Sorry guys, I didn't mean to make things confusing. He originally wanted me to pay $3000 for the first treatment then $2000 for the second treatment (overall, $5000). Each treatment consists of mixto with subcision and ultherapy. When I spoke to the lady, she said they might be able to reduce the first treatment to $2500 as opposed to $3000 & then I'd pay $2500 with the second treatment.
Now that you guys mention that ultherapy might possibly make things worse, I'm even MORE hesitant lol. The whole reason my scars look worse is because I lost the fat, I can't be losing more! As for my skin color, it's a lot darker than Asian skin (it's Hispanic brown skin). As for the doctor on realself in Utah, I def. have heard about him and I would absolutely love to go, but at this moment, the added traveling expenses would be too much for me along with the price to pay for the procedure (it looks like I'd be charge the $4500 since my scars look similar to the Asian guy). I wanted to pay $2500/$3000 for the first treatment while I save up for the second.
**I'm now researching ultherapy, and it looks like the doctor decides how deep the machine will penetrate. Based on realself doctor answers, they claim no fat loss, but I'm going over patient reviews as well. In a way, doesn't this really also depend on the skill of the doctor doing it? Maybe some people had horrible side effects because the doctor didn't really know how to use the machine (wrong settings...etc)? I also wasn't aware that the effects would be lost in 2 years. I'm reading the purpose of this was to improve over the next couple of months because of collagen being built. Regardless, I'm going to ask about this when I call again today.
Here are doctors answers on how long the results should last:
http://www.realself.com/question/long-ulthera-skin-treatment-last
http://www.realself.com/question/long-results-ultherapy-procedure
Personally, I don't think it's worth the investment. Any lifting you *might* experience would be temporary. That's a pricey temporary fix. I'm surprised Dr. Rahimi would recommend it for acne scar treatment. In the shortterm, you might be happy with the improvement.
I apologize if I caused any confusion for saying $5000 is expensive for MixTo. Being that Ultherapy is still a fairly new technology that can produce subtle, shortterm results, I just logically disregarded Ultherapy as an unnecessary addition.
When I consulted with Rahimi, I was quoted his old pricing, $3000 for two MixTo sessions with subcision included.
The more I read about Ultherapy, I feel like in a few years time it will play out like how Thermage played out. Meaning that people will see that it was sort of gimmicky, and maybe even causes negative results. I think $3K is a lot to spend for a little skin tightening that doesn't last for even 2 years.
@Michi31, If you search on Realself, the going rate is about $1000 per syringe. In the LA area, I know a few med spas have it on special for $700. In terms of which scars to use it for, if you have superficial scars, then it might not work so well because it is very viscous / thick. It is designed to have high lifting capacity, or G prime, and meant for facial sculpting like building up cheekbones and chins. It can be used for deep volume loss or deep indentations from acne scars. It might be too lumpy if used in superficial scars. Belotero, which is a very thin filler, is probably more suited for finely etched scars as opposed to huge, deep volume loss and indentations.
@sld235, I would at least send Dr. Mark Taylor an email and get his opinion before you rule him out due to cost. He might give you a price break. Just explain to him your situation, and see what he has to say. You don't have to commit to anything yet. If you don't need to make a decision right away, then take another couple of weeks to really think about it.
Finding the right doctor and treatment can be a journey in itself. I highly recommend that you take your time and do your research using professional opinions, patient reviews and credible studies. I think you are off to a great start. Multiple professional opinions will help you make the right decision for you. Don't rush the process or make a decision in haste. Always remember that "cosmetic" doctors are also in a business to make money. I find the number of detailed reviews for Rahimi on Realself and Yelp highly suspect as they all began to suddenly appear in the same detailed fashion on a pretty predictable schedule over the last 2+ years and they all followed DRAGZ post on this forum. I think it is highly unfortunate too because I do think Rahimi has the skills and experience to help scar sufferers with proven techniques. Unless he is simply chasing the mighty dollar at this point, I don't understand why he would recommend a temporary "lifting" treatment to someone who suffers from facial scars. I am actually upset by it because I know what it is like to spend $1000s on a procedure that can't provide any permanent improvement to atrophic scars. I also know what it is like to end up with further damage. Collagen remodeling will happen with any facial procedure. Procedures can produce positive, negative and no results during the remodeling phase.
If Ultherapy turns out to be another Thermage, there is a chance you could experience additional fat loss down the road. A doctor's skills and experience are irrelevant when a device so new, no one truly knows the longterm effects.
Thanks guys, I'm not sure what I would have done without your advice! I have decided not to get the ultherapy treatment and have contacted Dr. Rahimi about it via email. I will call him tomorrow as well regarding it. I am still considering mixto and subcision, but I don't think it will get me much of a result. If he is aggressive, this would be great, but I doubt he would considering my darker complexion.
Even though I know I won't be able to do this, I have also contacted Dr. Taylor. I would love to go to him, but he is very far away and I just don't see how I could return home with a swollen/peeling face.
I know I should take my time with this, but I can't help, but feel restless regarding it. I shouldn't let peoples comments affect me, but a couple of weeks ago, someone had mentioned how severe my scarring was and it just embarrassed the heck out of me. Something I wasn't really too crazy about fixing right away (though I had planned to do it) has suddenly become really important. I just feel like I don't have many choices in my location and with my darker complexion. I also live near Mexico and there is laser treatment there (cheaper as well), but I am hesitant to say the least.
Unfortunately dermarolling (or dermastamping) won't bring back lost tissue. My deep (rolling) scars remain the same after 16 months and 10 treatments. It might improve shallow scars, though.
Maybe after many years and adding single needling to the treatment deep scars may improve as well, like munsoned's scars did.
@Marcosctb, Can you link to where he shows the improvement? Are there actual pictures? This would be interesting to see.
@sld235, I know you feel like you want to address the scarring right away, but I'll tell you from experience that making a decision in haste usually doesn't end up well. Think it through because it's a huge investment of time, money, and emotional energy during the recovery process especially because your scarring will require a more aggressive approach. Think of it this way, waiting a little longer means you will have time to save up more money and think critically about your choice in a surgeon.
I totally empathize with you though about the embarrassment caused by other people pointing out your scarring. I've had people say incredibly hurtful and rude things to me all my life about my bad skin, first the severe cystic acne and then the really bad scars. Just hang in there and focus on the end goal.
Cosmetic surgery in a developing country is a pretty scary thing, because you will have no recourse if something goes wrong.
Unfortunately dermarolling (or dermastamping) won't bring back lost tissue. My deep (rolling) scars remain the same after 16 months and 10 treatments. It might improve shallow scars, though.
Maybe after many years and adding single needling to the treatment deep scars may improve as well, like munsoned's scars did.
I just got an e-mail from Dr. Rahimi and it looks like I'm going to look elsewhere for scar treatment. He said that my scars were too deep for just two mixto treatments and that I should only expect mid/moderate improvement. He said that he can't be too aggressive with my skin because of my skin color. He said he'd charge me $3000 for the first treatment of just mixto with subcision and then $1000 for the second treatment 4-6 months away for a total of $4000 for two laser treatments. He said he wanted me to be realistic about my results. At this point, I don't think it's worth it anymore. I am now thinking about saving up and going to Dr. Taylor in Utah. I have yet to hear from them (e-mailed them last night), but I'm thinking about calling today.
Needless to say, I feel very disappointed.
Also, I guess I should add, is it true that it is better to get scar treatments the younger you are? I am still relatively young, so I thought I would have better luck with treating my scars. I know a lot of people end up doing it when they are much older, but I thought I'd get some input on this.
I remember DragZ just 2 years ago posting he would be charge $3,000 for 2 treatments of Mixto with Subcision included. And then any additional Mixto treatment he wanted would be done at $500 each. (Not sure if Slee was charge the same?) So yeah this forum is bringing him a lot of business has him jacking up the prices now unfortunately.
Yeah it is best to get scar treatments done when you are younger as we have more collagen in our youth & skin is more tighter to get better results, But acne scars is not a 100% fixed so keep that in mind. And you must have your acne under control if you plan on spending big bucks for any agressive laser procedure.
If you booked in advance with this Dr.Taylor, I would advised it would be better to get treatment done in the Winter or Fall season, Not the Summer Time as you can get hyperpigmentation easily as the Sun stays up much longer here in Cali. (til 8pm sometimes) in the Summer then the winter time where it goes down at 5pm. Just save your money for now, Maybe you can do your consultation in Skype? Or you can send him high definition photos to his email account with your phone# and he can give you a consultation right there in what you need with price.
Booking far in advance online for Round Trip Flight(flying there & coming back home), Hotel stay(you'll probably need a few days), the price will be much cheaper than say you were to booked just a few weeks away before your treatment. And I wouldn't recommend taking 1 week off work, I say 2 weeks minimum & 3 weeks if they allow you too. Aggressive treatments usually requires more time to recover so 1 week is not enough in my opinion.
If you don't have the money, asked a Family member how important this is for you & you'll pay them back. Maybe even have someone go with you for support while you're recovering out there. I personally think I'm going to see this Dr.Taylor myself, but in the Winter time. I like how he does these subcisions which it totally different with ballooning up the face before working on a person with the laser.
Just so you know I live out in L.A. County and Dr.Rahimi is about a 25 minute drive for me and was really considering seeing him, But those results on realself on that Asian Young Man has really change my mind. Good luck to you & don't ever go to Mexico to get anything done. Yeah it might be 50-75% cheaper with laser treatments, but the risks of something going wrong there is about 5 times as high than here IMHO.
If you need touch up's with dermal fillers every year or two well you don't need to fly out there as there are many trained professionals who can do that for you closer to where you live in San Diego.
Thank you Celaya for your post . Dr. Rahimi's prices are a lot higher now and that's unfortunate considering how I might not have much improvement. I can get 2 weeks off work for Dr. Taylor's treatment, but that will be tough mostly due to the boredom haha. I think I am a fast healer though; I was told I should expect oozing,peeling with the intense fractora treatment I got a month ago, but I was pretty much back to normal on the 4th day (in fact, I actually went to exercise because I was so bored - I know, I'm bad). The fractora treatment did actually help a bit now that it's almost been a month & my family have told me that they do see a difference. The scarring is still bad obviously, but it has helped! I guess his estimate might be correct if I do two more intense fractora treatments, but I rather not and save up money for something I know can really help. Good luck to you too Celaya! I'm pretty impatient when it comes to waiting though (I know, I'm bad), but I'll try my hardest. Don't be too surprised if I schedule this before fall....
Also, where did you get Dr. Taylor's email? I emailed the website email and then on realself (if that's what you mean).
I Meant the email from his website. If you don't get any response in a few days, I would just call the office and let them know you are from out of State and you sent pictures to there email website a few days ago and see if you can have some sort of consultation with Dr. Taylor that way(without having to fly in) By using Skype or looking into your pictures & see what he recommends for you.
Also, When you talked to this Doctor, See if he can give you some sort of discount in price(it never hurts to ask), That;s if your willing to document your story on realself or here on acne.org where there are hundreds to thousands who may be potential clients as you would be helping his business, but you should let him know this, maybe he drops the price for you.
By the way the reason i think you shouldn't get any laser done during the Summer is also that the Sun rays are a lot stronger, But if you do make sure you wear heavy sun Block at all times and stay away from the Sun when you don't have to be outdoors.
Ps, I just notice you posted a message on realself, Hopefully he gets back to you soon.
Good to know Rahimi was honest with you. MixTo is not a deep laser. It is good for resurfacing but it won't do much for deeper damage. Subcision could help with deeper damage but I believe you'd still need more than two treatments to see decent, lasting improvement.
I am not sure what to think of a doctor who claims his patients average 72% improvement after one treatment. If that is true, he should package the procedure, back it with proof and resell it. The Asian guy got great improvement but we can't see the true results after 6-12 months. Other than the Asian guy, are there other examples?
Lol. I am now wondering if I should try erbium laser next. The hyperpigmentation phase with co2 isn't fun. I told myself I was done with laser but a procedure without pigment side-effects is tempting.
Also DRAGZ pays $250 for touch-ups. His prices with Rahimi went down after his review. He also had shallow scars which you can see in the pictures Rahimi posted. I think his before photos on this site look worse because he took a picture of his reflection in a mirror. The lighting, movement and angle caused his scars to be exaggerated.
@Marcosctb, Can you link to where he shows the improvement? Are there actual pictures? This would be interesting to see.
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He kept a long thread/log documenting his progress. He didn't post pictures.
I think 1.5 too short, I have it too but because of my scars are too deep so it did not work, I did roller only 2 times though lol. But my skin after dermaroller fell off, I think I need deeper needle so my skin can regenerate deeper. I want to try something 2.5 mm, I searched for 3 mm or any longer but couldn't find any 
It is absolutely necessary to eliminate all breakouts before a procedure like this? I don't plan to do this in July, but I wanted to ask. Before the fractora treatment, I was really clear besides oily skin and blackheads (I'd get one small blemish every once in a while on my chin or jawline, but it was rare). Now, for some odd reason, I am breaking out again, but it is not cystic; just a few small blemishes around my face, mostly on my chin and around my lips. I'm breaking out in places I never did before as well (forehead, between eyes..etc). They are gone within a day or two. It's incredibly frustrating because I had been clear for so long. I'm not sure if it's because I had stopped dans regimen for weeks now, the fractora treatment itself, the pills I took for the fractora treatment (anitviral [which I didn't complete taking] and antibiotics) or messing around with supplementation (I've tried vitex, DIM, B5.. during this time too). I also used retin-a .1% and that made my skin even worse, esp. my skin tone (I used it when I thought I was doing laser). I am pretty mad that I messed with the supplements. I'm doing a no dairy and gluten diet right now (which I should have done from the very beginning) and I'm back on dans regimen. No supplements at all besides fish oil and a multi. I'm really starting to suspect I caused an imbalance, whether it be hormonal and/or vitamin/mineral.
On 6/15/2014 at 10:28 AM, waitingforacure said:same here.. if i had the time and money i would fly to UK in a heartbeat lol..u live in the U.S?
But why do you want to go to the UK for the treatment. There are good doctors in US. You can set up an appointment with one of them. There are many cosmetic surgeons like Dr.Solomon of [removed] who uses different techniques like laser technology to remove the scars.
lasers alone are ineffective in treating severely pitted scars..i've tried already..the problem here in the U.S is we don't have the best scar treatments available such as recell or the celution(for stem cell fat grafts)..the FDA has been hindering these two products from being approved for a long ass time now even though they;re effective and being used in most other countries. we have highly renown doctors here however that don't a mean a thing when the best scar treatment procedures are unapproved and prohibited from the public
I thought I'd let you guys know that I'm already in the process of leaving in a couple of weeks to do the procedure Dr. Taylor did on the Asian man with severe scars. I was originally going to do this later on, but there are so many things that are happening in my life (new career and school starting again) that it would not allow me to leave anytime soon unless it was during a huge break. I plan to keep you all updated because this is the first time anyone has something done with Dr. Taylor on this site (and esp. this type of procedure)...that I know of. One thing that might stop this is that I am still breaking out a bit on my face. Like I had mentioned before, this is not cystic or severe, but it is still frustrating. The person I spoke to really did not recommend it and she asked me to show pictures of the breakouts to go over it with Dr. Taylor (I had mentioned this to Dr. Taylor already, but he didn't say anything). I am thinking about just spot treating my face (just the areas where the scarring is the worst - temples and cheeks) because I have no active breakouts at all there. I have no idea why I am still breaking out around my mouth and chin though, it is a huge mystery. If you have any questions/recommendations, please let me know. Any supplementation/special diet I should be on to help me heal better? Thanks
Sld235, Did you get any sort of Consultation? Did you agree on pricing in what you'll be having done before flying out there? / Maybe you can try getting a discount in price by telling them you are going to share your story on this site which is read by hundreds of members daily? I know how frustrating this may be and would suggest you wait til your breakouts clear up. If you continue on, I think Dr.Taylor might have some sort of light laser to treat the acne lesions(kill the bacteria) while going aggressively with his other laser on the scarring. I think it's best to have most of your skin resurface so it builds collagen in and all around the scarring not just spotting the scarring as you won't have that much collagen inside working for your benefit for your scars. Maybe just tell him to lay off the acne and go for the rest of the skin which isn't breaking out. Keep in mind you most likely will be breaking out after this procedure (as I hear it's very common) if you still don't have your acne under control as it's happen to many after getting laser treatments.
Hopefully he has medication in hand to prescribe for you and giving you plenty of instructions on what to do after your treatment. Make sure you bring a notebook or something with you so you asked him all of your questions in hand in case you forget what you wanted to say. Examples would be when can you wear your makeup? When should I wear sunscreen? when can I take a shower? Is it safe to exercise soon afterwards? Although I think he suggests you can't do that as it might get the skin red and to lay off for a month or two from excersizing til the skin returns to normal color.
Also no Hot Showers/ just strickly cold showers as I guess a warm bath is bad for the skin after getting laser treatment, But not sure when you can take one so make sure you asked him. Also I know it's Summer time right now, So make sure you are not tanning your face in any way and stay out of the Sun til you fly out there. If you tan(getting laser treatment can have complications with hyperpigmention or hypopigmentation). So I suggest don't go out in the sun and wear sunscreen including inside the house.
Your recent Acne might be from several factors. Hormonal inbalance. Stressing out with getting this procedure done/ Work / School/Nerves/Anxiety/Etc.
Just try to stay calm and also get plenty of sleep every night. Lack of sleep and not sleeping well could also have something to do with it. Stay away from any fatty/Greasy foods and try getting back to your routine that work well for you when you had your acne under control. Maybe another reason is the Warm Weather(very Hot?) excessive sweating with your Oily Skin clogging up your pores?
So what is it do you planned on having done? Are you going to do the exact same treatment that the Young Asian Man got done? He had to wait though a Month later to get Dermal Fillers. I think you can get those though close to your Home when you need touch-ups for the deeper scars so no need to fly back out there to get them done. Good Luck & hope everything turns out for the best.
Celaya, I finally called them after not hearing from them for a while. I was told to email two doctors - Dr. Taylor got back to me right away and he said he could do the exact same thing he did on the Asian man. He said he could do it for 3900 and then he had me contact someone else via email (which then became a phone call). I asked her several of the questions you had mentioned - no makeup for 2 weeks, no sun exposure for a month, forgot about exercise, but it's def. something I'd like to ask. I thought about mentioning the site to them to get a possible discount, but I always feel embarrassed. I'll try to bring it up again.
The acne is really stressing me out right now. Like I had mentioned before; it would take me about 4/5 months later to do this procedure again which is why I'm bumming out that I had to start breaking out again. I know most of you will keep encouraging I wait (and I completely understand), but it is starting to affect my quality of life considerably due to depression I am starting to experience. I also have a job that has me see hundreds of people daily and it is always nagging at me in the back of my head. I had a gynecologist tell me that at least I'm no longer "breaking out" (not true, I still had some bumps here and there) on my face anymore, while I sarcastically laughed and said that I still have the scars - no makeup can hide that. It's interesting because I try not to stress, but I stress out about how people look at me.
My job is incredibly demanding and I am on my feet for 12 hours a day. I admit I do not get enough sleep on the days I work so I'll make sure for now on until then. I will continue to eat clean and continue exercising. I guess it doesn't help that I just started a BC pills more than a week ago. I already requested 2 weeks off from work. I will def. keep you updated; I will take pics the day before the procedure.
I could of swore I remember it was Dr.Taylor or might have been the Asian fellow(his patient) saying to the effect No exercising of any kind for a couple of months as it can developed a lot of redness to the face as there is still a lot of skin sensitivity even several weeks after getting this type of treatment. Same goes with staying away from warm baths and only taking cold showers & being away from the Sun. I totally understand with you wanting to get this treatment done now as most of us can relate with where you are coming from. Even if they don't give you any discount, Still let them know about how you're going to share your story here with many of us so they can take before & after pics. I'm sure they are going to give you their best effort as they will now realized many of us will be following your journey right here on this site which could lead more business for them. Also if you do exercised, Make sure you are not out on the Sun. If you are tanning or get a Tan just before a procedure like this it can cause complications so make sure to avoid the Sun at all times so everything turns out for the best.
Good Luck and stay Positive.
Hey guys,
I just got back home and I will be updating tomorrow with pictures of my first week of the procedure I had with Dr. Taylor (my hotel wifi would not work at all, it was incredibly frustrating). If you guys have any specific questions, please let me know. It was a pretty crazy experience, that's for sure. I just wanted to add that it was impossible for me to eat healthy while out of state and I completely forgot to bring my vitamins . I just started them now, but I'm already on my 7th day of healing. My skin looks very good, but I'm still swollen so it means nothing (I can feel the elevated borders from my normal skin to the treated skin). It's very pink, still raw and itchy (drives me nuts at times). At this point, I can make out my some of my old scars if I look hard enough. No fillers were recommended (he said I probably won't need it), but I feel like I will if I see some old scars. I will contact them again regarding it.