Jan31
Juvesta, ACell, and ReCell all would need to be used at the time of initial wounding or revision, so if you already have a scar it would need to be excised. I'm not sure what the approval status is of ReCell. There is some talk of integrating ACell into Restylane or some type of filler to perhaps turn it into a more permanent solution for sunken defects or scars.