Done by the right doctor, fillers are a great temporary solution. You can see improvement for 6-12 months.
I don't believe in peels for treating acne scars. Did your derm say how many peels would be required to reach your goal? I don't think one peel will provide much improvement. However, I have never done a Blue peel.
Hey TokyoGirl,
Thanks for your input! I have to say that I am certainly appreciative of the respectful, informed responses of those who replied to my original post here on acne.org.
To answer your question; my cosmetic derm seems to think that only one Obagi mid-level Blue peel will do it for me.
Please keep in mind that I have already had about 4 sessions of punch excisions, and one session of punch grafts. Those sessions of punch exisions involved me getting, goodness, literally dozens of those little excisions. I probably have had, gosh, 40 on each cheek total. And my derm really did do a marvelous job on some of them. On some places on my face, you would not be able to tell that there was ever a scar.
When my cosmetic derm smooths back the skin on my cheeks, the scars get noticeably smoother, and from what she tells me, that is how my face will look after having this one peel done. To begin with, my right cheek was the one with the least amount of scarring. It definitely was scarred, of course, but the boxcars on it and ice picks were much more shallow. So, now when she smooths it out in the office, or when I do at home in front of the mirror, you can hardly see any scarring. It just looks like I have large pores now. Which is fine. I was never going to have small pores, anyway. I'm an oily-skinned girl, and I can deal with the big pores that go along with that.
Oh, and about the silicone injections, I just learned about them for the first time the other day. I didn't know if they were suitable for my type of scarring or not. To be honest, I just saw those pictures, and was extremely, extremely impressed.
If you have any contributing thoughts, I would certainly appreciate it. 
I don't really consider my scarring to be that bad. Kind of moderate. But yes, I will definitely keep you updated.
My scarring is very similar to you only that I never had cystic acne and I caused the scarring myself by squeezing whiteheads.Imagine how bad that makes me feel.
Anyway I was also planning on doing punch excisions followd by some kind of laser. I'm very skeptical of going for a laser treatment though since it often seems to cause additional damage or not help at all. I thinkin of the mixto laser. My initial plan was to go for at home dermarolling but I'm scared of not doing it properly + I don't think I'l be patient enough for it.
Ah fuck scarring why can't there be some fairy dust that fills in those damn holes with normal tissue or even scar tissue. Holes are unsightly.
Maybe nanotechnology in a few years.....
Are you kidding me? In the other thread you sound like your scars are extremely bad and like this is the end of the world for you. And this is all you've got.
Those are mild acne scars. If you do punch excision on them, you have a good change that they will look worse than before. TCA cross might be a better option and less risky. And fillers usually don't work for that type of scars.
Ok that saddens me because punch excision is my only way out. My scars are deep. I can't do tca cross because of my skiin color. I'v asked docter Lam if you are familiar with him.
I don't care if it leaves a linear scar, anythin is better than thsoe goddam pits.
I was planning on doing one fist and then see how it goes.
Tonyocr,
Have you ever visited a derm, or cosmetic derm to see what his or her opinion might be in regard to your scarring?
If you've seen such great improvement from your derm, I would trust her then, and give a blue peel a try. You really don't have anything lose by trying it. While I have seen improvement from laser, not peels, I am also not a firm believer that laser is for everyone. It doesn't work for every person, and there are definitely more risks with laser.
I believe ablative fractionalized CO2 would work wonders for you. You could get by with as few as 2 lasers treatments, but choose your doctor carefully. I, of course, advocate Re:pair as you can tell by my signature. The headpiece of the laser is rolled across the skin, while other lasers are delivered in a more pick up and move system.
http://www.acne.org/...er-link-o-rama/
I appreciate your advice, DudleyDoRight! I really am excited about the idea of one day having laser treatments done, and I wonder, can you have lasering done AFTER a chemical peel?
Also, do you mind telling me a little bit about your experience with the Fraxel Re:pair? As in, why did you choose Fraxel over Deep FX, for example? What made you choose ablative fractionalized C02, as opposed to the other types of lasers out there? Any experience or advice you give me would be so, so appreciated.
Thanks,
H
If you've seen such great improvement from your derm, I would trust her then, and give a blue peel a try. You really don't have anything lose by trying it. While I have seen improvement from laser, not peels, I am also not a firm believer that laser is for everyone. It doesn't work for every person, and there are definitely more risks with laser.
I think you're right, TokyoGirl . I don't really have anything to lose by trying the Obagi Blue peel. The way I figure it is that if I don't see the results I had hoped for, or what my cosmetic derm told me I would see, well then it's time to move on to a different derm and a different approach to tackling these scars.
I think what sort of scared me from my last visit to my cosmetic derm is that she used the word "perfect" to describe how my skin would look after the peel. And I'm sure she meant "awesome" or "terrific", but I guess when I heard her use the word "perfect", it jarred me a little. I'm the type of person who tends to get their hopes up, and I just know I won't see perfect results. And I guess it made me not trust her quite as much as I did for saying that, and that was probably wrong of me.
I will never have perfect skin, and I can deal with that. It's okay. I'll never have the flawless, porcelain complexion of the women we see in movies and magazines, and that's something I have learned to accept.
However, I want to utilize the technology that we have available to us in this country, and help make my skin the best it can be, and I want to make sure I'm choosing the right technology for me.
I really appreciate your input, and you have been a true help for me. What types of treatments have you personally used?
I believe ablative fractionalized CO2 would work wonders for you. You could get by with as few as 2 lasers treatments, but choose your doctor carefully. I, of course, advocate Re:pair as you can tell by my signature. The headpiece of the laser is rolled across the skin, while other lasers are delivered in a more pick up and move system.
http://www.acne.org/...er-link-o-rama/
I appreciate your advice, DudleyDoRight! I really am excited about the idea of one day having laser treatments done, and I wonder, can you have lasering done AFTER a chemical peel?
Also, do you mind telling me a little bit about your experience with the Fraxel Re:pair? As in, why did you choose Fraxel over Deep FX, for example? What made you choose ablative fractionalized C02, as opposed to the other types of lasers out there? Any experience or advice you give me would be so, so appreciated.
Thanks,
H
I wowuld wait atleast 2weeks to a month, for your skin to fully recovery from the peel,
you dont want to get lasers done if you "thinned your skin".
I believe ablative fractionalized CO2 would work wonders for you. You could get by with as few as 2 lasers treatments, but choose your doctor carefully. I, of course, advocate Re:pair as you can tell by my signature. The headpiece of the laser is rolled across the skin, while other lasers are delivered in a more pick up and move system.
http://www.acne.org/...er-link-o-rama/
I appreciate your advice, DudleyDoRight! I really am excited about the idea of one day having laser treatments done, and I wonder, can you have lasering done AFTER a chemical peel?
Also, do you mind telling me a little bit about your experience with the Fraxel Re:pair? As in, why did you choose Fraxel over Deep FX, for example? What made you choose ablative fractionalized C02, as opposed to the other types of lasers out there? Any experience or advice you give me would be so, so appreciated.
Thanks,
H
I wowuld wait atleast 2weeks to a month, for your skin to fully recovery from the peel,
you dont want to get lasers done if you "thinned your skin".
Oh no. I definitely would want to wait for my skin to heal after a peel, and give it time to recover. I was wondering if I could ever have lasering done at all after a peel. I know that sounds pretty ignorant, but I am new to cosmetic dermatological procedures, outside of the ones I have had myself. I just didn't know if having a peel done would ever prohibit me from having lasering done in the future, or other types of dermatological procedures, as well.
I hate it if I come across as ignorant or uneducated about these types of procedures, but I am trying to learn. And I am super-thankful to those who have taken the time out of their day to provide me with the information that they have.
What if I waited maybe a year after a peel? I'm a student, and have a pretty busy schedule, and will be doing my externships and all of that good stuff over the next year, so I can definitely forsee that I will have to wait a whole year in between a peel, and any lasering that I may have done in the future.
I believe ablative fractionalized CO2 would work wonders for you. You could get by with as few as 2 lasers treatments, but choose your doctor carefully. I, of course, advocate Re:pair as you can tell by my signature. The headpiece of the laser is rolled across the skin, while other lasers are delivered in a more pick up and move system.
http://www.acne.org/...er-link-o-rama/
I appreciate your advice, DudleyDoRight! I really am excited about the idea of one day having laser treatments done, and I wonder, can you have lasering done AFTER a chemical peel?
Also, do you mind telling me a little bit about your experience with the Fraxel Re:pair? As in, why did you choose Fraxel over Deep FX, for example? What made you choose ablative fractionalized C02, as opposed to the other types of lasers out there? Any experience or advice you give me would be so, so appreciated.
Thanks,
H
I never refer to it as just Fraxel, because there is too much confusion. I always say Re:pair. It was acutally a Plastic Surgeon who told me not to bother with non-ablative lasers, and that was before the release of Re:pair. I was actually in the process of scheduling Re:store (what most people are talking about when they say Fraxel) when he came back in the room and told me not to bother. A little over a year later Re:pair was released, and I was flipping between Re:pair and Deep FX. I liked the delivery method of Re:pair better than Deep FX, and at the time there were only 35 Re:pair lasers in the whole country, but lucky for me I found one 3 miles away. My first reaction to Re:pair was very intense, with a lot of swelling and redness. I was put totally under. Despite the similarity between lasers the Re:pair seems more intense, and just numbing cream will not do the job. Each subsequent treatment has been easier than the previous. I have always been treated at 70mj-60%. Too low mj setting will give inferior results. I see no reason for having a chemical peel if you are getting ablative fractionalized CO2. Matter of fact I see no reason to ever get a chemical peel. I had dermabrasion and full laser resurfacing with the old CO2, and saw no results. If you are dead set on that course of action I would wait several months before doing Re:pair.
Done by the right doctor, fillers are a great temporary solution. You can see improvement for 6-12 months.
I don't believe in peels for treating acne scars. Did your derm say how many peels would be required to reach your goal? I don't think one peel will provide much improvement. However, I have never done a Blue peel.
Hey TokyoGirl,
Thanks for your input! I have to say that I am certainly appreciative of the respectful, informed responses of those who replied to my original post here on acne.org.
To answer your question; my cosmetic derm seems to think that only one Obagi mid-level Blue peel will do it for me.
Please keep in mind that I have already had about 4 sessions of punch excisions, and one session of punch grafts. Those sessions of punch exisions involved me getting, goodness, literally dozens of those little excisions. I probably have had, gosh, 40 on each cheek total. And my derm really did do a marvelous job on some of them. On some places on my face, you would not be able to tell that there was ever a scar.
When my cosmetic derm smooths back the skin on my cheeks, the scars get noticeably smoother, and from what she tells me, that is how my face will look after having this one peel done. To begin with, my right cheek was the one with the least amount of scarring. It definitely was scarred, of course, but the boxcars on it and ice picks were much more shallow. So, now when she smooths it out in the office, or when I do at home in front of the mirror, you can hardly see any scarring. It just looks like I have large pores now. Which is fine. I was never going to have small pores, anyway. I'm an oily-skinned girl, and I can deal with the big pores that go along with that.
Oh, and about the silicone injections, I just learned about them for the first time the other day. I didn't know if they were suitable for my type of scarring or not. To be honest, I just saw those pictures, and was extremely, extremely impressed.
If you have any contributing thoughts, I would certainly appreciate it.
I don't really consider my scarring to be that bad. Kind of moderate. But yes, I will definitely keep you updated.
My scarring is very similar to you only that I never had cystic acne and I caused the scarring myself by squeezing whiteheads.Imagine how bad that makes me feel.
Anyway I was also planning on doing punch excisions followd by some kind of laser. I'm very skeptical of going for a laser treatment though since it often seems to cause additional damage or not help at all. I thinkin of the mixto laser. My initial plan was to go for at home dermarolling but I'm scared of not doing it properly + I don't think I'l be patient enough for it.
Ah fuck scarring why can't there be some fairy dust that fills in those damn holes with normal tissue or even scar tissue. Holes are unsightly.
Maybe nanotechnology in a few years.....
Are you kidding me? In the other thread you sound like your scars are extremely bad and like this is the end of the world for you. And this is all you've got.
Those are mild acne scars. If you do punch excision on them, you have a good change that they will look worse than before. TCA cross might be a better option and less risky. And fillers usually don't work for that type of scars.
Ok that saddens me because punch excision is my only way out. My scars are deep. I can't do tca cross because of my skiin color. I'v asked docter Lam if you are familiar with him.
I don't care if it leaves a linear scar, anythin is better than thsoe goddam pits.
I was planning on doing one fist and then see how it goes.
Tonyocr,
Have you ever visited a derm, or cosmetic derm to see what his or her opinion might be in regard to your scarring?
Ok wait so you'v ALREADY have had many excisions? Are you sure you had excisions or did you have punch floats? Excision means cutting out scar and stitching it back together.
And did it end up well?
Done by the right doctor, fillers are a great temporary solution. You can see improvement for 6-12 months.
I don't believe in peels for treating acne scars. Did your derm say how many peels would be required to reach your goal? I don't think one peel will provide much improvement. However, I have never done a Blue peel.
Hey TokyoGirl,
Thanks for your input! I have to say that I am certainly appreciative of the respectful, informed responses of those who replied to my original post here on acne.org.
To answer your question; my cosmetic derm seems to think that only one Obagi mid-level Blue peel will do it for me.
Please keep in mind that I have already had about 4 sessions of punch excisions, and one session of punch grafts. Those sessions of punch exisions involved me getting, goodness, literally dozens of those little excisions. I probably have had, gosh, 40 on each cheek total. And my derm really did do a marvelous job on some of them. On some places on my face, you would not be able to tell that there was ever a scar.
When my cosmetic derm smooths back the skin on my cheeks, the scars get noticeably smoother, and from what she tells me, that is how my face will look after having this one peel done. To begin with, my right cheek was the one with the least amount of scarring. It definitely was scarred, of course, but the boxcars on it and ice picks were much more shallow. So, now when she smooths it out in the office, or when I do at home in front of the mirror, you can hardly see any scarring. It just looks like I have large pores now. Which is fine. I was never going to have small pores, anyway. I'm an oily-skinned girl, and I can deal with the big pores that go along with that.
Oh, and about the silicone injections, I just learned about them for the first time the other day. I didn't know if they were suitable for my type of scarring or not. To be honest, I just saw those pictures, and was extremely, extremely impressed.
If you have any contributing thoughts, I would certainly appreciate it.
I don't really consider my scarring to be that bad. Kind of moderate. But yes, I will definitely keep you updated.
My scarring is very similar to you only that I never had cystic acne and I caused the scarring myself by squeezing whiteheads.Imagine how bad that makes me feel.
Anyway I was also planning on doing punch excisions followd by some kind of laser. I'm very skeptical of going for a laser treatment though since it often seems to cause additional damage or not help at all. I thinkin of the mixto laser. My initial plan was to go for at home dermarolling but I'm scared of not doing it properly + I don't think I'l be patient enough for it.
Ah fuck scarring why can't there be some fairy dust that fills in those damn holes with normal tissue or even scar tissue. Holes are unsightly.
Maybe nanotechnology in a few years.....
Are you kidding me? In the other thread you sound like your scars are extremely bad and like this is the end of the world for you. And this is all you've got.
Those are mild acne scars. If you do punch excision on them, you have a good change that they will look worse than before. TCA cross might be a better option and less risky. And fillers usually don't work for that type of scars.
Ok that saddens me because punch excision is my only way out. My scars are deep. I can't do tca cross because of my skiin color. I'v asked docter Lam if you are familiar with him.
I don't care if it leaves a linear scar, anythin is better than thsoe goddam pits.
I was planning on doing one fist and then see how it goes.
Tonyocr,
Have you ever visited a derm, or cosmetic derm to see what his or her opinion might be in regard to your scarring?
Ok wait so you'v ALREADY have had many excisions? Are you sure you had excisions or did you have punch floats? Excision means cutting out scar and stitching it back together.
And did it end up well?
Okay, the term my cosmetic derm used to describe my procedures was "punch floats". That's what she called them. I probably used the wrong terminology. And I'm sorry about that, because I mistakenly thought those procedures were the same thing. But what my cosmetic derm called them were "punch floats". And afterward, I had three tiny little punch grafts done on the biggest scars I had, and they are now covered very nicely.
So, you're question is "did it end up well?". Well, I think so. Compared to the scarring I had before, yes, I think it did. But you can be the judge of that for yourself. In my initial post, I put up about 5 photos, and I have more in my gallery. Those are all post-punch float pictures.
But I'm not done with treating my scarring. I still am deciding whether or not I should get a chemical peel, do CO2 lasering, or both, or what. I'm at a bit of a crossroads, and that's why I came to acne.org for advice from those who I feel are more educated than I am about treatment for scarring. So far, I feel like I've had lots of respectful advice, and I am really appreciative of that.
I believe ablative fractionalized CO2 would work wonders for you. You could get by with as few as 2 lasers treatments, but choose your doctor carefully. I, of course, advocate Re:pair as you can tell by my signature. The headpiece of the laser is rolled across the skin, while other lasers are delivered in a more pick up and move system.
http://www.acne.org/...er-link-o-rama/
I appreciate your advice, DudleyDoRight! I really am excited about the idea of one day having laser treatments done, and I wonder, can you have lasering done AFTER a chemical peel?
Also, do you mind telling me a little bit about your experience with the Fraxel Re:pair? As in, why did you choose Fraxel over Deep FX, for example? What made you choose ablative fractionalized C02, as opposed to the other types of lasers out there? Any experience or advice you give me would be so, so appreciated.
Thanks,
H
I never refer to it as just Fraxel, because there is too much confusion. I always say Re:pair. It was acutally a Plastic Surgeon who told me not to bother with non-ablative lasers, and that was before the release of Re:pair. I was actually in the process of scheduling Re:store (what most people are talking about when they say Fraxel) when he came back in the room and told me not to bother. A little over a year later Re:pair was released, and I was flipping between Re:pair and Deep FX. I liked the delivery method of Re:pair better than Deep FX, and at the time there were only 35 Re:pair lasers in the whole country, but lucky for me I found one 3 miles away. My first reaction to Re:pair was very intense, with a lot of swelling and redness. I was put totally under. Despite the similarity between lasers the Re:pair seems more intense, and just numbing cream will not do the job. Each subsequent treatment has been easier than the previous. I have always been treated at 70mj-60%. Too low mj setting will give inferior results. I see no reason for having a chemical peel if you are getting ablative fractionalized CO2. Matter of fact I see no reason to ever get a chemical peel. I had dermabrasion and full laser resurfacing with the old CO2, and saw no results. If you are dead set on that course of action I would wait several months before doing Re:pair.
Oh my goodness. So much to think about. If you don't mind my asking now, how do you feel about your results after having had Re:pair (I'll start referring to it as "Re:pair" as well, because I don't want to be confused, either )? Are you happy with them? You think it would work wonders for me, so I'm guessing that you really do think highly of the Re:pair laser treatment.
Thanks for all of your help.
Done by the right doctor, fillers are a great temporary solution. You can see improvement for 6-12 months.
I don't believe in peels for treating acne scars. Did your derm say how many peels would be required to reach your goal? I don't think one peel will provide much improvement. However, I have never done a Blue peel.
Hey TokyoGirl,
Thanks for your input! I have to say that I am certainly appreciative of the respectful, informed responses of those who replied to my original post here on acne.org.
To answer your question; my cosmetic derm seems to think that only one Obagi mid-level Blue peel will do it for me.
Please keep in mind that I have already had about 4 sessions of punch excisions, and one session of punch grafts. Those sessions of punch exisions involved me getting, goodness, literally dozens of those little excisions. I probably have had, gosh, 40 on each cheek total. And my derm really did do a marvelous job on some of them. On some places on my face, you would not be able to tell that there was ever a scar.
When my cosmetic derm smooths back the skin on my cheeks, the scars get noticeably smoother, and from what she tells me, that is how my face will look after having this one peel done. To begin with, my right cheek was the one with the least amount of scarring. It definitely was scarred, of course, but the boxcars on it and ice picks were much more shallow. So, now when she smooths it out in the office, or when I do at home in front of the mirror, you can hardly see any scarring. It just looks like I have large pores now. Which is fine. I was never going to have small pores, anyway. I'm an oily-skinned girl, and I can deal with the big pores that go along with that.
Oh, and about the silicone injections, I just learned about them for the first time the other day. I didn't know if they were suitable for my type of scarring or not. To be honest, I just saw those pictures, and was extremely, extremely impressed.
If you have any contributing thoughts, I would certainly appreciate it.
I don't really consider my scarring to be that bad. Kind of moderate. But yes, I will definitely keep you updated.
My scarring is very similar to you only that I never had cystic acne and I caused the scarring myself by squeezing whiteheads.Imagine how bad that makes me feel.
Anyway I was also planning on doing punch excisions followd by some kind of laser. I'm very skeptical of going for a laser treatment though since it often seems to cause additional damage or not help at all. I thinkin of the mixto laser. My initial plan was to go for at home dermarolling but I'm scared of not doing it properly + I don't think I'l be patient enough for it.
Ah fuck scarring why can't there be some fairy dust that fills in those damn holes with normal tissue or even scar tissue. Holes are unsightly.
Maybe nanotechnology in a few years.....
Are you kidding me? In the other thread you sound like your scars are extremely bad and like this is the end of the world for you. And this is all you've got.
Those are mild acne scars. If you do punch excision on them, you have a good change that they will look worse than before. TCA cross might be a better option and less risky. And fillers usually don't work for that type of scars.
Ok that saddens me because punch excision is my only way out. My scars are deep. I can't do tca cross because of my skiin color. I'v asked docter Lam if you are familiar with him.
I don't care if it leaves a linear scar, anythin is better than thsoe goddam pits.
I was planning on doing one fist and then see how it goes.
Tonyocr,
Have you ever visited a derm, or cosmetic derm to see what his or her opinion might be in regard to your scarring?
Ok wait so you'v ALREADY have had many excisions? Are you sure you had excisions or did you have punch floats? Excision means cutting out scar and stitching it back together.
And did it end up well?
Okay, the term my cosmetic derm used to describe my procedures was "punch floats". That's what she called them. I probably used the wrong terminology. And I'm sorry about that, because I mistakenly thought those procedures were the same thing. But what my cosmetic derm called them were "punch floats". And afterward, I had three tiny little punch grafts done on the biggest scars I had, and they are now covered very nicely.
So, you're question is "did it end up well?". Well, I think so. Compared to the scarring I had before, yes, I think it did. But you can be the judge of that for yourself. In my initial post, I put up about 5 photos, and I have more in my gallery. Those are all post-punch float pictures.
But I'm not done with treating my scarring. I still am deciding whether or not I should get a chemical peel, do CO2 lasering, or both, or what. I'm at a bit of a crossroads, and that's why I came to acne.org for advice from those who I feel are more educated than I am about treatment for scarring. So far, I feel like I've had lots of respectful advice, and I am really appreciative of that.
I thought punch floats where similar to punch excisions but since you had SO many of them I doubt that it's the case. I have no idea what punch floats are then though.. with excisions basicly the entire scar is cut out and stitched together and it leaves a hairline lineair scar. Where there stitches involved in your procedure? And what kind of scar did the punch float itself leave behind?
Punch grafts is where a piece of skin is taken from behind your ear and put into the hole. They however seem to fail often.
Done by the right doctor, fillers are a great temporary solution. You can see improvement for 6-12 months.
I don't believe in peels for treating acne scars. Did your derm say how many peels would be required to reach your goal? I don't think one peel will provide much improvement. However, I have never done a Blue peel.
Hey TokyoGirl,
Thanks for your input! I have to say that I am certainly appreciative of the respectful, informed responses of those who replied to my original post here on acne.org.
To answer your question; my cosmetic derm seems to think that only one Obagi mid-level Blue peel will do it for me.
Please keep in mind that I have already had about 4 sessions of punch excisions, and one session of punch grafts. Those sessions of punch exisions involved me getting, goodness, literally dozens of those little excisions. I probably have had, gosh, 40 on each cheek total. And my derm really did do a marvelous job on some of them. On some places on my face, you would not be able to tell that there was ever a scar.
When my cosmetic derm smooths back the skin on my cheeks, the scars get noticeably smoother, and from what she tells me, that is how my face will look after having this one peel done. To begin with, my right cheek was the one with the least amount of scarring. It definitely was scarred, of course, but the boxcars on it and ice picks were much more shallow. So, now when she smooths it out in the office, or when I do at home in front of the mirror, you can hardly see any scarring. It just looks like I have large pores now. Which is fine. I was never going to have small pores, anyway. I'm an oily-skinned girl, and I can deal with the big pores that go along with that.
Oh, and about the silicone injections, I just learned about them for the first time the other day. I didn't know if they were suitable for my type of scarring or not. To be honest, I just saw those pictures, and was extremely, extremely impressed.
If you have any contributing thoughts, I would certainly appreciate it.
I don't really consider my scarring to be that bad. Kind of moderate. But yes, I will definitely keep you updated.
My scarring is very similar to you only that I never had cystic acne and I caused the scarring myself by squeezing whiteheads.Imagine how bad that makes me feel.
Anyway I was also planning on doing punch excisions followd by some kind of laser. I'm very skeptical of going for a laser treatment though since it often seems to cause additional damage or not help at all. I thinkin of the mixto laser. My initial plan was to go for at home dermarolling but I'm scared of not doing it properly + I don't think I'l be patient enough for it.
Ah fuck scarring why can't there be some fairy dust that fills in those damn holes with normal tissue or even scar tissue. Holes are unsightly.
Maybe nanotechnology in a few years.....
Are you kidding me? In the other thread you sound like your scars are extremely bad and like this is the end of the world for you. And this is all you've got.
Those are mild acne scars. If you do punch excision on them, you have a good change that they will look worse than before. TCA cross might be a better option and less risky. And fillers usually don't work for that type of scars.
Ok that saddens me because punch excision is my only way out. My scars are deep. I can't do tca cross because of my skiin color. I'v asked docter Lam if you are familiar with him.
I don't care if it leaves a linear scar, anythin is better than thsoe goddam pits.
I was planning on doing one fist and then see how it goes.
Tonyocr,
Have you ever visited a derm, or cosmetic derm to see what his or her opinion might be in regard to your scarring?
Ok wait so you'v ALREADY have had many excisions? Are you sure you had excisions or did you have punch floats? Excision means cutting out scar and stitching it back together.
And did it end up well?
Okay, the term my cosmetic derm used to describe my procedures was "punch floats". That's what she called them. I probably used the wrong terminology. And I'm sorry about that, because I mistakenly thought those procedures were the same thing. But what my cosmetic derm called them were "punch floats". And afterward, I had three tiny little punch grafts done on the biggest scars I had, and they are now covered very nicely.
So, you're question is "did it end up well?". Well, I think so. Compared to the scarring I had before, yes, I think it did. But you can be the judge of that for yourself. In my initial post, I put up about 5 photos, and I have more in my gallery. Those are all post-punch float pictures.
But I'm not done with treating my scarring. I still am deciding whether or not I should get a chemical peel, do CO2 lasering, or both, or what. I'm at a bit of a crossroads, and that's why I came to acne.org for advice from those who I feel are more educated than I am about treatment for scarring. So far, I feel like I've had lots of respectful advice, and I am really appreciative of that.
I thought punch floats where similar to punch excisions but since you had SO many of them I doubt that it's the case. I have no idea what punch floats are then though.. with excisions basicly the entire scar is cut out and stitched together and it leaves a hairline lineair scar. Where there stitches involved in your procedure? And what kind of scar did the punch float itself leave behind?
Punch grafts is where a piece of skin is taken from behind your ear and put into the hole. They however seem to fail often.
My procedures did not involve stitches at all. In April, I had little pieces of skin taken from behind my ear, and put into three of the deepest ice pick scars on my face. Those scars had already had "punch floats" performed on them, but they just didn't heal as nicely as I wanted them to, so I asked my derm to work on them again, and she gave me the grafts instead. And compared to what used to be there, oh my goodness, it looks SO much better.
Cherry, Re:pair is the only thing that has worked. Dermabrasion, Regular CO2 resurfacing can only go so deep, and cannot reach the bottom of the scar, and they are much more intense than any peel. I will probably go for a facelift later this year. RealSelf and MakeMeHeal have good forums. TheEssentialDaySpa, which is female oriented also has some good discussions on their forums. My greatest improvement with Re:pair was after my 2nd Re:pair.
Cherry, Re:pair is the only thing that has worked. Dermabrasion, Regular CO2 resurfacing can only go so deep, and cannot reach the bottom of the scar, and they are much more intense than any peel. I will probably go for a facelift later this year. RealSelf and MakeMeHeal have good forums. TheEssentialDaySpa, which is female oriented also has some good discussions on their forums. My greatest improvement with Re:pair was after my 2nd Re:pair.
Thanks again for your respectful and patient contributions to my queries, DudleyDoRight. My cosmetic derm told me that she did not feel dermabrasion would ever be an option for me, because as she put it, my scars didn't seem deep enough to need it. When she was telling me this, I was so uneducated about treatments for acne scarring that if she told me I needed to eat monkey brains for a year, then I probably would have.
I have seen alot of amazing pictures on RealSelf.com over the weekend, particularly some of the work done by Dr. Mary Lupo in New Orleans. My gosh. Just phenomenal work using the C02 lasers. I wish I could pack up, and see Dr. Lupo right now.
I will definitely have to look up TheEssentialDaySpa, thanks for pointing me in that direction.
Do you mind if I ask how many Fraxel Re:pair treatments you have had/will have? And are you now happy with the results? Meaning, you are pleased with the effect they have had on your scarring? My guess is that you are having the facelift procedure done to combat the aging process, and not acne scarring. But again, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Like I've stated plenty of times before, I am so, so new to the world of cosmetic procedures for acne scarring.
I look forward to hearing from you again. You have been a tremendous help, and from what I can tell based on your contributions to the forums in the past, you are extremely knoweldgeable. I am glad you ran across my posts online.
Cherry
Cherry, I am very pleased with Re:pair, it has changed my life. I am probably the oldest person on these forums so I have additional concerns, hence the Plastic Surgery. I endured an era when there were no effective acne scar treatments so now I am here basically to say to people "hey look, you are luckier than I was". I tend to get on people who think their life is over because of acne scars. Re:pair was the greatest advancement that I have seen in my lifetime. Understand that I use Re:pair to define all ablative fractionalized CO2 lasers much like people call facial tissues Kleenex. Re:pair is what I know and have experience with. My Re:pairs are listed in my signature, and they number 5. For reasons I don't pretend to understand Re:pair seems to be the most intense of the lasers. I have heard people say they only had the numbing cream, and there is no way that would have been enough for Re:pair at the level I am treated at. I am the poster boy for my Plastic Surgeon, and she now only charges me $800 a treatment.
Cherry, I am very pleased with Re:pair, it has changed my life. I am probably the oldest person on these forums so I have additional concerns, hence the Plastic Surgery. I endured an era when there were no effective acne scar treatments so now I am here basically to say to people "hey look, you are luckier than I was". I tend to get on people who think their life is over because of acne scars. Re:pair was the greatest advancement that I have seen in my lifetime. Understand that I use Re:pair to define all ablative fractionalized CO2 lasers much like people call facial tissues Kleenex. Re:pair is what I know and have experience with. My Re:pairs are listed in my signature, and they number 5. For reasons I don't pretend to understand Re:pair seems to be the most intense of the lasers. I have heard people say they only had the numbing cream, and there is no way that would have been enough for Re:pair at the level I am treated at. I am the poster boy for my Plastic Surgeon, and she now only charges me $800 a treatment.
I am very happy that you have found a treatment that you believe to have so beneficial for you, that it has changed your life. That is amazing!
I can most certainly see an improvement in the picture, and it gives me alot of encouragement to know that in my lifetime, there are treatments available. It makes me so incredibly grateful to be alive at this point in time when there have been such advancements in cosmetic procedures.
Now, if you don't mind my asking even more questions, and I know that you do not claim to be a dermatologist, but do you think my skin has the ability to overcome its scarring, with the use of Re:pair? Now, I know that I am not going to ever have perfect skin, but do you really think something like Re:pair will work for me? I have wondered about seeking treatments other than what my cosmetic derm has recommended for me, because she seems to think my scarring is quite shallow, to put it in her terms. I'm just wondering what sort of changes Re:pair would make for my skin. I see that it's made quite a big difference for you, and that's quite uplifting to me!
Thanks once again for your patience, and time. Hope to hear from you again.
Cherry
Cherry, there is no question in my mind that scars on the cheek are the most difficult to treat, but with the proper course of treatments you will realize amazing results. Don't let anybody sell you on the "One and Done BS". I realized a 30% improvement with my 1st Re:pair, and that is were people make the huge mistake of stopping. The reaction from people you don't see often, especially women is amazing. A woman at work, who notices everything, asked me what I was doing. My ex-boss saw me in the snack bar and remarked I look so smooth. One guy at a retirement party asked why I keep getting younger and everybody else keeps getting older. I am not satisfied YET, but those type of comments are ego boosters. Should you go past 2 Re:pairs the changes from subsequent lasers are more subtle, but they are cumulative, and they sneak up on you after you think improvement has stopped. A quote from Dr. Michael Persky Plastic Surgeon from California posting on RealSelf.
" Fraxel re:pair works, and it works better than any other technology that I have been exposed to during my 25 years of facial cosmetic surgery experience."
DudleyDoRight ; Oh, wow! I'm so happy for you that you have had such success. And you'e right, comments like that really do help one's ego.
I really think it is about time for me to speak to a dermatologist about the Re:pair lasers. Gosh. I wish I had known about this stuff earlier. I have my Obagi peel scheduled on the 10th of next month, so I don't know what I should do now. Trust what my cosmetic derm says, and go in for the peel, or cancel the peel and look for a doc who performs Re:pair. Very confusing.
I submitted a few of my pics on Realself.com, asking for an opinion on what course of action I should take after having my punch floats and grafts done and hopefully I'll get a response from some of the doctors who contribute to the site.
That quote was very uplifting to read, as well. And if you have anymore contributing thoughts, I'd really appreciate it.
Cherry
Cherry, Re:pair is the only thing that has worked. Dermabrasion, Regular CO2 resurfacing can only go so deep, and cannot reach the bottom of the scar, and they are much more intense than any peel. I will probably go for a facelift later this year. RealSelf and MakeMeHeal have good forums. TheEssentialDaySpa, which is female oriented also has some good discussions on their forums. My greatest improvement with Re:pair was after my 2nd Re:pair.
Ok dudley I find this quite depressing. You have done 5 Fraxels REPAIR on your skin and your are STILL not satisfied???? I mean I can't even pay for 1 single repair they are so unbelievably expensive and you say you need MULTIPLE repairs?? And even if I could hope to pay for one, which I can't, I'd only get 30% improvement? 30% improvement on a hole is still a hole.O my god I think I'm gnna have to cry. I had no idea scars where this fucked up to treat..
What kind of scars did you have?
I also have a lot of scarred pores, did you have any improvement on those?
Hey TokyoGirl,
Thanks for your input! I have to say that I am certainly appreciative of the respectful, informed responses of those who replied to my original post here on acne.org.
To answer your question; my cosmetic derm seems to think that only one Obagi mid-level Blue peel will do it for me.
Please keep in mind that I have already had about 4 sessions of punch excisions, and one session of punch grafts. Those sessions of punch exisions involved me getting, goodness, literally dozens of those little excisions. I probably have had, gosh, 40 on each cheek total. And my derm really did do a marvelous job on some of them. On some places on my face, you would not be able to tell that there was ever a scar.
When my cosmetic derm smooths back the skin on my cheeks, the scars get noticeably smoother, and from what she tells me, that is how my face will look after having this one peel done. To begin with, my right cheek was the one with the least amount of scarring. It definitely was scarred, of course, but the boxcars on it and ice picks were much more shallow. So, now when she smooths it out in the office, or when I do at home in front of the mirror, you can hardly see any scarring. It just looks like I have large pores now. Which is fine. I was never going to have small pores, anyway. I'm an oily-skinned girl, and I can deal with the big pores that go along with that.
Oh, and about the silicone injections, I just learned about them for the first time the other day. I didn't know if they were suitable for my type of scarring or not. To be honest, I just saw those pictures, and was extremely, extremely impressed.
If you have any contributing thoughts, I would certainly appreciate it.
Cherry,
I don't believe in peels for acne scarring. However, I understand why you might want to try it because your derm has given you such great results already.
Since just July 2011, I have done the following to treat my acne scars:
1. 3 TCA Peels 15% 20% 25% July 2011-August 2011
2. 5 microdermabrasion sessions Sept 2011-Oct 2011
3. 1 TCA Cross session - early Nov 2011
4. 1 Deep FX session - mid Feb 2012
I have only seen improvement to my scars from Deep FX. The improvement is noticeable, and continues to improve by the day. Oddly, I have noticed the most improvement to ice pick scars. With the exception of 2-3 scars, my ice pick scars on my right cheek are currently so shallow that I can't pick up most of them with a camera, even in bad lighting. I can see them in the mirror when I look closely. It looks like I have lots of small indents and enlarged pores. It's similar to your skin. I can almost accept the current state of my skin, except my left cheek has wider, deeper scars. Unfortunately, most of those were smaller pre-TCA Cross. They've shown the least improvement to Deep FX but they are also still improving.
Personally, I had to experience treatment in the above listed order to take the final step towards laser. I would be skeptical of any derm who claims your skin will be "perfect" because your skin is forever damaged. I'm not sure why your derm used that word, but perhaps, she was referring to your expectations for improvement and with your expectations in mind, she felt an obagi peel would be perfect. I don't personally feel you'll see much improvement, or at least, any improvement that will be permanent like fractional Co2 laser.
For me, I chose Deep FX because I trusted my derm's opinion. The laser is also a bit different from Fraxel. I only had my scars treated with the laser, so my healthy skin wasn't touched, at all. I liked the fact that the laser allows a physician to focus on each individual scar and treat each one with different parameters. I feel this was the right approach to my kind of scarring. Next, I am looking to take the same approach with laser again, but in addition to scar treatment, I am planning to add fractional non-ablative resurfacing to smooth the top layer of my skin. I believe Fraxel Re:pair (Dudley - correct me if I'm wrong) treats both layers at once with less individual focus on each scar's damaged tissue.
If you're seriously going to pursue laser, I wouldn't bother with a peel. It's a waste of time and money. However, if you want to give it a shot and believe your derm, then I can understand your reasoning. When it comes to resurfacing the skin, peels can't be controlled like a laser. An obagi peel is considered a deeper peel but it will not cause remodeling of scar tissue. It may make your skin look a little smoother for a period of time.
Cherry, Re:pair is the only thing that has worked. Dermabrasion, Regular CO2 resurfacing can only go so deep, and cannot reach the bottom of the scar, and they are much more intense than any peel. I will probably go for a facelift later this year. RealSelf and MakeMeHeal have good forums. TheEssentialDaySpa, which is female oriented also has some good discussions on their forums. My greatest improvement with Re:pair was after my 2nd Re:pair.
Ok dudley I find this quite depressing. You have done 5 Fraxels REPAIR on your skin and your are STILL not satisfied???? I mean I can't even pay for 1 single repair they are so unbelievably expensive and you say you need MULTIPLE repairs?? And even if I could hope to pay for one, which I can't, I'd only get 30% improvement? 30% improvement on a hole is still a hole.O my god I think I'm gnna have to cry. I had no idea scars where this fucked up to treat..
What kind of scars did you have?
I also have a lot of scarred pores, did you have any improvement on those?
Tony, you really need to talk to a professional. You are so filled with doubt that you are just making it worse for yourself. It cost me $11,600 for all 5 of my Re:pairs, which is a lot less than you will pay for a car. What is more important to you? You are looking for that "One & Done Miracle Cure" that just does not exist. People are trying to help you, but you keep returning to the Pity Pot. If you can't afford it work a 2nd job, drive a clunker, get on a budget, you are wasting more money than you realize, get a roommate, just take action, and you will be suprised at what you can accomplish. The time for tears is long past. You are in a war, and acne scars are the enemy. I didn't have the weapons you have available when I was your age, but I never gave up. I am a warrior, and you need to become one also.
I never had to deal with scarred pores, I had rolling and boxcar scars, and I was a lot worse off than you. Re:pair drastically changed my life because I did not give up!
Cherry, Re:pair is the only thing that has worked. Dermabrasion, Regular CO2 resurfacing can only go so deep, and cannot reach the bottom of the scar, and they are much more intense than any peel. I will probably go for a facelift later this year. RealSelf and MakeMeHeal have good forums. TheEssentialDaySpa, which is female oriented also has some good discussions on their forums. My greatest improvement with Re:pair was after my 2nd Re:pair.
Ok dudley I find this quite depressing. You have done 5 Fraxels REPAIR on your skin and your are STILL not satisfied???? I mean I can't even pay for 1 single repair they are so unbelievably expensive and you say you need MULTIPLE repairs?? And even if I could hope to pay for one, which I can't, I'd only get 30% improvement? 30% improvement on a hole is still a hole.O my god I think I'm gnna have to cry. I had no idea scars where this fucked up to treat..
What kind of scars did you have?
I also have a lot of scarred pores, did you have any improvement on those?
Tony, you really need to talk to a professional. You are so filled with doubt that you are just making it worse for yourself. It cost me $11,600 for all 5 of my Re:pairs, which is a lot less than you will pay for a car. What is more important to you? You are looking for that "One & Done Miracle Cure" that just does not exist. People are trying to help you, but you keep returning to the Pity Pot. If you can't afford it work a 2nd job, drive a clunker, get on a budget, you are wasting more money than you realize, get a roommate, just take action, and you will be suprised at what you can accomplish. The time for tears is long past. You are in a war, and acne scars are the enemy. I didn't have the weapons you have available when I was your age, but I never gave up. I am a warrior, and you need to become one also.
I never had to deal with scarred pores, I had rolling and boxcar scars, and I was a lot worse off than you. Re:pair drastically changed my life because I did not give up!