One of the weird instance was I had a terrible acne pimple on the middle of the nose and had huge pus from it. After the drainage it felt like a indented hole not that deep but still deep so I went in and put 22 percent tca on it with earbud . I kept dabbing the area 6 to seven times even after frosting. And a week later voila the hole stretched to 90 percent normal skin. So I would say after healing from the pimple post 3 days I did the tca. I am so glad I did and didnt wait a month. So there could be some connection with damaging the scarfirst time let the scab fall then waiting three to seven days and damaging again basically very short interval. I dont know why I never tried on other scars maybe I was afraid if it would made it worse for other scars. Maybe I should try it and see. Basically do tca cross with less than 30 percent once it heals up then wait3 to 4 days and do it again. My theory is either the scar was new and it worked or it destroyed cell memory of the scar. Maybe by doing in such short interval it destroys the scar memory and make it go to default setting.

it would be interesting to see if others have the same reaction.

Another incident is when i had punch excision on nose for a deep icepick scar it made the nose scar indented hole with the line stretched out,so I did 30 percent tca on it and it worked it went to the excision state and healed like a fine line but it took a month and a half. I did tca cross within 10 days of having excision. It was risky but had to do it because I was expecting a thinline after excision and it was looking like an indented scar. The risk paid off during the one month it healed 40 percent towards thin line and in 2 months it healed to 80 percent with slight indent.I have no idea if it would have healed irrespectively to thin line but hey the expected outcome after excision is thin line which I was not seeing it.

I've had the same experiences as you! I had a failed punch excision on two close-by ice pick scarsthat were healing like one big deep hole, and then I dropped some 100% tca into it and it healed completely level with the rest of my skin. I wouldn't recommend anyone risk that, butI agree there is something about adding tca to freshscars or scars recently traumatized by something like excision that speeds up the collagen remodeling process.

I should really find time to post pictures as proof because most of these findings are recent

On 7/20/2021 at 3:04 PM, LivingWithFaith said:

I've had the same experiences as you! I had a failed punch excision on two close-by ice pick scarsthat were healing like one big deep hole, and then I dropped some 100% tca into it and it healed completely level with the rest of my skin. I wouldn't recommend anyone risk that, butI agree there is something about adding tca to freshscars or scars recently traumatized by something like excision that speeds up the collagen remodeling process.

I should really find time to post pictures as proof because most of these findings are recent

Are your thoughts the same for punch graft or skin graft taken frombehind the ear and placed in a punched out scar? I wonder if a doctor has done an entire cheek graft or even a partial cheek graftand replaced it and then did laser to smooth out the edges. This might be high risk and also the graft would need to be large enough, right?

I read grafts tend not to match in color but arent there lasers for specific types of skin conditions such as the scars that are too white or too dark or too red. I was looking at scar grafts after photos and a doctor described the laser to treat specific pigments. Then again Im probably being fooled by after photos that are their best.

Lasers for example that treat the pigments in birthmarks was used for a dark type of pigment on a graft.

4 minutes ago, Dontgiveupitsonlyscars said:

Are your thoughts the same for punch graft or skin graft taken frombehind the ear and placed in a punched out scar? I wonder if a doctor has done an entire cheek graft or even a partial cheek graftand replaced it and then did laser to smooth out the edges. This might be high risk and also the graft would need to be large enough, right?

I read grafts tend not to match in color but arent there lasers for specific types of skin conditions such as the scars that are too white or too dark or too red. I was looking at scar grafts after photos and a doctor described the laser to treat specific pigments. Then again Im probably being fooled by after photos that are their best.

Lasers for example that treat the pigments in birthmarks was used for a dark type of pigment on a graft.

Also, I would like to see photos if you have a few of punch excisions that have worked on you or no worked on you as you seem quite knowledgeable in this area.

5 minutes ago, Dontgiveupitsonlyscars said:

Are your thoughts the same for punch graft or skin graft taken frombehind the ear and placed in a punched out scar? I wonder if a doctor has done an entire cheek graft or even a partial cheek graftand replaced it and then did laser to smooth out the edges. This might be high risk and also the graft would need to be large enough, right?

I read grafts tend not to match in color but arent there lasers for specific types of skin conditions such as the scars that are too white or too dark or too red. I was looking at scar grafts after photos and a doctor described the laser to treat specific pigments. Then again Im probably being fooled by after photos that are their best.

Lasers for example that treat the pigments in birthmarks was used for a dark type of pigment on a graft.

Also, I would like to see photos if you have a few of punch excisions that have worked on you or no worked on you as you seem quite knowledgeable in this area.

Maybe Im thinking too simply on the matching of colors but I would consider or ponder the thought of having a graft that didnt match as much over scars that doesnt necessarily respond as much to treatments. For example, I have a very large box car scar on my right cheek. Its very noticeable. Arguably my biggest scar.

On 7/24/2021 at 12:02 AM, Dontgiveupitsonlyscars said:

Are your thoughts the same for punch graft or skin graft taken frombehind the ear and placed in a punched out scar? I wonder if a doctor has done an entire cheek graft or even a partial cheek graftand replaced it and then did laser to smooth out the edges. This might be high risk and also the graft would need to be large enough, right?

You know, I actually don't know. There's not a lot of information on punch grafting for acne scars, and I think there's a good reason for that, just like how there's not a lot of evidence that punch excision is a successful method - it's because it isn't, not usually at least. I don't think it's a practical method for those who have many scars and there's also the task ofblending the grafted skin with the rest of your skin. It doesn't always look the most natural on those who get skin grafts for mohs surgery for instance (looks kind of quilt-like), so it probably wouldn't be the most aesthetically pleasing on someone doing it for acne scarring. You're better off just getting the scar toraise through tca cross or filler.

That reminds me to post some of those pics I've been meaning to show y'all about my recent "discoveries"

So here are some pics of one of my ice pick scars completely vanishing after I had a small breakout in the exact same spot. I've underlined it in red in both pictures. And no, the lighting isn't distorting anything, that scar really is gone.

I've also been doing tca 30% on the scars surrounding the diminished scar and it looks like at least 50% improvement already!

First pic is how it looks currently (2021), second pic is how it previously was (2020)

Wish I could've kept the size of the pictures the same but I hope you all can see what I'm trying to show

9 hours ago, LivingWithFaith said:

You know, I actually don't know. There's not a lot of information on punch grafting for acne scars, and I think there's a good reason for that, just like  how there's not a lot of evidence that punch excision is a successful method - it's because it isn't, not usually at least. I don't think it's a practical method for those who have many scars and there's also the task of blending the grafted skin with the rest of your skin. It doesn't always look the most natural on those who get skin grafts for mohs surgery for instance (looks kind of quilt-like), so it probably wouldn't be the most aesthetically pleasing on someone doing it for acne scarring. You're better off just getting the scar to raise through tca cross or filler. 

That reminds me to post some of those pics I've been meaning to show y'all about my recent "discoveries"

 

So here are some pics of one of my ice pick scars completely vanishing after I had a small breakout in the exact same spot. I've underlined it in red in both pictures. And no, the lighting isn't distorting anything, that scar really is gone. 

I've also been doing tca 30% on the scars surrounding the diminished scar and it looks like at least 50% improvement already!

First pic is how it looks currently (2021), second pic is how it previously was (2020)

 

What do you mean by 30% tca? Do you put it only on the scars (tca cross) or do you place it on your entire surface of skin? Your face looks great. It does look like there is a difference in texture. Do you have pictures of excisions? You said one excision came out with poor results. What part of your face is your scars mostly on, for example mine is 99% on my cheeks with one chicken pox scar on my eyebrow that I have never ever treated. I have a 20% tca bottle from amazon but I have never used it. 

I was looking at this this morning, I would like to share this for discussion. 

https://acnescarflorida.com/ice-pick-excision/#ice-pick

https://www.realself.com/dr/richard-sadove-gainesville-fl#

Okay. This doctor in Gainesville. He performs excisions, and subcisions and fat grafts. I read his site, he doesn't use lasers for scars. I looked at the real self patient reviews under the tab "subcision" and you will see two women who document their experience. It appears the doctor excises scars and then doesn't laser them when the sutures are removed, which in my mind is a big mistake. The reason we have acne scars is because of the bodies immediate response to healing which in my mind means if you let the excised scar sit without a resurfacing laser, the doctor is wasting everyones precious time. Then, I noticed after the patient realizes that the scars are not improved, he performs subcision and fat graft which is wild because the doctor could have probably just done that first instead of excision. It seems this doctor doesn't like lasers for scars that he misses the opportunity to provide actual results from excision and resorts to fat grafts. The problem with fat grafts is that is becomes lumpy and swollen and more like a "moon face" which isn't aesthetically pleasing. Also, if you notice one of the women who got fat grafts after still has some rolling scars left that need attention to such as a resurfacing laser. But perhaps the doctors anti-laser stance results in less optimal outcomes. This is just a thought of mine, feel free to disagree, either way I am searching for insight. 

On 7/24/2021 at 9:52 AM, Dontgiveupitsonlyscars said:

What do you mean by 30% tca? Do you put it only on the scars (tca cross) or do you place it on your entire surface of skin? Your face looks great. It does look like there is a difference in texture. Do you have pictures of excisions? You said one excision came out with poor results. What part of your face is your scars mostly on, for example mine is 99% on my cheeks with one chicken pox scar on my eyebrow that I have never ever treated. I have a 20% tca bottle from amazon but I have never used it.

I was looking at this this morning, I would like to share this for discussion.

https://acnescarflorida.com/ice-pick-excision/#ice-pick

https://www.realself.com/dr/richard-sadove-gainesville-fl#

Okay. This doctor in Gainesville. He performs excisions, and subcisions and fat grafts. I read his site, he doesn't use lasers for scars. I looked at the real self patient reviews under the tab "subcision" and you will see two women who document their experience. It appears the doctor excises scars and then doesn't laser them when the sutures are removed, which in my mind is a big mistake. The reason we have acne scars is because of the bodies immediate response to healing which in my mind means if you let the excised scar sit without a resurfacing laser, the doctor is wasting everyones precious time. Then, I noticed after the patient realizes that the scars are not improved, he performs subcision and fat graft which is wild because the doctor could have probably just done that first instead of excision. It seems this doctor doesn't like lasers for scars that he misses the opportunity to provide actual results from excision and resorts to fat grafts. The problem with fat grafts is that is becomes lumpy and swollen and more like a "moon face" which isn't aesthetically pleasing. Also, if you notice one of the women who got fat grafts after still has some rolling scars left that need attention to such as a resurfacing laser. But perhaps the doctors anti-laser stance results in less optimal outcomes. This is just a thought of mine, feel free to disagree, either way I am searching for insight.

Sometimes the area gets indented after excision with thin line and the laser just lifts up the area and flatten it. The laser works very well in this case, I am not sure if it needs fully ablative targeting that spot or fractional ablative. But it does lift it up specifically for the excision.