I have had pretty mild / manageable acne since I was about 20, but nothing too serious. However, last year I got a bad cystic breakout after taking supplements for another issue. I was left with large red marks and some very minor, shallow scarring. Seeking immediate results, and not doing much research, I decided to do the fractional CO2 laser. It's been about 3.5 months since then, and I can't really see any noticeable improvements in the few indents I had.

What is really worrying me though, is that I think my skin has become a lot more prone to scarring post the treatment. Even pretty minor pimples with barely any pus have left little indents and shallow line scars over the past month or so. I may be over analyzing it, but is this common and does it make sense since the laser supposedly thins the skin? If so, I wonder if these affects are permanent or will it go away once the skin really heals itself after the laser? Once the pimple starts forming, what steps can I take to minimize the chances of scarring?

Thanks in advance to anyone with similar experience or who can give any advice.

Find a derm that will give you accutane. Then look into needling to treat the scars.

I have had pretty mild / manageable acne since I was about 20, but nothing too serious. However, last year I got a bad cystic breakout after taking supplements for another issue. I was left with large red marks and some very minor, shallow scarring. Seeking immediate results, and not doing much research, I decided to do the fractional CO2 laser. It's been about 3.5 months since then, and I can't really see any noticeable improvements in the few indents I had.

What is really worrying me though, is that I think my skin has become a lot more prone to scarring post the treatment. Even pretty minor pimples with barely any pus have left little indents and shallow line scars over the past month or so. I may be over analyzing it, but is this common and does it make sense since the laser supposedly thins the skin? If so, I wonder if these affects are permanent or will it go away once the skin really heals itself after the laser? Once the pimple starts forming, what steps can I take to minimize the chances of scarring?

Thanks in advance to anyone with similar experience or who can give any advice.

Find a derm that will give you accutane. Then look into needling to treat the scars.

Hi there. I found your post because I am going through the EXACT same thing. You're the first person I've found online to describe it! I'm really hoping you'll respond back. It looks like you're a little farther along in your recovery than I am and I'm wondering if this ever got better for you. CO2 resurfacing recovery has been SO difficult for me! I'm still pink and incredibly sensitive. Even just lightly scratching the skin leaves behind a red mark that lasts for an hour or so. My doctor is telling me that this is expected and can last up to six months. But I am currently at four months, so it's really hard to not see this as a permanent change to my skin. My breakouts become more inflamed than ever before -- even small little whiteheads and clogged pores become really red. Before the CO2, I could just pop them out and never think about them again.

Anyway, did your skin ever go back to normal? If so, when? I hope you have some good news for me -- I could use it. Four months of this has REALLY taken a toll.

Thanks so much -- hope you're doing well and finally enjoying the results of your CO2!

I am actually not much further than you are from a timing perspective, slightly over 5 months. The sensitivity of the skin to new breakouts does get better with time, and now it feels almost like it did pre laser (I found Paula's Choice skin balancing kit to be helpful; a gentle 1% BHA exfoliant helped the redness go away; it does take months though). I do have one very shallow line scar that I am almost certain was caused by the laser itself. That one is permanent, but I am planning to fix it through subcision. I think it all depends on how sensitive one's skin is to lasers, unfortunately mine proved to be too sensitive, and I would not have done it in hindsight (too much risk of new damage for a very little return, given that my initial scarring was minimal/non-existent).

Thanks so much for responding. This has been a hard thing to go through and hearing from people who know what it's like helps tremendously.

I'm right there with you. I have very fair skin and am probably just too sensitive for this kind of treatment. Given the improvement I see (very little at this point), how it's intensified breakouts, and the emotional toll it's taken, I wouldn't ever choose to do this again. I probably should have chosen subcision to begin with. I just hope that the new breakouts I've gotten don't cause MORE scarring and leave me looking worse than before (honestly, my scarring was SO minor and I feel silly for ever having this done at this point). I have so much anxiety now because I feel like I'm constantly waiting for the next whitehead to pop up and leave another red mark that lasts for a week. I actually went to another doctor's office for a second opinion and they told me that the good news is that in the months after CO2, your skin is in a heightened state of healing and can actually tolerate these injuries better. I'm hoping that's true. Tomorrow is my four-month mark, and I'm hoping to see some improvement to my color in the next month. I'm just worried that at this rate, it won't be fully back to normal within the 6-month timeframe -- then what?! I guess I should look at the positives at this point -- there has been some progress (verrrrry slow, though) and there will continue to be. There's no way the skin WON'T heal (right?) and I'm sure it just takes time. Trying so hard to be patient...

i feel like most people who do laser dont know what there even doing and know anything about it so its hard to understand there situation because they can be breaking out because of other reasons or they dont know how the process works so they shouldnt do it in the first place ;\

fcb17 -- Are you also still red/pink? Or were you at four months? If so, did you notice a dramatic improvement in the color between 4 and 5 months? I feel like this is never going to go away! Were you more pink/red in some areas than you were in others? I only had my forehead and my chin done. The forehead has healed without any problem. The chin is a different story -- the center of my chin seems to be brighter than the sides of my chin for some reason. I hope I don't need to be worried that the forehead healed fine and the chin is taking significantly longer.

i battled acne from the age of 17 to 22 and used accutane which did help however i was left with scarring. over year later i had co2 laser which left me with more scars and more depressed mind. i can relate to your story as keep getting scars/intendations from the slightest pimple. sometimes there could be nothing their and still get a new hole in my face. i cant stop this

bear in mind i had laser 5 years ago. my face gets worse.