Hello everyone,

I am a 24 male. I've had mild/moderate acne ever since I was about 18, and now the scars are starting to show clearly. This is taking a huge toll on my life especially at this age and being a senior at college. So I went to see a derm last week and he prescribed me the following : -

- Harris Benzoyl Peroxide topical wash 5%

- Acella Sodium sulfacetamide 10% -sulfur 5% cleanser

- Doxycycl 100mg pills

My addition

- Burt's Bees maximum strength spot cream 2% sacylic acid ( before bedtime)

I've been on these medications for a week now. I don't see much difference. I actually have two or three new pimples. My face is getting redder and redder I am getting real frustrated and I have been using everything available over the counter before this. The derm suggested I do the fraxel repair. 3 treatments in one month intervals. I study full time so I don't know how this would work out.

I posted these two pictures of my scars. Are they bad? Should I go ahead and do the laser? It costs 3000 and it's coming out of my pocket! Maybe many of you were in my shoes. All comments and input is appreciated. I cut down tremendously on sugar and stopped drinkin milk.

Here are the pictures. Left cheek and right cheek. These are taken using high resolution under halogen bulbs.

So any advice? If anything my face is inflamed compared to two weeks ago. Its much redder. Does that mean that the meds are working?? What should I leave out? Do I go ahead and fraxel? Are there any complications 5-10 years after the procedure??

Thanks everyone and sorry for the long post.

The pictures didn't show up for some reason - could you retry it?

My first piece of advice: get your acne completely under control before you begin treating your scarring. I know how difficult that is but it's important. Scars last a lot longer than any pimples you have for the here and now - a lot of treatments will aggravate your acne and only result in more scars in the long-term. When it does come to treating your scars, I do think fraxel is a great option - but it is quite expensive. Dermarolling is another option that is cheaper. It can be done in an office or at home (a lot cheaper, but do plenty of research). A few people on here have had really good results from that, but they take a while to show. You should also give yourself time after not having acne to see how well your skin heals itself on its own - some scars can fill in to a degree if they're fresher.

As far as your active acne goes, I would suggest being as gentle as you can. You're mixing quite a few aggressive treatments (BP, sulfur, antibiotics, salicylic acid) at once which is probably why your skin is red/irritated. Irritation when starting out benzoyl peroxide in particular is pretty common, but it's not good. If you're not already using a moisturizer, start using one now for sure. Because this is what your dermatologist suggested, I would follow it for a while longer..but if things don't get better (and it can take a while to show results), I would move onto something else.

The acne.org regimen works really well for a lot of people. You could also try something very gentle - I personally use Cerave foaming cleanser to wash morning and night, Cerave moisturizing cream (in the tub) morning and night, Stridex pads (in the red box - it's salicylic acid) in the morning and do the Oil Cleansing Method with Jojoba oil at night and it's working great.

You could also ask for Accutane if your acne is severe and persistent enough (if it's scarring, then you'll probably be able to get a prescription). It is a last resort treatment, but it is by far the most effective and long-lasting. If you need me to explain anything, let me know! Best of luck to you.

The pictures didn't show up for some reason - could you retry it?

My first piece of advice: get your acne completely under control before you begin treating your scarring. I know how difficult that is but it's important. Scars last a lot longer than any pimples you have for the here and now - a lot of treatments will aggravate your acne and only result in more scars in the long-term. When it does come to treating your scars, I do think fraxel is a great option - but it is quite expensive. Dermarolling is another option that is cheaper. It can be done in an office or at home (a lot cheaper, but do plenty of research). A few people on here have had really good results from that, but they take a while to show. You should also give yourself time after not having acne to see how well your skin heals itself on its own - some scars can fill in to a degree if they're fresher.

As far as your active acne goes, I would suggest being as gentle as you can. You're mixing quite a few aggressive treatments (BP, sulfur, antibiotics, salicylic acid) at once which is probably why your skin is red/irritated. Irritation when starting out benzoyl peroxide in particular is pretty common, but it's not good. If you're not already using a moisturizer, start using one now for sure. Because this is what your dermatologist suggested, I would follow it for a while longer..but if things don't get better (and it can take a while to show results), I would move onto something else.

The acne.org regimen works really well for a lot of people. You could also try something very gentle - I personally use Cerave foaming cleanser to wash morning and night, Cerave moisturizing cream (in the tub) morning and night, Stridex pads (in the red box - it's salicylic acid) in the morning and do the Oil Cleansing Method with Jojoba oil at night and it's working great.

You could also ask for Accutane if your acne is severe and persistent enough (if it's scarring, then you'll probably be able to get a prescription). It is a last resort treatment, but it is by far the most effective and long-lasting. If you need me to explain anything, let me know! Best of luck to you.

Thanks for your advice! I am using a moisturizer at night after I apply some BP as per doctors instructions. I saw him today and he said its normal for new pimples to break out and redness due to the antibiotics. My cheeks feel inflamed for some reason and im starting to think its the pills/bp making my skin more sensitive. I will update with more.

Regarding the pictures. Can you try refreshing the page? They didn't show up when I clicked on this thread but they did when I refreshed.

Thanks again.

The pictures didn't show up for some reason - could you retry it?

My first piece of advice: get your acne completely under control before you begin treating your scarring. I know how difficult that is but it's important. Scars last a lot longer than any pimples you have for the here and now - a lot of treatments will aggravate your acne and only result in more scars in the long-term. When it does come to treating your scars, I do think fraxel is a great option - but it is quite expensive. Dermarolling is another option that is cheaper. It can be done in an office or at home (a lot cheaper, but do plenty of research). A few people on here have had really good results from that, but they take a while to show. You should also give yourself time after not having acne to see how well your skin heals itself on its own - some scars can fill in to a degree if they're fresher.

As far as your active acne goes, I would suggest being as gentle as you can. You're mixing quite a few aggressive treatments (BP, sulfur, antibiotics, salicylic acid) at once which is probably why your skin is red/irritated. Irritation when starting out benzoyl peroxide in particular is pretty common, but it's not good. If you're not already using a moisturizer, start using one now for sure. Because this is what your dermatologist suggested, I would follow it for a while longer..but if things don't get better (and it can take a while to show results), I would move onto something else.

The acne.org regimen works really well for a lot of people. You could also try something very gentle - I personally use Cerave foaming cleanser to wash morning and night, Cerave moisturizing cream (in the tub) morning and night, Stridex pads (in the red box - it's salicylic acid) in the morning and do the Oil Cleansing Method with Jojoba oil at night and it's working great.

You could also ask for Accutane if your acne is severe and persistent enough (if it's scarring, then you'll probably be able to get a prescription). It is a last resort treatment, but it is by far the most effective and long-lasting. If you need me to explain anything, let me know! Best of luck to you.

Thanks for your advice! I am using a moisturizer at night after I apply some BP as per doctors instructions. I saw him today and he said its normal for new pimples to break out and redness due to the antibiotics. My cheeks feel inflamed for some reason and im starting to think its the pills/bp making my skin more sensitive. I will update with more.

Regarding the pictures. Can you try refreshing the page? They didn't show up when I clicked on this thread but they did when I refreshed.

Thanks again.

They work now! Your scars are actually pretty mild - at the very least, tiny. Unfortunately, ice pick scars can be difficult to treat but yours are quite shallow. I would look into TCA Cross.

Yeah. I've seen TCA Cross done on something similar to your small scars. If it doesn't work you might find success with a milder laser.