Acne.org Products
have a plan to have fraxel repair or mixto done, and knowing how long hyper pigmentation lasts will directly affect how long i need to consider being off from work; thank you so much for your reply about this, this has been extremely helpful, and congrats on the progress! 
Hello Inspired,
It has been about slightly less than a year since your treatment; Could you describe the texture of your skin now? Is it normal-pliable, leathery or thin?
I'm sorry, but I do take special interest in how the skin behaves long after laser resurfacing.
Thank you
Hey guys,
I am 5 weeks post my second Total FX procedure. I have attached current photos of my scars. As usual, I feel like my scars look worse at this point and I am dealing with hyperpigmentation. I am probably done with laser treatment at this point as I am not sure they can be improved much further.
I am going for a filler (Belotero) and light subcision next week to try and smooth out my remaining indents. Hope I don't end up with lumps. I have read Belotero is a thinner HA filler and as a result, it molds well at the surface and is less likely to have the side-effects of Juvederm or Restylane. Hoping that's true. If anyone has experience with it on shallow scars, please share.
Add-on: Sorry for the side ways photos. On a tablet and don't know why they're posting that way.
Thanks!
Apologies for the delay in replying. i did not know there were any new comments on my thread until now.
have a plan to have fraxel repair or mixto done, and knowing how long hyper pigmentation lasts will directly affect how long i need to consider being off from work; thank you so much for your reply about this, this has been extremely helpful, and congrats on the progress!
I can't believe this is my first posting on your thread. Congrats on the great success. I never had the scabs you showed in your early posts. I had scabs after dermabrasion, but never after any of my laser work.
Thanks, Dudley. I had always thought Repair caused scabs too but it might not. The scabs are actually caused by Active FX. I experienced scabs with my latest treatment too. Although he was much more aggressive this time with Active FX, my downtime was shorter and the pain was tolerable.
I was just feeling really down about my skin when I looked at my before images (see my gallery). I really have had incredible improvement. It is hard to believe the girl with the deep pits and boxcars all over her cheeks used to be me. I can't even believe how bad my skin used to look. I have to remember to focus on my progress. My skin is far from perfect and none of my pits have vanished, but they sure do look better! I will be forever grateful to my doctor, this forum and technology (specifically Total FX) for changing my life.
Again, that is the first time I saw your before pictures. You have experienced dramatic improvement. I wish I had some good before pictures of myself. I had more rolling scars than boxcar, and no icepick. Like you with TotalFX, Re:pair has changed my life. Are you planning future treatments?
I can't believe this is my first posting on your thread. Congrats on the great success. I never had the scabs you showed in your early posts. I had scabs after dermabrasion, but never after any of my laser work.
Thanks, Dudley. I had always thought Repair caused scabs too but it might not. The scabs are actually caused by Active FX. I experienced scabs with my latest treatment too. Although he was much more aggressive this time with Active FX, my downtime was shorter and the pain was tolerable.
I was just feeling really down about my skin when I looked at my before images (see my gallery). I really have had incredible improvement. It is hard to believe the girl with the deep pits and boxcars all over her cheeks used to be me. I can't even believe how bad my skin used to look. I have to remember to focus on my progress. My skin is far from perfect and none of my pits have vanished, but they sure do look better! I will be forever grateful to my doctor, this forum and technology (specifically Total FX) for changing my life.
So great you can say that you've truly had a life-changing experience after your Total FX treatments. Hopefully, one day I'll be able to say the same after having laser treatments of my own. Congratulations! 
Hey guys,
It's been a long time since I last updated. I've been incredibly busy with life. My improvement from my last laser procedure was subtle but there was improvement. I've attached some recent photos. I just took these with a 16.3 mega pixel camera. The quality is much clearer than my prior images. As you will see, I still have scars, but they're pretty much shallow now. I've decided to stop with laser treatment at this point, as i'm concerned about worsening the texture of my skin. With the hope of smoothing the texture of my skin, I will likely try dermastamp next. Having seen DC-girl's thread, I think I may be able to further improve my scars without risking unnecessary damage to epidermis by needling.
Best of luck to everyone with your journey.
Add-on:
Photos of where I started with my scar treatment can be seen in my gallery. I think I've had improvement but some might disagree. It's definitely more difficult to pick up my scars in pictures now, even with a higher quality digital camera. In some lighting, my shallow scarring is impossible to capture in a picture. It's also impossible for me to truly reflect the current texture of my skin in a picture, but I feel it looks worse in person. However, I'm 1000% happier today with how my skin looks. Just wish I could smooth the texture at this point. I have made peace with my ice picks that look like scarred pores at this point. I'm almost at the point of accepting my remaining indents as well.
You are not just imagining it. Your improvement is very real!
It's great to see you back on the forums, btw,
Hey, I was wondering when this thread would get updated!
Nice improvement! Yeah, I can see why some would disagree, since your "before" pictures were of lower quality and wouldn't capture the scars well.
Hey,
Thanks for the comment. It's nice to know others see the improvement.
inspired hate to be a bit of doosh but look into tca cross for ice picks no laser helps ice picks
Zavvi,
If you even bothered to look at my gallery, you would have clearly seen that I started with TCA Cross. TCA Cross not only made my scars deeper, it widened them and caused some to merge. The damage was extensive. I ended up with wider indents on my face, which laser has improved. Not only has laser improved my indents but it has improved my deep ice pick scars.
Perhaps, you should read a little before giving someone advice because he/she may have already gone down that path. TCA Cross was the worst decision I could have ever made in my scar treatment journey, and I used an experienced doctor. It is not the solution for everyone and there are risks of further damage.
Hey, I was wondering when this thread would get updated!
Nice improvement! Yeah, I can see why some would disagree, since your "before" pictures were of lower quality and wouldn't capture the scars well.
Hey,
Thanks for the comment. It's nice to know others see the improvement.
>inspired hate to be a bit of doosh but look into tca cross for ice picks no laser helps ice picks
Zavvi,
If you even bothered to look at my gallery, you would have clearly seen that I started with TCA Cross. TCA Cross not only made my scars deeper, it widened them and caused some to merge. The damage was extensive. I ended up with wider indents on my face, which laser has improved. Not only has laser improved my indents but it has improved my deep ice pick scars.
Perhaps, you should read a little before giving someone advice because he/she may have already gone down that path. TCA Cross was the worst decision I could have ever made in my scar treatment journey, and I used an experienced doctor. It is not the solution for everyone and there are risks of further damage.
jheez no need to be so harsh just giving my opinion you would be the first i have met then that has permanent improvement with laser
Hey, I was wondering when this thread would get updated!
Nice improvement! Yeah, I can see why some would disagree, since your "before" pictures were of lower quality and wouldn't capture the scars well.
Hey,
Thanks for the comment. It's nice to know others see the improvement.
>>inspired hate to be a bit of doosh but look into tca cross for ice picks no laser helps ice
pickslockquote>
Zavvi,
If you even bothered to look at my gallery, you would have clearly seen that I started with TCA Cross. TCA Cross not only made my scars deeper, it widened them and caused some to merge. The damage was extensive. I ended up with wider indents on my face, which laser has improved. Not only has laser improved my indents but it has improved my deep ice pick scars.
Perhaps, you should read a little before giving someone advice because he/she may have already gone down that path. TCA Cross was the worst decision I could have ever made in my scar treatment journey, and I used an experienced doctor. It is not the solution for everyone and there are risks of further
damage.
jheez no need to be so harsh just giving my opinion you would be the first i have met then that has permanent improvement with laser
Sorry if that came out harsh. Your comment wasn't posted in a friendly tone either, and it was clearly obvious you didn't even look at my gallery before giving advice. I am happy with my improvement. Is my skin perfect? Not at all, but the improvement from laser is undeniable and it has changed my life. When I started out, I would have never risked laser either.
There are several examples on this forum of people who have had success with laser. Just like Cross didn't work for me, laser doesn't work for everyone. Don't knock it until you try it.
Hey, I was wondering when this thread would get updated!
Nice improvement! Yeah, I can see why some would disagree, since your "before" pictures were of lower quality and wouldn't capture the scars well.
Hey,
Thanks for the comment. It's nice to know others see the improvement.
>>>inspired hate to be a bit of doosh but look into tca cross for ice picks no laser helps ice
pickslockquote>
Zavvi,
If you even bothered to look at my gallery, you would have clearly seen that I started with TCA Cross. TCA Cross not only made my scars deeper, it widened them and caused some to merge. The damage was extensive. I ended up with wider indents on my face, which laser has improved. Not only has laser improved my indents but it has improved my deep ice pick scars.
Perhaps, you should read a little before giving someone advice because he/she may have already gone down that path. TCA Cross was the worst decision I could have ever made in my scar treatment journey, and I used an experienced doctor. It is not the solution for everyone and there are risks of further damage.
lockquote>
jheez no need to be so harsh just giving my opinion you would be the first i have met then that has permanent improvement with laser
Sorry if that came out harsh. Your comment wasn't posted in a friendly tone either, and it was clearly obvious you didn't even look at my gallery before giving advice. I am happy with my improvement. Is my skin perfect? Not at all, but the improvement from laser is undeniable and it has changed my life. When I started out, I would have never risked laser either.
There are several examples on this forum of people who have had success with laser. Just Cross didn't work for me, laser doesn't work for everyone. Don't knock it until you try it.
inspired any laser results are a lot
i am sorry i didnt mean my comment to soon harsh as well i well even post you a link of a doc saying lasers dont help ice picks. Sorry to hear tca made you worse. Lasers aren't for everyone as well for example i have asian skin any laser would make me worse
i am sorry i didnt mean my comment to soon harsh as well i well even post you a link of a doc saying lasers dont help ice picks. Sorry to hear tca made you worse. Lasers aren't for everyone as well for example i have asian skin any laser would make me worse
Hey Zavvi,
No big deal. I'm not upset. I didn't mean to sound harsh. I've been treating my scars for many years now. I definitely believe in doing my research. I wasn't thorough with my research in the beginning though, and wasted $1000s on pointless procedures, such as microdermabrasion and peels. The only thing I haven't tried so far is needling and surgical removal. I haven't tried a surgical approach because I haven't found a single doctor who would even attempt to surgically remove my scars.
I also have Asian skin. As a result, I always suffer from hyperpigmentation after laser. I think you have to pick a doctor who is comfortable and experienced with treating Asian skin before you risk any kind of scar treatment. You also have to be willing to deal with temporary side-effects, like hyperpigmentation.
I don't think laser can eliminate ice pick scars like excision but excision can fail as well. Laser hasn't improved my "bottomless" ice pick scars or my scarred pores. I have definitely seen improvement to the ones that had a noticeable base. I don't know if that makes any sense to you but it does to me. Overall, of my improved ice pick scars, they are narrower and shallower today. Some really do look like scarred or enlarged pores now, and I am happy with that improvement. It sure beats a wide, deep pit on my face.
With TCA Cross, I think I had too many scars treated at once. I also jumped the gun after my test spot. I saw improvement when only a few scars were treated at once. I think that improvement came from swelling. My skin reacted completely differently when I had 90% TCA dropped in all my scars at once. My doctor applied it to every single scar on my face, including scarred pores. Perhaps that was the mistake. My skin literally caved in some spots, creating wide indents. If I were to ever try TCA again, I would not go over 30%. Even at 30%, I'd be scared because of my bad experience.
I have also had doctors tell me that laser can't improve ice pick scars. I would have to disagree with them to some extent. I think it depends on the depth of the scar, type of laser, settings and number of treatments. I also believe deep damage requires multiple treatments with a deep laser that can reach beneath the base of your scar. I only know of two deep lasers, Deep FX and Fraxel Repair. I definitely don't believe all fractional Co2 lasers are the same. Of course, a deep laser only targets deep with the right settings, so you could still see no improvement if your doctor isn't willing to be aggressive.
Keep in mind, it has taken me 3 treatments to reach this point. Two of my three treatments have been aggressive. Most people seem to give up after one treatment at conservative settings. While laser can fail either way, I think the chance of improvement is far greater with aggressive settings.
I also tried a test spot with Dr. Rahimi using MixTo (shallow laser) and saw zero improvement after the scar was zapped several times. Fortunately, I have experienced noticeable, lasting improvement from Deep FX & Total FX.
Of course, all of the above is my personal opinion based on my experience.
Inspired, so many people listen to the misinformation spread on this site. Either do Fraxel Re:pair or DeepFX at high settings or stay home. As you can tell I have had 5 Re:pairs done at the max setting. I probably won't do a 6th until after a facelift - getting older you know. LOL
Inspired cool i feel your pain as well i also have scars i am currently getting genuine dermaroller done getting my second one next week i will update as well at the end of june to let the community know if i am getting results. I dont know where you are based but if its in the UK i had a consulatation with dr jonquille chantrey shes pretty knowledgeable when it comes to scars in fact all of you people in the UK go in for a consultation to see her shes pretty good. Anyway she couldnt help me with my problem but she said she has seen so many people of asian and darker skin come to her with damage that is beyond repair she offered chemical peels as well but she said its too risky for my skin the TCA peel. I had a look at your before pic as well theres defo progress for you so congrats. Since you have tried laser and got results maybe the next step is recell in my opinion its most peoples best bet
Inspired, so many people listen to the misinformation spread on this site. Either do Fraxel Re:pair or DeepFX at high settings or stay home. As you can tell I have had 5 Re:pairs done at the max setting. I probably won't do a 6th until after a facelift - getting older you know. LOL