Appreciate the replies. I know rubbing cream won't get rid of my indents. The white patch used to be a small scar but seems to be spreading. Vilitigo maybe?!

The NHS derms are (so far) a wasted of time but my next appointment is at supposedly one of the best places in the UK so here's hoping I don't get palmed off with a 'newbie'

Appreciate the replies. I know rubbing cream won't get rid of my indents. The white patch used to be a small scar but seems to be spreading. Vilitigo maybe?!

The NHS derms are (so far) a wasted of time but my next appointment is at supposedly one of the best places in the UK so here's hoping I don't get palmed off with a 'newbie'

where is it ur going for ur appointment

Appreciate the replies. I know rubbing cream won't get rid of my indents. The white patch used to be a small scar but seems to be spreading. Vilitigo maybe?!

The NHS derms are (so far) a wasted of time but my next appointment is at supposedly one of the best places in the UK so here's hoping I don't get palmed off with a 'newbie'

where is it ur going for ur appointment

Salford dermatology near Manchester

Appreciate the replies. I know rubbing cream won't get rid of my indents. The white patch used to be a small scar but seems to be spreading. Vilitigo maybe?!

The NHS derms are (so far) a wasted of time but my next appointment is at supposedly one of the best places in the UK so here's hoping I don't get palmed off with a 'newbie'

where is it ur going for ur appointment

Salford dermatology near Manchester

is it to treat scarring if so what are they doing for you

Well I didn't expect to be typing this today but... HALLELUJAH! Progress...

The person that I saw really listened to me and took time to discuss my needs. He is recommending me for laser treatment for my scarring after a short course of anti-biotics to clear up some very minor spots on my jaw line. I'm not sure how long it will take (probably ages on the NHS) but at least it's progress seeing as every other derm has told me you can't get laser treatment on the NHS!!

determinedtowin, you need to take a step back. Do your research. Figure out what is going to work. Treatments that actually work for hyperpigmentation are IPL (intense pulsed laser), V-beam, and chemical peels (TCA, glycolic, lactic, vitalize). I have never heard of a CO2 laser benefiting hyperpigmentation. It seems to be for resurfacing of very shallow scars. Yours are actually a lot like mine - they ARE shallow; your main issue is the PIH (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation), not even necessarily the pitting. The pitting looks more prominent because it is colored pitting. If it wasn't colored, and if it meshed in well with the rest of your skin tone, it would be much less noticeable. Once that is done, you can work on raising/removing the scarred tissue with subcision/excision (anything else is a waste of time, let's be honest).

I've never seen any positive reviews on CO2 lasers. Just wondering what your rationale is for attempting this procedure. PLEASE do not tell me it's just because it's what your doc told you. A. from the sound of it, it seems like you are seeing some pretty incompetent individuals B. I have never met a derm that actually gave a damn about my improvement and C. Doctors fuck up, ALL, THE, TIME. Sometimes they directly result in drastic problems with your skin. Do not trust someone who isn't directly affected by your skin condition. They frankly do not care whether you improve or not - at the end of the day, money goes in their pocket. PRO TIP: docs ALWAYS recommend frac co2 lasers because they get paid more for the procedure. You need to look out for yourself. You should let a doctor hold your hand through scar treatment like you should let Freddy Kruger babysit your kids. At least with Freddy he wouldn't lie about the fact he wants to totally maime you.

So...start reading. And don't go back to speak to anyone until you KNOW what you need to be doing. This isn't the flu - it's not gone in two weeks. It's an extremely complex skin condition that can take years to fully remedy. Don't take it lightly as if you can just take some magic pills and do the magic laser and it's all gone. You will be disappointed even further and it will just result in an even more disheartening experience. Sorry for the little dose of reality but we're all struggling; there is good news to be found in these boards and others, though. You just have to look hard enough. Good luck....mate

determinedtowin, you need to take a step back. Do your research. Figure out what is going to work. Treatments that actually work for hyperpigmentation are IPL (intense pulsed laser), V-beam, and chemical peels (TCA, glycolic, lactic, vitalize). I have never heard of a CO2 laser benefiting hyperpigmentation. It seems to be for resurfacing of very shallow scars. Yours are actually a lot like mine - they ARE shallow; your main issue is the PIH (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation), not even necessarily the pitting. The pitting looks more prominent because it is colored pitting. If it wasn't colored, and if it meshed in well with the rest of your skin tone, it would be much less noticeable. Once that is done, you can work on raising/removing the scarred tissue with subcision/excision (anything else is a waste of time, let's be honest).

I've never seen any positive reviews on CO2 lasers. Just wondering what your rationale is for attempting this procedure. PLEASE do not tell me it's just because it's what your doc told you. A. from the sound of it, it seems like you are seeing some pretty incompetent individuals B. I have never met a derm that actually gave a damn about my improvement and C. Doctors fuck up, ALL, THE, TIME. Sometimes they directly result in drastic problems with your skin. Do not trust someone who isn't directly affected by your skin condition. They frankly do not care whether you improve or not - at the end of the day, money goes in their pocket. PRO TIP: docs ALWAYS recommend frac co2 lasers because they get paid more for the procedure. You need to look out for yourself. You should let a doctor hold your hand through scar treatment like you should let Freddy Kruger babysit your kids. At least with Freddy he wouldn't lie about the fact he wants to totally maime you.

So...start reading. And don't go back to speak to anyone until you KNOW what you need to be doing. This isn't the flu - it's not gone in two weeks. It's an extremely complex skin condition that can take years to fully remedy. Don't take it lightly as if you can just take some magic pills and do the magic laser and it's all gone. You will be disappointed even further and it will just result in an even more disheartening experience. Sorry for the little dose of reality but we're all struggling; there is good news to be found in these boards and others, though. You just have to look hard enough. Good luck....mate

This is one of the more cogent, and thoughtful responses I have seen on these boards in a long time. I will also add, that you must go slowly at first and do test spots. Do NOT just go all-in and do one radical procedure being sold by some doctor who is promising the moon and stars. Healing by nature is unpredictable. Healing in people with acne scars is even more unpredictable. I also agree that you should do much more research and due diligence before handing over your money to doctors who say completely ignorant BS like "your pits may flatten out." That's like freaking Dermatology 101. Many doctors I've talked to are shockingly ignorant, so how could you trust them to ablate your face with a laser?

I agree with a previous poster that vbeam and ipl will help with the redness. IPL is really more for general, global redness. Vbeam is much better at targeting specific red spots. Be warned though, that after a fairly aggressive vbeam you will have puffiness and raised welts where the laser strikes your skin. It will flatten out in a few days.

Not to go off on a tangent, but so many intelligent, thoughtful contributors have left because they have grown tired of the all the homeopathic nonsense that has overtaken these boards. Nothing short of surgery (laser, excisions, peels, fillers, dermarolling) will make a difference in visible scarring.

determinedtowin, you need to take a step back. Do your research. Figure out what is going to work. Treatments that actually work for hyperpigmentation are IPL (intense pulsed laser), V-beam, and chemical peels (TCA, glycolic, lactic, vitalize). I have never heard of a CO2 laser benefiting hyperpigmentation. It seems to be for resurfacing of very shallow scars. Yours are actually a lot like mine - they ARE shallow; your main issue is the PIH (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation), not even necessarily the pitting. The pitting looks more prominent because it is colored pitting. If it wasn't colored, and if it meshed in well with the rest of your skin tone, it would be much less noticeable. Once that is done, you can work on raising/removing the scarred tissue with subcision/excision (anything else is a waste of time, let's be honest).

I've never seen any positive reviews on CO2 lasers. Just wondering what your rationale is for attempting this procedure. PLEASE do not tell me it's just because it's what your doc told you. A. from the sound of it, it seems like you are seeing some pretty incompetent individuals B. I have never met a derm that actually gave a damn about my improvement and C. Doctors fuck up, ALL, THE, TIME. Sometimes they directly result in drastic problems with your skin. Do not trust someone who isn't directly affected by your skin condition. They frankly do not care whether you improve or not - at the end of the day, money goes in their pocket. PRO TIP: docs ALWAYS recommend frac co2 lasers because they get paid more for the procedure. You need to look out for yourself. You should let a doctor hold your hand through scar treatment like you should let Freddy Kruger babysit your kids. At least with Freddy he wouldn't lie about the fact he wants to totally maime you.

So...start reading. And don't go back to speak to anyone until you KNOW what you need to be doing. This isn't the flu - it's not gone in two weeks. It's an extremely complex skin condition that can take years to fully remedy. Don't take it lightly as if you can just take some magic pills and do the magic laser and it's all gone. You will be disappointed even further and it will just result in an even more disheartening experience. Sorry for the little dose of reality but we're all struggling; there is good news to be found in these boards and others, though. You just have to look hard enough. Good luck....mate

This is one of the more cogent, and thoughtful responses I have seen on these boards in a long time. I will also add, that you must go slowly at first and do test spots. Do NOT just go all-in and do one radical procedure being sold by some doctor who is promising the moon and stars. Healing by nature is unpredictable. Healing in people with acne scars is even more unpredictable. I also agree that you should do much more research and due diligence before handing over your money to doctors who say completely ignorant BS like "your pits may flatten out." That's like freaking Dermatology 101. Many doctors I've talked to are shockingly ignorant, so how could you trust them to ablate your face with a laser?

I agree with a previous poster that vbeam and ipl will help with the redness. IPL is really more for general, global redness. Vbeam is much better at targeting specific red spots. Be warned though, that after a fairly aggressive vbeam you will have puffiness and raised welts where the laser strikes your skin. It will flatten out in a few days.

Not to go off on a tangent, but so many intelligent, thoughtful contributors have left because they have grown tired of the all the homeopathic nonsense that has overtaken these boards. Nothing short of surgery (laser, excisions, peels, fillers, dermarolling) will make a difference in visible scarring.

blahblah, thank you for saying so. I also share the same sentiment: These boards are not at all the same as they used to be. No one seems to thoughtfully contribute anymore, either because the place is dead or because they just don't care enough to come back and share their successes/miseries with others. I'm trying to bring back some spirit to these boards, because the issue of pigmentation and scarring is really, in the end, much worse than acne itself. It's astounding to me that no one is even making a single relevant post about their treatments, or even regimens that they are using in order to reduce redness. Although this is the only forum I really hang around, so maybe in the acne forums they are discussing redness as well. I haven't had a chance to fully explore.

I also appreciate your response in the same way you've appreciated mine. No one on this board seems to take more than a sentence to respond to someone.

"I think this thing might work for you."

"Hey this helped me this one time I think so you should try it."

"I hope you get better"

seem to be the type of responses this board is seeing nowadays. It's almost vomit-worthy, quite frankly, because I walk around every day in crowded areas and know for a FACT at least 5-10% of the people around me are suffering from these problems. Can we not come together and help each other come to a conclusion? We only get stronger when more people contribute their experiences, paying special attention to photo proof of improvements. We need to have an active, scientific approach to our own healing process. That is what I am hoping to do, once my skin is 6 months off accutane.

The reason why I am willing to try C02 is that my pitted scarring is a lot worse than it looks on the pictures so I feel it might be worthwhile to try it for resurfacing as I will get it free on the NHS so it's not a case of them charging me more...

I have obviously looked at other things which I would need to pay for i.e. dermaroller but there are so many different reviews on each procedure that it makes it hard to decide what to try?!

The reason why I am willing to try C02 is that my pitted scarring is a lot worse than it looks on the pictures so I feel it might be worthwhile to try it for resurfacing as I will get it free on the NHS so it's not a case of them charging me more...

I have obviously looked at other things which I would need to pay for i.e. dermaroller but there are so many different reviews on each procedure that it makes it hard to decide what to try?!

Well if it is a lot worse then it is probably going to be even less worthwhile than it would have been if your scarring was shallow.

I have never heard of anyone having any sort of noticeable improvement from CO2 lasers. All of the testimonies I have read have basically said it was a complete waste of time. And to boot, it can be quite a painful procedure, AND for some (such as myself), it caused a breakout. In my case, and in the case of another member here whose post I just responded to, it resulted in breakouts that required accutane (roaccutane) to fully remedy. I just don't want to see you go down that road. Please do your research before jumping into this. If I were you, I'd read at least 100 testimonies FROM PATIENTS (not the goddamn docs making money off the procedure. Can you say biased?) who have undergone the procedures. I'm sure you can find several on these boards, not to mention other boards and review sites. Just do the reading, damn. Why do I have to tell you this? Do you want to hurt yourself? I have no reason for even telling you any of this other than the fact that I actually, believe it or not, give a shit about what happens to your face. Why? I sympathize, I'm in the same boat, I'm dealing with the same stuff day in and day out. Why would I want to see a fellow sufferer suffer even more?

On the subject of dermarolling, that is going to take at least a year or more of treatment every 2 months or so to see noticeable results, if they will ever come (see the thread on the guy who's done 3 years of DR with no results, and also liquidocelot's thread about how it literally saved his skin). You also need to focus heavily on what your post-rolling regimen is going to be, i.e. what you are going to be treating your skin with during the crucial healing process.

All that being said, like I said before, the only real procedure where people are seeing real, TODAY results, are subcision and excision. Look into them.

What he said

Not sure I agree that there has been no positive testimonies about co2 lasers. Slee, Dragz, Inspired are members who have seen positive results. Slee has a very well documented account of his experiences on here.

Determinedtown, judging from your pictures, I actually agree with the last doctor who describes it as diffused scarring. It looks like your scars are not particularly deep, but are widespread. C02 laser would actually be indicated in this type of scarring since it is more global as opposed to discrete, large, indented scars. That said, of course do a test spot to see if you heal alright. Like those other folks though, you will probably need a few sessions to get noticeable improvement. A lot of doctors will tell you that all the co2 machines perform similarly, but it's usually because they are selling the one they have in the office. I think of all the C02 lasers out there, Total FX by Lumenis is by far the most sophisticated (read Inspired's account about Total FX, she had significant improvement). If you can manage to get treated with that on the NHS, I'd say it's worth a shot. Also, because you are Caucasian, it's much less likely that you will have pigmentation issues.

don't be that discouraged by it dude. its actually not bad really. Id say your acne scars are mild. don't try anything to strong you still have nice skin

Cheers people. I am still waiting on my next derm appointment so we will see what he offers!

I have an appointment on June 26th to discuss having laser treatment