When im standing outside in direct sunlight, i can see all my scars and they make me look rugged and its definitely something i need to fix, but i dont look like the elephant man. i mean they are a 6-7 out of ten severity wise in my view but its fixable.
whenever i carry my handheld mirror around the house im completely shattered and my scars look like like a 10 out of 10:
under the flourescent lights my scars look deeper and redder and whenever im in a situation where there is light coming from a single source, all my ice picks, boxcar scars and scared pores seem to show up and it all just looks gross.
i think the realisation im having is even though i can fix the larger ones, the general unevenness is going to remain....grr
does everyone look horrible in bad lighting...i mean i see non scarred people who look brilliant in bad lighting, lol?
It's the same for everyone depending on the severity of their scars.
The wrost thing is when you catch a glimpse of yourself under a really bad lighting, it can instantly make you feel like shit.
The best is to try to avoid mirrors except if you really like to torture yourself psychologically.
It's the same for everyone depending on the severity of their scars.
The wrost thing is when you catch a glimpse of yourself under a really bad lighting, it can instantly make you feel like shit.
The best is to try to avoid mirrors except if you really like to torture yourself psychologically.
lol, i hate torturing myself but i think its better to know than to go around pretending. i guess i keep hoping the more i see myself, the more chance i will have to get used to it. that doesnt seem to be happening though. ive been looking at myself for months and all im left with is a sinking feeling in my tummy.
haha yea i think everyone with scarring goes through this .. it definitely sucks. I have some lighting where my scars are hardly noticeable to me and others where i look absolutely horrific. I feel like i dont know what i look like anymore ... and i dont like that lol. I have noticed that shadows and overhead lights are the worst and for me ... sometimes sunlight is good it seems and other times not .. it all depends on the shadows and possibly the mirror i am looking in .. i cant really pinpoint exactly what lights i will look ok in vs. lights that make my skin look really bad but i definitely go through the same thing as you.
omygosh yes, I hate bad lighting. I think the worst is bright fluorescent lights or harsh overhead lights.. they accentuate the unevenness and textured look of my skin. I never realized how important lighting can be until I started having problems with my skin. This is why I apply my makeup directly in front of a window rather than a lamp.
And I would never give up my compact because I'd rather know what I look like, and I can touch up if I need to.
It's the same for everyone depending on the severity of their scars.
The wrost thing is when you catch a glimpse of yourself under a really bad lighting, it can instantly make you feel like shit.
The best is to try to avoid mirrors except if you really like to torture yourself psychologically.
lol, i hate torturing myself but i think its better to know than to go around pretending.
Agree, It's stupid to hide from yourself. It's better to know the truth and know how other people see you right?
Let me just say that my bathroom lighting = the worse looking scars you'll see in your life. My old gym mirrors = the best looking my scars ever. I have these like weird shaped tube lighting in my bathroom and they really show how deep my scars are and how uneven all my cheeks are and my temples. I really avoid looking at my scars when im brushing my teeth or whatever and pretend that I don't want to look when before bed i'll come back anyway and stare for 5 mins then feel like shit and go to sleep.
Cafes, clubs are really bad. They have the same kind of lighting. Mirrors make a HUUUUUGE difference too. Some mirrors are like really strong or just false or something because say when I put on suncream, one house mirror makes me look completely white and suncream everywhere n my scars look RED RED and my pores are huge but with some other mirrors, everything looks fine. This is one reason I shit myself when I wear foundation because it might look similar to my skin colour in the mirror i use to apply but I'm constantly scared it looks like shit outside.
It's quite impressive how we feel the same about our acne scars. Like Buddy Franklin I also avoid to look in the mirror either when I'm brushing my teeth or in the rearview of my car.
When I shave I feel a little bit better to look in the mirror. Don't know why though. It might be by the fact I'm scar free on my chin plus the shave spot.
I know we have to be positive, but I was an optimistic person before my scars, now its hard to deal with them.
I would kill for have flawless skin. I'm good looking but that condition is getting me really upset.
I also know that after all I did in order to get some improvement, I am not happy. 0% improvement. Ok, maybe 5% on temple area. (after subcision, laser and juvederm filler)
We have to be extremely careful to any treatments since they can worse our condition.
I wish there was an extremely expensive treatment to be scar free. I would pay no matter how it costs. Even If I would have to steal. It sounds evil, but this is to show you how I am determined to heal and have another life.
Lighting sucks. Scars suck.
Some lighting is just awful and some is just great... but either way it's the surprise and disappointment that comes from seeing yourself in a new light or mirror at an unexpected time, and then the emotional impact that occurs as a result.
One mentioned that it is good to avoid and that may be good and one mentioned it's bad to avoid looking because you should face the truth. Both are really true.
However, the truth may very well be... (lately I've been feeling) that there is no rewind and there legitimately may not be a successful treatment for us and we may have to just accept our flaws and live our lives happily as we can...
Scary to say.
On a side note... something that beats any mirror is an HD camcorder. I was at the electronics store the other day and saw one and was looking at my imperfections in the flip screen... and I felt horrible 
Lighting sucks. Scars suck.
Some lighting is just awful and some is just great... but either way it's the surprise and disappointment that comes from seeing yourself in a new light or mirror at an unexpected time, and then the emotional impact that occurs as a result.
One mentioned that it is good to avoid and that may be good and one mentioned it's bad to avoid looking because you should face the truth. Both are really true.
However, the truth may very well be... (lately I've been feeling) that there is no rewind and there legitimately may not be a successful treatment for us and we may have to just accept our flaws and live our lives happily as we can...
Scary to say.
On a side note... something that beats any mirror is an HD camcorder. I was at the electronics store the other day and saw one and was looking at my imperfections in the flip screen... and I felt horrible
ah yes the problems associated with new higher pixel cameras, lol. i can just get by with a 6mp camera and under 12mps, my skin looks aweful! you can see everything, lol!
Hey,I have some scars aswell,shallow ones,but they're scars,and Im only 16 years old,no one but me and another guy (he has severe acne scars) in the class have scars,and that make me feel very down,but you know guys,build up the body,eat well,sleep well,take care of whats left of you skin (hehe),get a new haircut.
People see us like a complete body,not just the skin.
I totally understand
my family and friends will tell me my acne isnt that bad..but as soon as i see myself in certain mirrors (car mirrors/mirrors by daylight and in clubs etc) i instantly feel like i just want to run home and hide away
this feeling is with me everywhere now..no amount of makeup hides them really and i avoid brightly lit places where i can but its not always possible obviously..my mum has said i let them affect me far too much but theres nothing i can do...the tears just come when i see myself in a bad mirror..people can say i need lessons in confidence all they want but i know that the only thing that will help me is not waking up with new spots and old scars from spots i had a year ago everyday. Saying it all makes me feel a little better and seeing this forum shows me that im not just vain and over sensitive so thankyou everyone 
p.s spots on chin and jawline area and also a few around nose..forehead not too affected
im 20 yr old female
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You know, I totally get what you all are saying - and I've been there on practically a daily basis. But people respond so much more to how you carry yourself and project confidence than to scarring on your face. I know that when I whinge on about my appearance or act unsure about myself or "hide" behind my hair, etc., I do not get the positive reactions from others that I do when I literally just forget about my face and throw myself into my life.
I am definitely pursuing treatments for my scars, but in the meantime, I refuse to apologize for what I look like!
Let me just say that my bathroom lighting = the worse looking scars you'll see in your life. My old gym mirrors = the best looking my scars ever. I have these like weird shaped tube lighting in my bathroom and they really show how deep my scars are and how uneven all my cheeks are and my temples. I really avoid looking at my scars when im brushing my teeth or whatever and pretend that I don't want to look when before bed i'll come back anyway and stare for 5 mins then feel like shit and go to sleep.
Cafes, clubs are really bad. They have the same kind of lighting. Mirrors make a HUUUUUGE difference too. Some mirrors are like really strong or just false or something because say when I put on suncream, one house mirror makes me look completely white and suncream everywhere n my scars look RED RED and my pores are huge but with some other mirrors, everything looks fine. This is one reason I shit myself when I wear foundation because it might look similar to my skin colour in the mirror i use to apply but I'm constantly scared it looks like shit outside.
You should change your bathroom lights. You'll be happier with less stress and your skin will glow more. 100% hands down.
or you could accidently break your mirror like i did...AND NO IT WAS NOT FROM MY REFLECTION, lol. i've been carrying my mirror around for months seeing how my skin looks in various lights...now its broken, ive been carrying around a piece of broken mirror...oh desperate times call for desperate measures, lol.
Yah some lighting sucks when you have scars, but having said that have you guys ever looked at scarless people in the same lighting, if you really look they look pretty bad too. Some of my friends will look like they don't even have a pimple or blemish and i envy them, until i see them under that lighting, its like wow your not so different after all. We are all too harsh on ourselves. When I look in my bathroom mirror i get upset, all i see is zits and redmarks, scars, but then when I back away to a reasonable distance, it looks much better (although stilll slightly noticeable). Just remember that no one is as critical about your skin as you are, and people that don't care about acne or know about acne will not care about your scars. Heck, I didn't even know what acne scars were up until recently when I got some of my own, I obviously saw people with them I just figured it was just the way their skin was, "rugged". Trust me the people that don't suffer from scars will not notice your scars if you have mild to moderate scarring. And for the people that have upclose mirrors, the only people that will get as close to your face as you are are your intimate lovers, and I'm fairly confident they arent searching for your flaws when they are that close lol.
On 10/25/2010 at 3:53 PM, PaulyD said:Let me just say that my bathroom lighting = the worse looking scars you'll see in your life. My old gym mirrors = the best looking my scars ever. I have these like weird shaped tube lighting in my bathroom and they really show how deep my scars are and how uneven all my cheeks are and my temples. I really avoid looking at my scars when im brushing my teeth or whatever and pretend that I don't want to look when before bed i'll come back anyway and stare for 5 mins then feel like shit and go to sleep.
Cafes, clubs are really bad. They have the same kind of lighting. Mirrors make a HUUUUUGE difference too. Some mirrors are like really strong or just false or something because say when I put on suncream, one house mirror makes me look completely white and suncream everywhere n my scars look RED RED and my pores are huge but with some other mirrors, everything looks fine. This is one reason I shit myself when I wear foundation because it might look similar to my skin colour in the mirror i use to apply but I'm constantly scared it looks like shit outside.
So , ihve this same issue but it's the opposite when it comes direct sunlight my skin looks absolutely fine in the direct sunlight...but it bad when in the shadows or when the sunlight is reflected of a rough and opaque object ...I still don't know which mirror is the best I mean one hand mirror makes me look fine in the direct sunlight and that same mirror makes me look bad in the shadow lighting and there are other huge mirror in my home which don't exaggerate my scars and reddening.....
Also I have the same issue with that same hand mirror when applying moisturizer...the scars looks scary red sometimes...
Did u perhaps find a solution to this ??