TCA cross with a needle-my experience and hope it helps!

LS14 · 2017-07-11T05:21:11Z

Hello everyone, I am not new to this board but have been a lurker for years and posted a few things in the past. I came back to tell my experience with trying to heal my scars with TCA cross and microneedling. I am 29 years old and I started my journey of seriously trying to get rid of my acne scars three years ago. I’ve had scars since I was 11. I went to the University of Michigan three years ago and started doing TCA cross with a derm I felt could have only been the best since it was U of M and I couldn't find anyone else who performed it. I had 4 TCA cross sessions with one male derm and then switched to a female derm also at U of M and stuck with her because she seemed more meticulous and took her time hitting my scars with the toothpick. However, I was very disappointed with the results and felt that after 7 total sessions, I probably only had 20% improvement. My own family never thought it made it difference, but I did notice that the scars changed shaped but never completely went away. I still looked a mess. I stopped TCA cross after giving it a fair chance and began microneedling last October 2016. I have done one session per month (9 so far). The esthetician I went to didn't go too deep the first four sessions at only 1.5mm but I told her to please go up to 2.5 mm for the next three sessions. She used the Rejuvapen. I totally believed that this would be the answer to finally getting rid of all of my scars all over my cheeks. I have probably only seen 20% improvement in some rolling scars. One cheek is a little smoother, but I was disappointed again. After 9 months and 9 sessions, I couldn't justify spending more money on something that was barely giving me results. But...I decided to try microneedling along with PRP in June, or the "vampire facial". I can tell that my skin responded a little better to this and I wish that I had PRP done with all of my other sessions but it is insanely expensive ($625 per session). I may go back to do one more PRP. But guys, HERE IS THE MIRACLE!! TCA CROSS WITH A NEEDLE! Just last week, I found an esthetician in the Dearborn, MI area who performed TCA cross with a needle, not a toothpick. I wasn't looking for anyone and was done with TCA cross but I came across a video of her work and it looked promising. I went in and asked her if she can just do a test spot on my most annoying scar in the middle of my cheek. I CANNOT BELIEVE MY EYES! What I have spent thousands of dollars on trying to get of is finally gone. Now, when she hit my scar, it frosted and I was scared shitless for about four days because the frosting didn't disappear immediately like how it used to at U of M. It formed such a large nasty white scab that was much larger than the actual scar. I wondered if she hit other scars too or something without me knowing for such a large scab to form. It never happened before and I truly thought she burned my face off and I ruined my skin. I kept Neosporin on it religiously and after 5 days, the scab fell off. I didn’t want to get too excited yet because I know there is swelling. It’s been 8 days now and I cannot find the scar! It was a deep, jagged boxcar. I AM SO BEYOND HAPPY RIGHT NOW. I still have so many scars all over my cheeks and cannot wait to do a real full session. I’m not sure what the difference is, but it seems as if TCA with a needle is the way to go. The docs at U of M seemed to go super quick with the toothpick and I wondered if they were even hitting the scar or healthy skin. I also think it worked better for me this time because my skin has been prepped so much from the microneedling, so that aided the TCA. Anyways, I know this was long, but wanted to share

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ailaeshiz

MemberMember

(@ailaeshiz)

Posted : 01/05/2018 5:05 pm

Wow, that's great. Thanks for sharing. Are these boxcar scars they're treating?

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qezzyb

MemberMember

(@qezzyb)

Posted : 07/14/2021 4:10 pm

Thank you for sharing, i read the whole journey

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TCA cross with a needle-my experience and hope it helps!

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