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Thank you for your advice. I've been procrastinating in seeing a dermatologist because I'm always so scared that somehow they will make it worse. I try so hard to cover the scars with makeup, but I feel like the makeup just magnifies them. Sometimes I get really depressed looking at my face, and then I have to remind myself that now I'm just dealing with scars. I haven't had a lot of acne since my treatment with accurate. I actually just had a baby and a few pimples popped up, but nothing like before. Are there any posters on here who have had success with the TCA cross that are willing to share their experience? Again thank you do much.
Your scars appear mild and shallow. If I were you, I would not risk TCA Cross on them. I do have experience with it, and think the risks of further damage by TCA Cross on your type of scarring are greater than any benefit you may experience. That's just my opinion though. I would try fractional co2 laser if I were you.
Thanks Tokyo girl! I actually just sent you an private message before I read your reply because I looked at your profile and saw that you had the TCA cross done. Do you happen to know what the down time is for the fraction co2 laser? Is there any risk of further damage?
Sadly, there are risks with all aggressive scar treatments. Laser definitely comes with risks. There are plenty of horror stories on the Internet about laser treatment as well. There are also many types of lasers. If you choose to go the laser route, you want to pick a doctor who is highly experienced with treating acne scars. There's tons of advice on this forum, as well as Realself, on how to choose a doctor and type of laser.
Based on my limited experience with scar treatment, I think fractional co2 laser is quite safe in the right hands. Downtime is really going to vary by how quickly you heal, aftercare, and the aggressiveness of treatment. Every person is going to vary, but I would estimate 1-2 weeks. My downtime from TCA Cross was longer than my recovery from laser treatment.
Please also try to be realistic about treating your scars. Scarred skin will never be normal or perfect. You can only hope for improvement. Results are also never guaranteed. After doing some research, you may find you don't want to risk treatment, at all.
Hopefully, some other members will post and give you some advice.
Btw, have you tried using a retinoid to see if it provides you any improvement? I use Retin-A, and I can't say it's improved my scars but some people have seen improvement to shallow scarring.
Thanks Tokyo girl. I am going to try to do some research before I decide on anything, but I will definitely look into the fraxel co2. In the meantime I think I will go to the dermatologist and try to get Retin A. I have used over the counter RetinA treatments in the past, but when I became pregnant I stopped because it is not recommended. I will try to see if that provides any improvement while I research. Thank you again.
I would also advice against TCA cross. In my understanding, it's best for treating icepicks, but is questionable with boxcars and may even make them worse. I've had TCA cross done and while some of my scars have improved modestly, others have got worse so the final result is more or less the same as where I started.
I would also like to say that your scarring looks very mild and I wouldn't worry about it too much. 
Hello You could certainly do a chemical peel 40% aha or higher will help a lot with you type of scaring. I am going to do one this weekend actually and I m really looking foreword to getting it in the mail. Here is a link where you can read up on chemical peel that you can do at home
http://beautifulwithbrains.com/2011/06/21/can-glycolic-acid-peels-treat-acne-scars/
I bought a 40% aha chemical peel on monday form amazon and here is the brands website:
http://www.skinobsession.com/product-p/ga40.htm
I know some people are really intimidated by these chemical peels, but as long as you follow the instruction that come with you peel, it is a lot cheaper (14% with shipping) and you will notice very very wonderful results without doing to the derm. You can also go researching on youtube to find videos on how o put on a chemical peel.
Also you do not have to start of with 40% aha. You can start with 20-30 or as much as your skin can bare. Well I hope I was somewhat helpful:)
Good Luck GIrl!
I would also advice against TCA cross. In my understanding, it's best for treating icepicks, but is questionable with boxcars and may even make them worse. I've had TCA cross done and while some of my scars have improved modestly, others have got worse so the final result is more or less the same as where I started.
I would also like to say that your scarring looks very mild and I wouldn't worry about it too much.
Hi Austra,
I didn't know any of your scars had become worse. Out of curiosity, can you tell me what you mean by worse and what kind of scarring was negatively affected? As you may know, my experience with TCA Cross was negative on both boxcar and ice pick scars.
I would also advice against TCA cross. In my understanding, it's best for treating icepicks, but is questionable with boxcars and may even make them worse. I've had TCA cross done and while some of my scars have improved modestly, others have got worse so the final result is more or less the same as where I started.
I would also like to say that your scarring looks very mild and I wouldn't worry about it too much.
Hi Austra,
I didn't know any of your scars had become worse. Out of curiosity, can you tell me what you mean by worse and what kind of scarring was negatively affected? As you may know, my experience with TCA Cross was negative on both boxcar and ice pick scars.
The worsening wasn't extreme, but a few of my narrow deeper boxcar scars became wider and thus more apparent, without much change in depth. And one scar became deeper and much more apparent, so that it's now my 'worst' scar. This was the result of the scab falling off prematurely in my sleep (around after a week). If I were to get another TCA cross, I would want a whole face TCA peel at the same time to prevent that from happening. On my first two treatments I had a peel on top of Cross, so that my entire face scabbed, and I think the risk of scabs falling prematurely is much lower that way. When I had only Cross and had many small individual scabs, I felt like there was a real danger of them falling off prematurely if I accidentally touched my face or slept in a weird position etc (which did then happen 
). It's very hard to judge improvement without proper before pictures, but I don't think cross has improved most of my scars much at all, apart from one or two smaller ones that seemed to have filled in to an extent.
Thank you everyone for all the advice and for sharing your personal experiences. I am going to try to schedule an appointment with a derm today. I'm curious to see what they say. I remember the last time I saw a derm 5 years ago she recommended micro dermabrasion, but I was just fresh off accutane and she said that I should wait at least 1 year before any treatments. I think I'm also going to see if I can get a prescription for Retin A. I know that my skin will probably never be perfect and I'm not expecting miracles, but I have nothing to lose with giving Retin A a shot. Thank you again, it's nice to see that I'm not alone in feeling the way that I do.
On a positive note, when I smile my scars make me look like I have dimples...lol
