I think with dermabrasion hypopigmentation is an even bigger problem and that is permanent. I told the doctor I would rather have temporary hyperpigmentation (even if it lasted eight or nine months) than permanent hypopgmentation and redness with dermabrasion but he insisted hyperpigmentation from lasers like Deep FX would be permanent and in dotted pattern. I love my tanned skin but in this case it is really working against me.

That doesn't sound too bad! I'll look into finding a dermatologist/plastic surgeon skilled in punch techniques to consult with. Thanks!

I think with dermabrasion hypopigmentation is an even bigger problem and that is permanent. I told the doctor I would rather have temporary hyperpigmentation (even if it lasted eight or nine months) than permanent hypopgmentation and redness with dermabrasion but he insisted hyperpigmentation from lasers like Deep FX would be permanent and in dotted pattern. I love my tanned skin but in this case it is really working against me.

That doesn't sound too bad! I'll look into finding a dermatologist/plastic surgeon skilled in punch techniques to consult with. Thanks!

Awesome! Please keep me in the loop when you find the right doc for you.

Did you have to pre-treat your skin before the Blue peel? If so, did you use the obagi nuderm?

Did you have to pre-treat your skin before the Blue peel? If so, did you use the obagi nuderm?

Good question. Yes, I did have to pre-treat my skin before the peel with Obagi Clear (a bleaching gel-cream, and I am not a fan of it). It did help to even out the tone of my skin, bit it also causes comedones in some people. I happen to be one of those people. Yuck.

Hi Cherry, im glad to see your post here. it's difficult to find any info & pic about punch graft from web. Thank you for sharing.

Im very interested to know more about punch graft to fix my acne scars. Are you happy with the result of punch graft? does the graft match & blend in well with the rest of your skin?

TQ =)

Hi Cherry, im glad to see your post here. it's difficult to find any info & pic about punch graft from web. Thank you for sharing.

Im very interested to know more about punch graft to fix my acne scars. Are you happy with the result of punch graft? does the graft match & blend in well with the rest of your skin?

TQ =)

Hey there.

Thanks for taking the time to write on my thread. For the most part, I'm happy with the results of my punch graft. I still have one in the middle of my left cheek that is noticeable and looks "puffy". Eventually the grafts are supposed to settle down, and become level with the rest of the skin on my face. However, that hasn't happened yet. Some of the smaller grafts took about 8 months to level out, so I'm guessing it may be a year or more until that occurs with the largest graft (I got it done in November, 2012, I believe).

Hopefully you found this answer helpful.

I'm sure I'll have more punch floats and grafts in the future, and I will try to be more diligent about documenting those processes.

Thanks for your replied Cherry, so kind of you. =)

May i know what kind of scars you treated with punch float? It seems very effective to treat "scarred pores". But my derm told me that punch float only have temporary effect. is that true? He only suggest punch graft to treat my scars, I have similar scar to yours, mostly icepick / boxcar scars.

your graft is it look exactly as picture below? (** Excuse for my poor english**)

Thanks for your replied Cherry, so kind of you. =)

May i know what kind of scars you treated with punch float? It seems very effective to treat "scarred pores". But my derm told me that punch float only have temporary effect. is that true? He only suggest punch graft to treat my scars, I have similar scar to yours, mostly icepick / boxcar scars.

your graft is it look exactly as picture below? (** Excuse for my poor english**)

Hey there, don't worry about your English. I can understand what you're trying to ask me just fine.

The scars I treated with the punch float method were box scars and mostly icepick scars. I have no idea how the punch float technique would only be temporary since the doctor uses surgical instruments to loosen tissue from within the walls of the existing scar in order to prompt the tissue to rise to the surface of the rest of the skin. I have had punch floats on many of my scars for about 2 years now, and have not noticed that any of their effects have diminished.

That is something to think about, however. Why did your dermatologist tell you that punch floats are only temporary?

The grafts I have look very similar to those in the picture you posted. However, they are not nearly as "puffy". The grafts in the photo look brand new, and my guess is that's the reason they appear to be especially swollen. Over time, the grafts are supposed to settle down to become more even with the skin. I have had a few stubborn grafts that refused to deflate, and my derm used an instrument to sort of "shave" the top of them to make them level with the rest of the skin.

Hope my answer was helpful to you.

The doctor didn't explain much, he just said that punch graft effect is better than punch float. I might have it done next month. So nervous...

The doctor didn't explain much, he just said that punch graft effect is better than punch float. I might have it done next month. So nervous...

just be aware of the after care, and I think everything will be fine. it seems you don't leave in taiwan, so you need to come back for laser to smooth out the graft.

The doctor didn't explain much, he just said that punch graft effect is better than punch float. I might have it done next month. So nervous...

Yet you are certain that your doctor used the word "temporary" to describe the effect of a punch float?

I guess I just don't understand how that is possible. That might be something for me to ask my dermatologist.

 

The doctor didn't explain much, he just said that punch graft effect is better than punch float. I might have it done next month. So nervous...

just be aware of the after care, and I think everything will be fine. it seems you don't leave in taiwan, so you need to come back for laser to smooth out the graft.

I cannot wait to have laser myself one day.

i've asked him in person and he also did mentioned in his blog. http://drchao.blogspot.tw/2013/02/blog-post_4790.html (you may translate to english)

btw, must find a experienced doctor for laser. As i know, the doctor use erbium laser to smooth out the graft.

 

The doctor didn't explain much, he just said that punch graft effect is better than punch float. I might have it done next month. So nervous...

just be aware of the after care, and I think everything will be fine. it seems you don't leave in taiwan, so you need to come back for laser to smooth out the graft.

Hi Anthony, are you taiwanese?

i've asked him in person and he also did mentioned in his blog. http://drchao.blogspot.tw/2013/02/blog-post_4790.html (you may translate to english)

btw, must find a experienced doctor for laser. As i know, the doctor use erbium laser to smooth out the graft.

 

The doctor didn't explain much, he just said that punch graft effect is better than punch float. I might have it done next month. So nervous...

just be aware of the after care, and I think everything will be fine. it seems you don't leave in taiwan, so you need to come back for laser to smooth out the graft.

Hi Anthony, are you taiwanese?

I am a hongkonger, but I usually stay in taiwan.

Update- Yesterday, I confirmed an appointment with my cosmetic dermatologist for October 4th concerning my acne. While my breakouts are not as intense as what I experienced around the ages of 21-24, my acne seemed to take another bad turn around Fall, 2012. After an unsuccessful treatment of spironolactone, (as documented in my thread; ), I then decided to allow my system to take a break from the medication, as the spiro seemed to cause more unwanted side-effects than anything else. Some of these side effects included weight gain, larger, more painful isolated cysts on my face (around the jawline and chin), and extremely uncomfortable menstrual cramps.

I've noticed that even though I have been off of spiro since March, 2013, I am still continuing to get cysts (although none as large as I had during my spiro regimen). Some of those have even left new scars that will need to be treated later on down the line.

My plan is to request that my doctor write me a prescription for Accutane in October, 2013. I've been putting off taking this medication since I first heard about it 5 years ago, but I believe that it's time for me to give it a try. Accutane has always been a last resort for me. The final option when no other medications or treatments would work. I believe that it's come to that point.

Obviously, I'm planning on beginning a log about my experiences with the medication once I begin taking it. I have researched Accutane pretty thoroughly, and am well aware of it's advantages and disadvantages, which is one of the reasons I've put off taking it for such a long time.

I mostly likely won't be updating this thread with any new news about scarring procedures, or questions for those who have undergone procedures that I haven't experienced yet (but would like to). At least not for awhile.

It's a little frustrating, because I believed 2 years ago that my skin had come so far. I thought at that point that I'd never have to consider taking anything like Accutane again, because the bad breakout phase of my life was over. Clearly, I did not know what I had coming to me. Nonetheless, I am grateful (in a small way), to have come to this realization now while I'm relatively young. It's a bit of a blessing to know all this while still in my 20's instead of having to combat acne near to the age of 40, as some of my closest friends are continuing to do. I feel so determined to do whatever it takes in order to finally rid my body of acne. With a 90% chance of permanent success, I think Accutane is the key to helping me achieve it.

I'd like to extend a big "thank you" to those of y'all in the Acne.org community to those who've taken the time to contribute to my thread, help me out, and answer my endless list of questions. You guys are awesome.

To those of you who have questions for me about my past procedures for acne scarring, please feel free to ask on the thread. I love questions, but don't have a ton of time for private messages (unless they are truly something you wouldn't want others on the forum to see).

Thanks again. Hopefully one day I'll be back on this thread discussing my success with treatments I'll have in the future. Fingers crossed.

Nice to know how you've been doing! I've been dealing with similar issues this past year as well, which have delayed my treatment plans and I also have got a few new scars to deal with. It's really frustrating, especially since my skin was so good for such a long time and I really thought new scarring and acne issues were behind me. But oh well. I think I'm going to either get on the pill (which has worked beautifully in the past) or try spiro if it doesn't get better soon.

Accutane is my last resort at this moment, although it may come to that.

Hopefully you'll now tackle acne once and for all! And when the time comes, please do keep us updated if you get new scar treatments. Best of luck with everything!! x

Nice to know how you've been doing! I've been dealing with similar issues this past year as well, which have delayed my treatment plans and I also have got a few new scars to deal with. It's really frustrating, especially since my skin was so good for such a long time and I really thought new scarring and acne issues were behind me. But oh well. I think I'm going to either get on the pill (which has worked beautifully in the past) or try spiro if it doesn't get better soon.

Accutane is my last resort at this moment, although it may come to that.

Hopefully you'll now tackle acne once and for all! And when the time comes, please do keep us updated if you get new scar treatments. Best of luck with everything!! x

Thanks so much! You will be (hopefully) seeing my name pop up again in the forums when I begin my thread about my experiences with Accutane.

Hi Cherry, How have you been with accutane? Hope everything is going well

I think your second session of punch graft is almost a year, does the graft look good and even with the rest of your skin now?

I have postponed my punch graft session, unfortunely I have breakout again past few months.

Cherry, my derm suggest me to do 30-40 punch graft in one session for my ice picks & boxcars scars. May I know how does the graft looks like after 1month? How long it take for the redness to faded? How much of graft in your last session? What do you think 30-40punch graft in one session?

I afraid that the graft look horrible, I wish it will not affect my work.

Sorry so many question here, hope to hear from you soon. Thanks.

Hey guys .. Well I've got icepick scars all over my face and its very bad its all over !!! *moderator edit*,There was one sentence that contained ideals that are not encouraged on this board, so it was removed.

I'm a 18 year old male I've been threw hell in my teens copeing with my acne but when my scars came along everything got 10x worse for me !!!I wear a lot of hoodies over my head to cover my face in public but I still get judged so bad and its breaking me ...I've got a gf and she's beutifull I just feel bad not being able to go out in the sunlight with a normal t-shirt on me !!!!I've been for chemical peels and it didn't work !!! *moderator edit*, There was one sentence that contained ideals that are not encouraged on this board, so it was removed. I need help asap I wil post my pictures thanks everybody

Hey guys .. Well I've got icepick scars all over my face and its very bad its all over !!!I'm very suicidal I'm a 18 year old male I've been threw hell in my teens copeing with my acne but when my scars came along everything got 10x worse for me !!!I wear a lot of hoodies over my head to cover my face in public but I still get judged so bad and its breaking me ...I've got a gf and she's beutifull I just feel bad not being able to go out in the sunlight with a normal t-shirt on me !!!!I've been for chemical peels and it didn't work !!!I'm so confuse I feel like takeing my life tonight but I know its selfish of me cause there are people begging to live !!!!I need help asap I wil post my pictures thanks everybody

Are they actual scars(do you see holes,dents, wavy texture etc?) or just acne and red marks?

Hi Reid Smith,

I am very sorry to hear that you are having a hard time coping with acne, but please check with a counselor on this issue.

While you may voice various issues at these forums, we strongly feel this is not a suitable place to share suicidal thoughts with other members. We have instituted this policy due to past experiences with suicide threads attracting all sorts of hideously unsupportive and nasty behavior; not only that, no one here is equipped to deal with such a psychiatric emergency. You are welcome to elicit support on topics that do not touch on suicide in any way.

I strongly encourage you to seek a professional's assistance on this matter.

Information about professional assistance can be found here: http://www.acne.org/messageboard/index.php/topic/16184-useful-resources-and-board-disclaimer/

To help you understand why moderators always close suicide threads, please have a look at the following topic: http://www.acne.org/messageboard/index.php/topic/235664-suicide-threads/

The Moderator Team

Hey guys .. Well I've got icepick scars all over my face and its very bad its all over !!! *moderator edit*,There was one sentence that contained ideals that are not encouraged on this board, so it was removed.

I'm a 18 year old male I've been threw hell in my teens copeing with my acne but when my scars came along everything got 10x worse for me !!!I wear a lot of hoodies over my head to cover my face in public but I still get judged so bad and its breaking me ...I've got a gf and she's beutifull I just feel bad not being able to go out in the sunlight with a normal t-shirt on me !!!!I've been for chemical peels and it didn't work !!! *moderator edit*, There was one sentence that contained ideals that are not encouraged on this board, so it was removed. I need help asap I wil post my pictures thanks everybody

I've taken a good luck at your photos and the good news is it doesn't look like you have scarring issues. It looks like you have active acne and Hyperpigmentaion issues. I'm not sure what you have tried to control your acne. A few suggestions are to try the regimen here from acne.org. If you cannot afford to order the regimen Dan offers a list of store brand products that you can purchase and get similar results as the regimen. I will link that at the end of the email. Im not sure if you have been to see a dermatologist or anything either, your post didn't give any treatments that you have tried and failed. I'm sorry if I am listing off things you have already tried. A dermatologist will be ale to prescribe you oral antibiotics that can clear you up generally pretty quickly. They will normally prescribe a topical as well. There are many of those you can try as well as many oral antibiotics. If your acne is hormonal you can try saw palmetto which is offered over the counter, results are not fast with that treatment though. Accutane is another path you can take, if you have tried a lot of these prescriptions medications and they have not kept you clear accutane is a choice. Make sure you speak with a doctor about your depression though because accutane can make depression issues worse.

The good news is acne can be treated, you just have to be patient with it. You seem like a nice guy and you have a beautiful girlfriend that loves you. I'm sure you have family and friends that love you as well. For those of us that suffer with acne, we tend to have this skewed outlook that everyone and their mothers are starting at us. 9 times out of 10 no one is really looking at us. It's all just our insecurities. I have been in your shoes and had acne just like yours, but mine scarred quite a bit. So your lucky there. I suffered from acne for 6 years and just recently got a handle on my acne. I did a accutane course and now I am continuing to treat my acne hormonally to maintain a clear complexion. It can happen and you just need to be presistant. This will not be the rest of your life. Considering to harm yourself over acne is something you really need to rethink, its not worth it. You are cared about and you can take care of this issue.

I really recommend you speak with a perfessional about this and your emotional issues as well. Talking to people on this site can be very helpful aswell. You realize that you and a million other people are suffering with this issue, you are not alone. We all cope with it and if you need a shoulder to lean on you have found the right place.

I just really want to you know that there are soo soo many treatments out there for you to try. Chemical peels are a good choice for removing Hyperpigmentaion, but chemical peels arente usual the go to treatment for active acne. In some cases it can irritate the acne and make it worse. Hang in there and please go speak with a professional as soon as possible. Don't give up

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 had the Fraxel Re:pair done and I believe I had some results although not significant improvement. I believe the doctor used an average or lower setting, however. How would you go about finding a doctor that is willing to go to a high setting level? Did your doctor make an exception for you? What else did you have besides numbing cream? Injections?

Wow, your story sounds very similar to my own. I am 25 and it sounds like we've went through the exact same thing and even our scars look alike. Honestly, in my opinion, and im not trying to be "nice", but I think your scars aren't bad at all. I know that lighting makes all the difference and it can either ruin your day or make it. But your beautiful, so don't give up on treatment if you're not happy with your skin! IMPROVEMENT does exist but you have to go after it. Just a thought, have you looked into dermarolling? I have been researching it and I think it may be worth a shot. Best of luck to you ! <3

PS I have a skincare blog that might interest you..its basically what i use to keep my cystic acne at bay. [removed]

Hi Cherry, How have you been with accutane? Hope everything is going well

I think your second session of punch graft is almost a year, does the graft look good and even with the rest of your skin now?

I have postponed my punch graft session, unfortunely I have breakout again past few months.

Cherry, my derm suggest me to do 30-40 punch graft in one session for my ice picks & boxcars scars. May I know how does the graft looks like after 1month? How long it take for the redness to faded? How much of graft in your last session? What do you think 30-40punch graft in one session?

I afraid that the graft look horrible, I wish it will not affect my work.

Sorry so many question here, hope to hear from you soon. Thanks.

Hi there. It's been awhile. Don't worry about asking me a lot of questions. I love questions, and will try to answer them to the best of my ability.

I have been taking Accutane for 21 days now, and it has certainly been an experience. I have planned on creating a thread on this website in order to document the process of a 6 month course, and have been a little too busy to do so until now. If you are interested in reading about my experiences with Accutane, you are more than welcome to check out my log.

One thing that I thought I would mention, however, is that I do not get on the 'Org every day, as I used to do about a year and a half ago. I wish I had that sort of free time. However this semester at school has been especially busy for me. I have either been working at my rotations, going to class, or studying for my certification exam. So, if it takes me a little while to respond to posts on this thread, I do apologize.

Most of the punch grafts that I got nearly a year ago have settled in at the same level as my skin, except for one. Honestly, I am not very happy with the manner in which my cosmetic dermatologist created that particular punch graft. I realize that she grafted that graft over the largest, hole-like scar that I had on my left cheek, and that it was not an easy job to do. Nonetheless, I think that after I am finished with my course of Accutane, I am going to try my best to seek out a method in which a dermatologist can "shave" down the top of the graft in order to make it level with the rest of the skin on my cheek. My cosmetic derm has used a tool in the past to "shave" off the rounded tops of the punch grafts. I'm hoping a different dermatologist can do the same.

After about a month, the punch grafts are usually still fairly puffy and have a reddish color. The redness fades after about 3 months. Please remember, though, that skin types vary and that everyone heals a little bit differently. I can only speak from my own personal experience.

I received about 3 punch grafts during my last session. Like I said before, 2 of them healed really nicely, my largest punch graft has not healed so nicely.

30 or 40 punch grafts seems like a lot. I think the most I have had is 10 or 12. It's really hard for me to tell if that's an appropriate amount of grafts for your scarring, because I have no idea how your scarring looks now. Also, I'm not a medical professional, so I would not even begin to assume that I'd be able to give you a better recommendation for reducing the appearance of your scarring than your doctor.

Hope that helps.

Cherry

On 11/27/2013 at 7:31 AM, heartofgold77 said:

Wow, your story sounds very similar to my own. I am 25 and it sounds like we've went through the exact same thing and even our scars look alike. Honestly, in my opinion, and im not trying to be "nice", but I think your scars aren't bad at all. I know that lighting makes all the difference and it can either ruin your day or make it. But your beautiful, so don't give up on treatment if you're not happy with your skin! IMPROVEMENT does exist but you have to go after it. Just a thought, have you looked into dermarolling? I have been researching it and I think it may be worth a shot. Best of luck to you ! <3

PS I have a skincare blog that might interest you..its basically what i use to keep my cystic acne at bay. [removed]

Hey there. Thanks so much for your kind words. You have no idea what it means to read things like that from complete strangers like yourself that seem so sincere. Again, thank you.

Some of the pictures I posted in this thread to depict what I also consider to be fairly minor to moderate scarring. However, in the year and a half since I initially wrote in this thread, I have continued to have minor break out and have sustained a little bit more scarring to my cheeks.

I decided that I would give Accutane a try, which I began taking 21 days ago. Tired of getting the 3-4 cystic lesions a month that sometimes created scars on my face, I realized that Accutane was the one option that I had not yet turned to in order to help clear me of acne.

I have certainly thought about dermarolling. Due to the fact that Accutane makes the skin very fragile, I won't be able to attempt anything like dermarolling for maybe a year or so. But it's definitely something to think about for the future!

Your blog is really cute, by the way. You're doing a great job with it so far. Keep up the good work.