You don't sound arrogant or vain at all. You have an honest, understandable, completely reasonable reaction to a procedure that did not do what you expected it to and even left you worse off, in your eyes.

Have you considered needling at the demarcation line? Some people report that needling helps with hypopigmentation. There are some Asian skinned persons who have had great results with it, judging by their photos and the progress reports they made. They did have it done for scarring, but I have read that it can help with pigmentation issues.

Venting is good! It's cathartic and good for the mind. I'm glad you're back visiting again. Welcome back. You know the majority of people here are welcoming and kind.

Dr. Y was the talk of the town back then along with Dr Rullan, now people are turning on them. who can you really trust these days? which Dr. will be the next one to fall from grace? Hey isn't Dr. Y old and retired? This is the saddest song I've got.

thank you for returning to share your experiance, and i am sad to hear things did not turn out as you had hoped.

I too have some demarkation Iines from c02, and i know how difficuIt it is to hide.

I am trying AmeIa-Ex atm for anti-meIasma, but i doubt it wiII heIp tbh.

I am considering ipI or something eIse...

r

If i find something that works, iII Iet you know.

Keep smiIing and remember there is no such thing as perfect, dont push yourseIf so hard to achieve something impossibIe, for can onIy bring unhappiness.

Thanks for posting that hopeful!

I read so many good things about dr. Y that I wanted to fly there for derm. But I'm in school and I'd have to wait until summer and blah blah blah. I also read a post of another asian guy that went to dr. Y. He was depressed afterward too.

I too am asian. What the hell happened, I thought asians were supposed to have awesome skin! Not in my case. So I flew to this great (ahem "great") doctor, paid him $6,000 for laser, not including hotel, taxis, food, plane, etc, and this asshole told me I'd be seeing 70% improvement in my scars (the 70% made the $6,000 sound really reasonable, cuz i'd pay $20,000 for good skin...if i had the cash). I was like SIGN ME UP! He's asian too, so I figured he'd know what he's talking about in my case.

Well, it was all lies. That's the worst part right there. They give you high hopes, then when it doesn't turn out that way, it's like a crash and you're even worse off than before, partly cuz now you're PISSED! It's like, dam, shoulda just left me alone. It's been 2.5 years and my cheeks have been red ever since, not to mention the scars look pretty much the same. And I can't really go out in the sun for too many reasons. Looks like I'm reduced to spending most of my time indoors like a bat. Hey wanna get married and live in darkness forever? hehe

I don't know, it's like you think you get your answers. Then life throws you a curve ball. But I am sick and dam tired of wasting my life in agony. It makes my head hurt. So I find ways of enjoying things. And YES it sucks to wear a hat and a zip up sweater when it's 90 degrees out (not to mention people probably think I'm a weirdo). But hey, those are the cards I was dealt baby!

What about asking another doctor what can be done? One who isn't 100 years old.

Hey Hopeful,

You tell absolute truth about Butcher Yarborough. Acne.org has tens of thousands of readers, but I keep thinking how to expose what he did to people to the whole world. My contempt for this low life and his like will never fade.

On the other hand, having corresponded with you for so long I feel like I know you as a friend. I know you have what it takes to free yourself from being bothered by demarcation and hypopigmentation.

I don't hide my demarcation from people, because I have done nothing wrong or owe anyone anything, why should I hide. For those who can truly see me for who I am, there is nothing I can do to keep them away from me, I am not talking about just a few people here. For the shallow people who pick on my damaged pigmentation, I have more reasons to look down on them than they do me.

I have my hair cut very short, exposing demarcation along the hairline. This is my forehead and jawline, I have the right to show them. This is also my summer, I have the right to enjoy it, by myself or with friends, indoor or outdoor, day or night.

Come on my friend Hopeful, you have come so far getting back on your feet now, no point not taking the last few steps to free yourself. It is an obvious choice. Take another week off, go back home, cut your hair short, put on the wet suit and surf!! Have the time of your life again!! Try telling me you don't feel good after doing that

Hi Bug,

What is the need to wear a hat and sweater? How about just a good sunscreen?

It's been 2.5 years and my cheeks have been red ever since, not to mention the scars look pretty much the same. ... And YES it sucks to wear a hat and a zip up sweater when it's 90 degrees out (not to mention people probably think I'm a weirdo).

Hi, I'm not asian descent, but I have my own story about dermabrasion. I wished I didn't do it. Point blank. They say it can take upto 2 years for the actual discloration of your skin to show. It's been about 18 months for me and i'm noticing that my natural skin color is now pale. The scars look wider and the dr left dig marks on me. : > { I believe a poster posted a site on here that was using stem cells or the persons own blood (something like that, forgive- i can't remember with all the research I do) in a resurfacing co2, to add their natural pigmentation back. It was research being done in another country. They had a photo of a women who had loss of pigment from a co2 laser. They gave her another co2 and spread the mixture on her face right afterwards. The after photo's were nice. It actual gave her some color back to her face. If I can find the post, I'll post it.

It took 5 or 6 years for my demarcation line from CO2 to fade. Like you, Sword and others I wish I had never sought treatment. The doctor minimized the risks and then tried to blame me when things went wrong. I try not to dwell on it. You have to focus on other aspects of your life, and try to improve your skin little by little.

The doctor minimized the risks and then tried to blame me when things went wrong.

hey bro,

i meant, i wear a hat and sweater cuz i'm embarassed of my scars. not so much anymore though. it's been too long and it's bout time to start enjoying things (like, the wind haha)

hey bro,

i meant, i wear a hat and sweater cuz i'm embarassed of my scars. not so much anymore though. it's been too long and it's bout time to start enjoying things (like, the wind haha)

Thank you Wynne.

Hopeful, bugs and others, yes its time to take back what is ours and enjoy it the way we want.

Hey, I really appreciate your good attitude... most of the time I'm that way too (believe it or not from my last posting) : ) it was just the one time I had the chance to vent to someone after holding it in for so long!! I hope you all understand. In general, I get by day to day with a positive outlook, a belief that one day some amazing technology will help my demarcation line. I don't think it's high hopes, because in the end, I'd rather have some hope left in me and make it through my daily activities with some belief rather than be beaten and low all the time.

Thanks for sharing your story... it shows your courage! I once again commend you on your outlook!

Let's share ideas on helping the situation.

Thanks for posting that hopeful!

I read so many good things about dr. Y that I wanted to fly there for derm. But I'm in school and I'd have to wait until summer and blah blah blah. I also read a post of another asian guy that went to dr. Y. He was depressed afterward too.

I too am asian. What the hell happened, I thought asians were supposed to have awesome skin! Not in my case. So I flew to this great (ahem "great") doctor, paid him $6,000 for laser, not including hotel, taxis, food, plane, etc, and this asshole told me I'd be seeing 70% improvement in my scars (the 70% made the $6,000 sound really reasonable, cuz i'd pay $20,000 for good skin...if i had the cash). I was like SIGN ME UP! He's asian too, so I figured he'd know what he's talking about in my case.

Well, it was all lies. That's the worst part right there. They give you high hopes, then when it doesn't turn out that way, it's like a crash and you're even worse off than before, partly cuz now you're PISSED! It's like, dam, shoulda just left me alone. It's been 2.5 years and my cheeks have been red ever since, not to mention the scars look pretty much the same. And I can't really go out in the sun for too many reasons. Looks like I'm reduced to spending most of my time indoors like a bat. Hey wanna get married and live in darkness forever? hehe

I don't know, it's like you think you get your answers. Then life throws you a curve ball. But I am sick and dam tired of wasting my life in agony. It makes my head hurt. So I find ways of enjoying things. And YES it sucks to wear a hat and a zip up sweater when it's 90 degrees out (not to mention people probably think I'm a weirdo). But hey, those are the cards I was dealt baby!

What about asking another doctor what can be done? One who isn't 100 years old.

Sword, you're my hero!! I want to feel what you feel... I was telling Bug that I'm pretty okay with myself most of the time, but never am I as brave as you! I want to be liberated, but maybe because I'm female, I feel more held to keeping up with an image?? or maybe not.

However, I think my hair and makeup is a crutch that I'd gotten used to. It's almost masking my inner disability and lack of freedom and allowing it to permeate throughout the rest of my life. I sometimes feel like a fraud because no one suspects a thing about my situation. I almost think if I was forced to cut all my hair off because of some condition or situation, it'd be a blessing.

Thanks Sword for your words, and for showing me strength. I think I'm being strong for what I'm capable of at this time in my life. One day, I want to e-mail you and tell you that I went surfing with my cute short haircut!!! : ) that is a dream for now.

-Hopeful

Hey Hopeful,

 

You tell absolute truth about Butcher Yarborough. Acne.org has tens of thousands of readers, but I keep thinking how to expose what he did to people to the whole world. My contempt for this low life and his like will never fade.

 

On the other hand, having corresponded with you for so long I feel like I know you as a friend. I know you have what it takes to free yourself from being bothered by demarcation and hypopigmentation.

 

I don't hide my demarcation from people, because I have done nothing wrong or owe anyone anything, why should I hide. For those who can truly see me for who I am, there is nothing I can do to keep them away from me, I am not talking about just a few people here. For the shallow people who pick on my damaged pigmentation, I have more reasons to look down on them than they do me.

 

I have my hair cut very short, exposing demarcation along the hairline. This is my forehead and jawline, I have the right to show them. This is also my summer, I have the right to enjoy it, by myself or with friends, indoor or outdoor, day or night.

 

Come on my friend Hopeful, you have come so far getting back on your feet now, no point not taking the last few steps to free yourself. It is an obvious choice. Take another week off, go back home, cut your hair short, put on the wet suit and surf!! Have the time of your life again!! Try telling me you don't feel good after doing that

Wynne, you're right, as I was writing to Sword and Bug... I really want to break free of all this.

I really think saying what I needed to say on my initial post helped me tremendously. I've been walking around for 2 years holding so much in. Whew, what a relief. Sure, I have a lot to go in terms of truly recovering and freeing myself from this event, but I feel the support helps ease the struggle.

-H

hey bro,

i meant, i wear a hat and sweater cuz i'm embarassed of my scars. not so much anymore though. it's been too long and it's bout time to start enjoying things (like, the wind haha)

Yes, Please enjoy your life. Hiding away only hurts yourself more.

This is a great thread because of all the support you guys are giving each other. Keep it up.

but hopefulskin : did you notice any significant improvement with you acne scar ?

Hi scar_search,

Did you have hypo, and thus a line? and has it faded completely? lastly, are you of Asian descent?

Just wondering...

I doubt that my demarcation line will actually fade away, but I'm sure it'll lighten up a bit. I hope.

-H

It took 5 or 6 years for my demarcation line from CO2 to fade. Like you, Sword and others I wish I had never sought treatment. The doctor minimized the risks and then tried to blame me when things went wrong. I try not to dwell on it. You have to focus on other aspects of your life, and try to improve your skin little by little.

I will say honestly... yes, it improved some of my scars and others, not so much. I would have no complaints if hypo/line did not occur. The improvement on the scars (which were minimal to begin with) were enough for me to feel happy about. But with a line cutting off my face and neck, that's a whole different bag of issues, much worse in my opinion.

Let's put it this way, no one, not one person, has noticed or commented that my skin looks better. Infact, because I now wear makeup vs. before, I went natural, the scars look worse... somehow, putting on foundation/powder accentuates the contours of scars. Yet because of pigment issues, I'd rather look like I have worse scarring than to have pale skin that doesn't match any other part of my body!

but hopefulskin : did you notice any significant improvement with you acne scar ?

hopeful : do you think the improvement from dermabrasion is significant ? what kind of scar (icepick or boxscar or rolling) that improve with ur dermabrasion ?

are you skin type IV ?

even i didnt get dermabrasion, i get dermacation line between face and neck too from use topical night cream every night for years....

now my face is lighter than my neck ...

how about if you lighten your neck with topical night cream that contain hydroquione ?

Hey Hopeful,

 

You tell absolute truth about Butcher Yarborough. Acne.org has tens of thousands of readers, but I keep thinking how to expose what he did to people to the whole world. My contempt for this low life and his like will never fade.

 

On the other hand, having corresponded with you for so long I feel like I know you as a friend. I know you have what it takes to free yourself from being bothered by demarcation and hypopigmentation.

 

I don't hide my demarcation from people, because I have done nothing wrong or owe anyone anything, why should I hide. For those who can truly see me for who I am, there is nothing I can do to keep them away from me, I am not talking about just a few people here. For the shallow people who pick on my damaged pigmentation, I have more reasons to look down on them than they do me.

 

I have my hair cut very short, exposing demarcation along the hairline. This is my forehead and jawline, I have the right to show them. This is also my summer, I have the right to enjoy it, by myself or with friends, indoor or outdoor, day or night.

 

Come on my friend Hopeful, you have come so far getting back on your feet now, no point not taking the last few steps to free yourself. It is an obvious choice. Take another week off, go back home, cut your hair short, put on the wet suit and surf!! Have the time of your life again!! Try telling me you don't feel good after doing that

I dont want to sound like an ass or something but how do you guys make a living if you sit inside all the time? Where does the money come from?

Hey Hopeful,

Keep that up and I will be over my head and think I am really a hero )

It used to be heart-breaking to see the demarcation lines in the mirror, but I never stopped believing in myself. It took time and hard work to rebuild myself, but now when I see the demarcation I smile because I have not let it beaten me.

You are right, the make up and the hair you have gotten used to post-derma is a crutch. Can you gradually but certainly cut the hair short, and reduce the amount of make up. That way you give yourself a chance to adapt and learn to feel comfortable, a step at a time. Other than that, I feel that you are doing much better than a year ago!!

For you, the important thing is you have a dream to pursue. You are also more beautiful than you know.

Please stay focused and believe that you can be the best, inside or out. Don't forget me when you become famous and successful

Sword, you're my hero!! I want to feel what you feel... ... I think I'm being strong for what I'm capable of at this time in my life. One day, I want to e-mail you and tell you that I went surfing with my cute short haircut!!! : ) that is a dream for now.

-Hopeful

Your posts are truely inspirational Sword. I really wish you (and others who have suffered from dermabrasion) well for the future.