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I've had acne scars for a few years now, which manifests as clusters concentrated on my cheeks. I'm having a difficult time assessing what types of scars I have, but I'm thinking boxcar/ice pick and large pores. The dermatologist I went to adviced 3 sessions of TCA cross for the smaller scars, maybe 1 subcision for the larger ones and a couple of CO2 to "smooth things" out. The goal with the TCA is to soften the hard walls of the scars to make them easier to manage with other methods. Does this sound like a feasible and effective plan?
I've attached some photos of my scars on both cheeks, including under normal lighting (3rd set), under direct overhead fluorescent light (1st set) and angled light showing the shadows and pits under the worst possible conditions (2nd set).
Recently had my first TCA cross, my doctor literally hit all my scars. She worked really fast, just lightly touching each scar for like a second. It's been nearly 6 days since I had the procedure and I think none of the scabs have fallen off yet.
I was actually surprised that she managed to get them all, as I was thinking that some of my scars were not ideal for TCA. But looking in the mirror, all the skin that weren't TCA'd on the cheeks are scarless.
What's funny is that I had a TCA peel before this, and it actually improved my scars, even the jagged boxcar ones I had. They became lighter and shallower, despite what many say that TCA peels don't work for scars. Even my doctor noticed this. I can't really believe how big an improvement a single TCA PEEL gave me. I actually wish I documented it. I think the doctor used something like 25-30% TCA for the peel, and there was no hyperpigmentation. Will definitely get more of this in the future.
She suggested getting something for texture next. Might consider RF microneedling to even things out if this TCA cross manages to flatten my surface scars.
Is the doctor who did this TCA CRoss the same one that did your TCA Peel?
So you went straight into a 25-30% TCA peel? Or did you build up with smaller peels first? Interesting that you got noticeable improvement from just the TCA peel. I recall other people here who've had similar success with just TCA peels.
@ dazzed
Yes, the same doctor. I wanted to get Cross right away, but decided to get Peel when I was actually there since I wasn't ready for the downtime. I didn't indicate the percentage, just the doctor told me afterwards what percentage she used (she says she usually decides the percentage depending on the person and the reaction to TCA).
Some of my scabs have started falling off, which makes it around a week. The boxscars still look fairly attached, and will probably take some more days.