I'm starting to get really depressed about my acne scars. I had near perfect skin my whole life, until I went on birth control at 18, and even then I only got an occasional cystic pimple. However, they bothered me to pieces, so I ended up seeing a dermatologist who put me on Tetracycline, Clindamycin, and Tretinoin gel. He told me to use the tretinoin all over my face every night, and the clindamycin every morning and take the antibiotic and i would stop getting cysts. I wish he had told me to just spot treat whenever I got a cyst because my face turned into a complete mess from using tretinoin all over! I got the initial breakout and I looked awful, needless to say my self esteem dropped way down. Anyways, my derm negectled to inform me that an antibiotic cancelled out my bc. My mom caught wind and let me know, but it was too late. I was already pregnant, so I immediately stopped using everything. Therefore, I was never able to give the antibiotics or the tretinoin time to work, and my face has never been the same! My whole pregnancy I got pimples every where and each and every one left a scar! It is possible it was just my hormones, and I wasn't using anything on my skin in fear of harming my baby, but it has been 8 months since I have had him, and my face is the worst it has ever been! The acne itself is not the problem, I can live with a few bumps here and there, but the red marks and scarring is what makes me want to cry every time I look in the mirror. I recently went back to my derm who gave me a lactic peel and 7 days later had me start again on tretinoin cream and obagis hydroquinone every night. I'm just wondering how long it will take me to see improvement? And also can I use a sulfur mask while using tretinoin? It really calms the redness down a lot, I love it! But I want to build collagen with the tretinoin and hopefully even out some scars. Will the tretinoin help with hyperpigmentation? I am so depressed about my skin, I hate leaving the house. My husband hates how much I obsess over it, but I feel every where I go every one I see seems to have perfect skin! ugh, I have beautiful baby boy, I don't need my skin to get in the way of living my life. And yes, I know it's my choice to let it, but I'm just so sad that my skin is so ugly now. Any suggestions are appreciated!
Join the club. I don't know what else to say other than that. Most of us feel the same way. All of us too had perfect skin at one point in our life, then the acne happened, and the rest is history. Look at my join date, July 2003, nearly 10 years ago and I'm still searching for an answer.
Tretinoin(Retin-A) and hydroquinone will help fade the discoloration marks, but they won't do much for actual pitted, cratered acne scars. Those are pretty much permanent.
You can improve them with chemical peels, lasers, skin needling, dermabrasion, etc...but each and everyone of those procedures has its own risks and drawbacks.
I say, continue the Retin-A/Hydroquinone treatment for the next 12months. Let the pigment issues stabilize on your face, and judge your scars in a year. They might not be as bad as you think once the coloring is stabilized. At that point, weigh your options.
