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Hello everyone,
I have been a regular visitor to this message board without ever posting. I first noticed spontaneous scarring on my cheek in 2018, I developed a few small scars before the scarring stopped and my skin remained the same until 2020, when it flared up again for a short period. My skin remained much the same until March of this year when I developed many new scars, larger linear scars on my forehead and smaller, deeper (similar to chicken pox) scars above my eyebrow, on my temples and along my side burns. I would estimate my scarring lasted a few weeks (until April) before seeming to stabilise, however in the last week it has returned with new scarring along my temples and sides of my face.
I have tried some of the advice from previous posters, namely I have been consuming fairly large amounts of Evening Primrose Oil and Borage oil since April of this year and using it topically at night, with the development of new scars in the last week I can't say that it has really helped. I keep my skin routine very basic and don't use any harsh products. I try to eat fairly healthy and for a long time have been drinking a lot of green tea (I may stop drinking it to see if it has any effect on my skin).
I have been diagnosed with anxiety/depression and have been on medication for the last 6 months. I do feel there might a psychological aspect to this condition, I don't mean that this is not a real physical condition (it certainly is) but my scarring seems to get worse the more time I spend spend checking in the mirror and the more I obsess about it.
I have great sympathy for everyone going through this, there seems to no real explanation or treatment.
Hey. I'm new here. I've been on a journey the last 4 years trying to figure out what on earth is happening to my skin. It started when I began using Biacna for minor acne and anti aging. Within 3 months a linear scar formed on my right cheek along with fat atrophy. I immediately stopped the cream. The scar that formed had no active acne. I knew something was wrong.
Problem is for the next few years random scars without the presence of acne lesions started showing up. With things worsening this year.
I saw a doctor first and he brushed me off. Then a nurse referred me to a derm. He was stumped so he referred me to someone who took one look at me and said...its aging.
Who the heck gets random scars and atrophy from aging?
Anyways, what I've been noticing lately is I seem to see little red crescent shape or linear spots that then fade and then atrophy.
I'm trying so hard not to let it ruin my self esteem, but it does. I hate this and I am truly scared.
I don't want to do this alone. And I also wanted to warn people to stay the heck away from tretinoin if you think you have this condition!
Hoping for encouragement or advice. What helps you, what makes it worse, etc. Anything helps.
Do you have pictures?
Hello everyone,
I have been a regular visitor to this message board without ever posting. I first noticed spontaneous scarring on my cheek in 2018, I developed a few small scars before the scarring stopped and my skin remained the same until 2020, when it flared up again for a short period. My skin remained much the same until March of this year when I developed many new scars, larger linear scars on my forehead and smaller, deeper (similar to chicken pox) scars above my eyebrow, on my temples and along my side burns. I would estimate my scarring lasted a few weeks (until April) before seeming to stabilise, however in the last week it has returned with new scarring along my temples and sides of my face.
I have tried some of the advice from previous posters, namely I have been consuming fairly large amounts of Evening Primrose Oil and Borage oil since April of this year and using it topically at night, with the development of new scars in the last week I can't say that it has really helped. I keep my skin routine very basic and don't use any harsh products. I try to eat fairly healthy and for a long time have been drinking a lot of green tea (I may stop drinking it to see if it has any effect on my skin).
I have been diagnosed with anxiety/depression and have been on medication for the last 6 months. I do feel there might a psychological aspect to this condition, I don't mean that this is not a real physical condition (it certainly is) but my scarring seems to get worse the more time I spend spend checking in the mirror and the more I obsess about it.
I have great sympathy for everyone going through this, there seems to no real explanation or treatment.
I forgot to mention I have been using Ketoconazole shampoo for years, it is a mild DHT blocker and may help slightly with reducing hair loss. Like I said I have been taking fairly large amounts of Borage oil & evening primrose oil for over 6 months but more scars have appeared in the last week after a period where it seemed to have stopped.
Here are some photos. You can see the two curved indented lines on one cheek along with a newly forming red scar. Then a more deeper linear scar on the other cheek.
This is quite a mystery.
Neither tretinoin nor clindamycin are known for causing this, and I've never heard someone complain about a similar related issue with them. Plus, you said you stopped the cream and these marks showed up for years afterward.
I wonder if it's something else. Let me riff for a sec and brainstorm. Perhaps:
You use a tool of some kind for skin "rejuvenation" and have been going too hard with it? Like an at-home microneedling tool?
You noticed something very minor and got laser or microneedling professionally done to "fix it" and the fix caused the worsening scarring?
You got scratched? Maybe by a cat? (Remember, I'm just riffing here...anything that comes to my mind)
You noticed something minor and applied a bunch of topical things to the area and the combination of all of them overdid it?
You were born with slightly abnormal collagen/elastin structure in those places. As you age, those imperfections show themselves.
I also ChatGPTed it and it came up with:
Repeated or prolonged use of topical, injected, or systemic corticosteroids (like hydrocortisone, triamcinolone, prednisone)?
I got a few more scars this week that spontaneously appeared.
To answer your questions.
I've never been scratched by a cat. I don't have a cat.
I've never microneedled my skin, nor had it done professionally.
Never done a laser or peel. No steroids, etc. Nothing of the sort.
For the past 5 years all I've used is a basic face wash and a basic face cream because I'm afraid to use anything on my face that could make it worse.
Something weird is happening to me and I find it quite distressing. I'm reaching out to see if it's happening to anyone else and if they've found any sort of relief.
What about the other one I mentioned: You were born with slightly abnormal collagen/elastin structure in those places. As you age, those imperfections show themselves. That seems to make common sense to me.
Also for what it's worth, I know they are distressing to you, but if I were to meet you in person I don't think I'd notice unless you pointed it out.
I got a few more scars this week that spontaneously appeared.
To answer your questions.
I've never been scratched by a cat. I don't have a cat.
I've never microneedled my skin, nor had it done professionally.
Never done a laser or peel. No steroids, etc. Nothing of the sort.
For the past 5 years all I've used is a basic face wash and a basic face cream because I'm afraid to use anything on my face that could make it worse.
Something weird is happening to me and I find it quite distressing. I'm reaching out to see if it's happening to anyone else and if they've found any sort of relief.
I'm sorry you're going through this, I've had similar linear scars randomly appear on my forehead and what I would describe as patches of shallow atrophic scarring on my cheeks and temples. I am currently going through a period of scarring, having not noticed any new scars for a few years.
Over time some scars have improved somewhat while others have not. I have had appointments with a couple of dermatologists over the years but the answer I got was "it must just be acne scarring". Sadly I have been unable to pinpoint what could be causing it or in periods when it has stopped what has helped with that.
Yes I've been getting these random indented scarring too on my face for about 4 years now. I was using tretinoin for about a year and also I was getting some microneedling sessions done too for acne scars. And then they just appeared randomly. Almost every day I'd be getting a new one. I since have stopped all harsh treatments including tretinoin aha peels salicylic acid anything like that. I literally only use a cleanser and moisturiser and I'm still having them appear every now and again. It's so frustrating and it's really getting me down! I think borage oil orally helped abit but I was finding myself breaking out taking it so I stopped.. anyone with any answers or anything thay helped you get this to stop please reply 🙏
Also I went through a stage of taking fish oil /omega 3 supplements too around this time. I had read that others on here had the scarring start after taking omega 3 or vitamin A supplements. In which I took both. I have stopped now but like I say there is no stopping the scars
Yes I've been getting these random indented scarring too on my face for about 4 years now. I was using tretinoin for about a year and also I was getting some microneedling sessions done too for acne scars. And then they just appeared randomly. Almost every day I'd be getting a new one. I since have stopped all harsh treatments including tretinoin aha peels salicylic acid anything like that. I literally only use a cleanser and moisturiser and I'm still having them appear every now and again. It's so frustrating and it's really getting me down! I think borage oil orally helped abit but I was finding myself breaking out taking it so I stopped.. anyone with any answers or anything thay helped you get this to stop please reply 🙏
Sadly there seems to be no concrete answers to what causes this or what can help to bring it to an end. I too tried Borage oil (in large amounts & topically on my skin) for months and I still got new scars, I am currently going through a spell of active scarring. I am adopting close to a caveman approach (virtually no products on my skin) at present and still the scars appear. It seems the condition stabilizes for periods only to return, sometime years later.
It's madness isn't it. Are any of your scars red? Or just skin colour and indented? Did you do accutane or use tretinoin? Yeah I did no moisturiser etc for about 5 months and actually I think I scarred even more then. I also cut out alot of different foods including omega 3 rich food and vit a rich foods including sweet potato butter and milk,that didn't help much either. I just got very underweight I'm talking 7 stone. This has effected me so much mentally it's draining now just wish we had answers.
It's madness isn't it. Are any of your scars red? Or just skin colour and indented? Did you do accutane or use tretinoin? Yeah I did no moisturiser etc for about 5 months and actually I think I scarred even more then. I also cut out alot of different foods including omega 3 rich food and vit a rich foods including sweet potato butter and milk,that didn't help much either. I just got very underweight I'm talking 7 stone. This has effected me so much mentally it's draining now just wish we had answers.
With some of my scars I noticed some slight redness before the indentation appears, while with others there was no noticeable colour change. I have a few smaller deep indentations on my forehead in particular while I have some large patches of shallow atrophy on my temples and along my sideburns. Many have speculated about excessive omega 3 consumption as possibly a cause but really we're all just guessing. I try to eat a fairly healthy diet but not deprive myself as we've no idea if what we eat is causing this. I've never used tretinoin, I was on accutane for about 6-9 months, but it was over 10 years later that I first noticed these scars appearing. I have been experiencing scarring again from early this year after a few years of stability. I certainly can relate to the toll it takes mentally.