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13 hours ago, Paul B said:I'm not exactly an expert on numbing creams as I don't personally use them as I can tolerate any pain. I do believe that EMLA cream is a common choice though. I think you can get a hold of some easily enough.Do you not find that the Derminator greatly reduces the pain though? On the highest speed setting, I can hardly feel anything - even on some of the longer needle lengths. Everyone's different I know, but personally it's no trauma for me. You set the thing going and look at the needles popping out and think you yourself "OMG, this is gonna hurt like hell" but then I place them against the skin and it's virtually without sensation, yet alone pain.
I used 2 OTC numbing creams, each one was on my face for 30mins, one after another, before I proceeded with the derminator and I still felt pain. How deep do you go with your derminator and no crem- more than 1.00mm? I would never be able to do that lol. I guess I'm either really sensitive or Accutane has made my skin too thin.
23 hours ago, QuanHenry said:Lookin good, Im about to order a derminator.
Do you guys lay off harsh topicals for a few days before and after a treatment? I use epiduo almost every day and peel every 2 weeks.
I've used epiduo before, and I wouldn't stop using it before the procedure, however, I'd wait a couple of days after the microneedling for the skin to relax a little and resume using it just to prevent new acne from re-emerging.
I'll definitely have to go deeper with my derminator, because it will take forever to treat the acne scars. No patience for that.
I bought another desensitizing cream that'll keep the pain at bay when I use 1.00mm needles next time.
I feel like my skin needs microneedling more than chemical peels, so I will skip the Chemical peels altogether and will focus on the acne scars for now as they're a much bigger problem than enlarged pores and hyperpigmentation. It's better to go as deep as I can tolerate with the derminator doing as many rounds as I can to get where I want to be.
I'm upset I have to work sometimes over the weekend and I won't have any downtime from my derminator. I hate the idea of walking around with a red face : (
But I have no choice, people better get used to it. I should probably also invest in new makeup 🙂 that always helps. I just want to get rid of my acne scars so badly and I know that's the only way out. I want this chapter of my life to be over with it. I've suffered long enough, I'm so done.
Steady on now.
I may have talked you round into using a longer needle length than you were using but you're now going from one extreme to the other.
You've done a 1.0 treatment on both sides on the medium setting for 5 minutes... fair enough - but that means you'll need to wait another 4 weeks before you start thinking about doing anything else.
The answer is not to do a 1.5mm treatment next week and certainly not for 10 minutes.
You seem to be acting out of desperation. You were planning one approach and now you've completely changed the goalposts in a matter of days. You need to calm down and accept that this is going to be a long, drawn-out, disciplined process - and do things right.
Regularly treating your skin with lesser lengths was fine, but if you moving up to 1mm and 1.5mm, you need to accept that it means treating your skin at less frequent intervals.
Yes, it's frustrating to have to wait - I get that - but it's what you have to do, there are simply no shortcuts.
You have to realise that this is not a quick-fix, right? You're not going to see results in days and weeks (other than the temporary imrpoved appearance that micro-swelling provides) - things looking the same doesn't mean you need to needle more often or with longer needles. It takes TIME. What's more, you're not going to get ANY results other than undesirable ones if you needle that often.
I am concerned that you do not fully appreciate the concept of microneedling here. I don't know what you've read that gives you the idea that "overdoing it compensates for the shorter needle length" - and would suggest you need to do a whole lot more reading on the subject as you're not getting it.
2 hours ago, Paul B said:@GlowNShineSteady on now.
I may have talked you round into using a longer needle length than you were using but you're now going from one extreme to the other.
You've done a 1.0 treatment on both sides on the medium setting for 5 minutes... fair enough - but that means you'll need to wait another 4 weeks before you start thinking about doing anything else.
The answer is not to do a 1.5mm treatment next week and certainly not for 10 minutes.
You seem to be acting out of desperation. You were planning one approach and now you've completely changed the goalposts in a matter of days. You need to calm down and accept that this is going to be a long, drawn-out, disciplined process - and do things right.
Regularly treating your skin with lesser lengths was fine, but if you moving up to 1mm and 1.5mm, you need to accept that it means treating your skin at less frequent intervals.
Yes, it's frustrating to have to wait - I get that - but it's what you have to do, there are simply no shortcuts.
You have to realise that this is not a quick-fix, right? You're not going to see results in days and weeks (other than the temporary imrpoved appearance that micro-swelling provides) - things looking the same doesn't mean you need to needle more often or with longer needles. It takes TIME. What's more, you're not going to get ANY results other than undesirable ones if you needle that often.
I am concerned that you do not fully appreciate the concept of microneedling here. I don't know what you've read that gives you the idea that "overdoing it compensates for the shorter needle length" - and would suggest you need to do a whole lot more reading on the subject as you're not getting it.
Dont worry, Ive done more than enough of research and I know what I'm doing.
This is my skin 1 day after the microneedling with makeup. It doesn't look that bad. It definitely gives me hope that I can do a better job at microneedling next time.
I think that from now on I'll just post a monthly progress picture of my scars or something, otherwise I'll be just repeating myself. No need of more bleeding pictures. Let's see where the derminator will finally take me! My goal is to see at least 50% improvement in 6 months and close to 100% improvement by 12 months.
You say you know what you're doing but having that plan of action doesn't sound like someone that does to me.
For the second time, I'm going to retire from giving you advice and wish you well.
At the end of the day, I can only advise and you don't have to listen to me - but I think you're going from one extreme to the other. I seem to have talked you into dealing with bigger needles, but you can't use them with the same sort of frequency as you were the shorter ones.
Hey guys,
A quick update.
My acne somehow worsened a couple of months ago on my forehead, which is unusual since I've always broken out on my cheeks. I finally managed to clear it up with some lifestyle changes and by switching to natural home remedies. I can't believe it that after 11 years of acne struggles, now at 25 I can say that I am almost acne-free.
I've been through it all- cystic acne and accutane, all the prescription creams and expensive over the counter skin cosmetics.
I was told that I'll be dependent on the prescription creams for the rest of my life.
What I did to completely clear my acne- cystic and small pimples:
1. Vegan diet
2. A couple of cups of green tea every day
3. Multivitamins and other supplements like fish oil (ask for complete list)
4. Oil cleansing method morning and night, followed by Apple cider vinegar + water toner (1:1 ratio) and a couple of drops of tea tree oil mixed in there as a toner
5. 20 min mask at night with turmeric extract and green tea complex extract
6. 8-9hrs a night of sleep on a regular schedule
7. Jogging a couple of times a week in the morning
I use vegetable based organic soaps, shampoo and conditioner and don't use any hair products. I apply makeup every day, but it doesn't break me out.
I haven't used the derminator, because I really wanted to clear my skin before I start treating my scars. I will start microneedling again, once a month with a 1.5mm needle when I get my new cartridges delivered.
I wish everyone good luck on their journey!
As someone who has had bad acne my whole life this is what stops it in its track for me. Lysine+vitamin C will literally kill all of the acne in my system. Drink a ton of water, avoid coffee, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, and also reduce your sugar intake. Soaking any active acne with epsom salts will dry any acne out within a day or two. The lysine, vitamin C, and large amounts of water would literally keep me clear for the rest of my life. It seems it stops any growth right in its tracks.
7 hours ago, thepwhisp said:As someone who has had bad acne my whole life this is what stops it in its track for me. Lysine+vitamin C will literally kill all of the acne in my system. Drink a ton of water, avoid coffee, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, and also reduce your sugar intake. Soaking any active acne with epsom salts will dry any acne out within a day or two. The lysine, vitamin C, and large amounts of water would literally keep me clear for the rest of my life. It seems it stops any growth right in its tracks.
I completely agree! I don't drink coffee either, I don't consume alcohol, I have a very small intake of sugar and salt and the biggest difference for my acne was made by quitting dairy.
Based on my May 8th pictures, do you think I would benefit from TCA Cross? I seem to have some ice pick and box scars.
I don't think I need subcision, except on 1 scar on the 2nd picture diagonally located from the corner of my mouth. It's from a cortisol injection on a big cyst that I had during my Accutane treatment.
12 hours after my session:
-pink cheeks and some swelling
-stretch mark area feels slight discomfort when stretched
-minor eyebag puffiness
-nose and forehead feel dry
I didn't have aloe vera and I didn't use my night cream, so basically I didn't use anything. I will run to the store today to get a leaf.
It's been almost 48 hours since my microneedling and with makeup my skin looks completely normal with a minor blush/sunkissed-quality. It's a bit plump (which is nice), from time to time just a tiny bit itchy (I moisturize only at night with fresh aloe vera leaf juice) and when I touch it it doesn't hurt anymore. Next time I microneedle I'll try to be a little more abrasive, maybe I'll do 23-25 minutes on each side until I reach uniform microbleeding on the scar affected area. I'll also work on my laugh lines, the minor skin wrinkles on the forehead and the crows feet on my eyes. I'll keep using the aloe vera leaf which will probably finish in about a week and then I'll start using my night cream when I'll be better able to tolerate it.
I'm really happy with the procedure because of the minimal downtime and its low-cost. This time I saved the needle cartridge and disinfected it in rubbing alcohol.
22 hours ago, QuanHenry said:That seems like a long time to needle each cheek. Ive never seen a doctor spend more than a minute or two on each one.
The time spent microneedling is less important compared to the needle punctures per square centimeter or inch per minute.
A doctor may use a device with 50-100 needles on fast speed for 5 minutes, but a consumer at home may have access to a less abrasive device with less than 10 needles on medium speed for 20 minutes.
Both may make the same total amount of micropunctures on the same area, they just got there in different ways.
I do not recommend to anyone to follow what I did to myself. I don't have a medical degree.
2 and a half days later: the picture is taken by the window with natural light, no makeup.
I am going to incorporate some new things into my skin regimen to help me keep my skin blemish free. If you tilt your screen a bit you can see the prevalent discoloration on my right cheek especially around my chin area. The left cheek has more scattered spots, but they're still bothering me.
On 05/05/2016 at 10:13 AM, Paul B said:Sure it does, but no pain - no gain and all that.
You can buy products to numb the skin in advance if pain is an issue. Some people can tolerate the pain, even at higher needle lengths without any numbing, whereas others cannot. You may find that using a dermastamp as opposed to a roller is both easier to use and less painful.
Anyway, I'm not going to argue my case any more and will allow you to get on with things. I don't happen to think you will get what you're hoping for out of this the way you're doing things currently but I wish you well and am happy to be proved wrong. Keep posting updates as others can learn from your experience one way or another.
Hi there i see that you have experience in my case i have midle box car and rolling scars and i want to know in your opinion wich tool is better bermapen / derma stamp or derma roller can you help me i want to trie anything and i want something effective
