Hello everyone. I am finally healedup from the worst round of acne I have ever had in my life, and I now have swathes of shallow boxcar and rolling scars across my cheeks. They seem for the most part very superficial to me, but some are obviously tethered. I am planning to drive out to see Dr. Weiner in FL for a consult in the next month or two, but I doubt he will perform any treatment on me immediately, as I am pregnant. I foresee a recommendation for RF microneedling, and maybe even asubcision. My question is -- is there any reason not to manually dermastamp before I can have the scars released, if that is even necessary? Not asking from a pregnancy safety perspective -- that is being worked out with my OBGYN. Just wondering if manual microneedling at home could work against later professional treatments. Thanks.
3 hours ago, skin_skin_ said:Hello everyone. I am finally healedup from the worst round of acne I have ever had in my life, and I now have swathes of shallow boxcar and rolling scars across my cheeks. They seem for the most part very superficial to me, but some are obviously tethered. I am planning to drive out to see Dr. Weiner in FL for a consult in the next month or two, but I doubt he will perform any treatment on me immediately, as I am pregnant. I foresee a recommendation for RF microneedling, and maybe even asubcision. My question is -- is there any reason not to manually dermastamp before I can have the scars released, if that is even necessary? Not asking from a pregnancy safety perspective -- that is being worked out with my OBGYN. Just wondering if manual microneedling at home could work against later professional treatments. Thanks.
First, do not undergo scar treatments during pregnancy. Healing process takes up a lot of energy, which would require nutrients like vitamins and minerals. You will only be robbing the nutrients needed for the fetus to heal your own skin.
Usually "shallow" scars are not tethered. Tethering, by nature, is limited to mostly deeper scars (especially those showing fat loss). As such, subcision isn't really needed for shallow scars. RF microneedling makes more sense. But again, that depends on how deep the scarring is and if there's any prominent scar borders. If there are scar borders, you will need TCA (warning: DO NOT use during pregnancy).
Other than causing micro-tears on the skin, dermastamps will have no effect on the scars.
@Sirius LeeThank you for the response and information!
QuoteFirst, do not undergo scar treatments during pregnancy. Healing process takes up a lot of energy, which would require nutrients like vitamins and minerals. You will only be robbing the nutrients needed for the fetus to heal your own skin.
My understanding is that the baby has priority for all nutrients in the mother's body...so really the bigger issue is suboptimal nutrients available for mom's healing. Since the whole point of needling is ultimately to repair the skin, it is obviously better to wait until no longer pregnant. And as is usually the case, better to be safe than sorry for baby's sake over the (relatively) short course of pregnancy. 
And definitely no TCA!! At this point I am focusing on babying the scars with moisture, and using a couple of OBGYN approved actives to optimize my skin's own ability to heal.
QuoteUsually "shallow" scars are not tethered. Tethering, by nature, is limited to mostly deeper scars (especially those showing fat loss). As such, subcision isn't really needed for shallow scars. RF microneedling makes more sense. But again, that depends on how deep the scarring is and if there's any prominent scar borders. If there are scar borders, you will need TCA (warning: DO NOT use during pregnancy).
I'm sure the doc will figure out what I really need when I get a consult...but this made me think I'm probably not a good candidate for subcision. I wouldn't say any of my scars appear to be very deep, and only a couple have clearly discerned edges. Definitely no fat loss. If the scars are too superficial, is RF microneedling no longer favored over non-RF (professional) microneedling?