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16 year old male with acne scars from about 2 years ago. Maybe not as severe as others but really make me insecure. Can anyone assess my scars and let me know what I should expect from treatment (give a percentage of improvement perhaps?). Thank you and you™re not alone with your scars, I am willing to talk with anyone about it if you want.
(sorry for the spam of photos, just thought I would try and give a conclusive view of my scars, they are mainly on one cheek)
Let me say this. Even if your scars were 80% less, you'd still have issues. I've learned that painfully well over the years. Many things will change like your ability to function "better" if you get improvements but the stuff never fixes completely at least for me.So when people say they know they aren't as bad as others, I get it, but all scars do mental damage, so I never downplay that and I think people should understand that.
If you want my opinion, you have scars for sure and I'm sure it affects your life as does mine, but yours are not that bad in the scale of acne scars.
The largest one or two you might have "excised" or "subsicion" I always get the two confused, but that might be an option, but you need a REALLY good surgeon. It will leave a depression and filler is a highly imperfect solution it seems (been exploring that lately). But it might be a better option for you than leave the scars as is.
As far as the surrounding random icepick/boxcar type stuff. I personally had immense success from Dermabrasion many years ago. Others have had immense success from several combination treatments including laser and some other stuff which is more modern.
Nobody's alone it just feels like that in our nearby towns sadly when everyone has better skin around us, but may of us are out there.
Honestly, man yourscars are not bad at all and once the redness goes away they will be very minor and very hard to notice. My advice is to not fall into the trap of staying around these forums with people who want to hyper focus on their flaws and feel sorry for themselves. There are so many things you can do to improve your life like fitness, career, and social skills that are well within your control. Its better to be the person who turns a negative into a positive. Most people want to hang around people who are positive and aren't downers who fixate on their flaws. Although, don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with choosing to undergo treatments to improve scars. But at the end of the day focus on what you can control.
7 hours ago, will20834 said:16 year old male with acne scars from about 2 years ago. Maybe not as severe as others but really make me insecure. Can anyone assess my scars and let me know what I should expect from treatment (give a percentage of improvement perhaps?). Thank you and you™re not alone with your scars, I am willing to talk with anyone about it if you want.
(sorry for the spam of photos, just thought I would try and give a conclusive view of my scars, they are mainly on one cheek)
Your scars are not that deep at all. Slight boxcar depressions which can be technically filled with filler like ha. You can start with subcision one or 2 sessions and see.
10 minutes ago, will20834 said:How much improvement could I expect from subcision plus filler?
Filler is temporary and can last between 6 months to a year or two. Not sure if you know how much they cost but are you willing to spend $500-1,000 for a syringe?
Right now, make sure your acne is under control. When it is, you can still use Retin-A and Tazorac or other prescription topicals for your scars. Doctors say that these can help with scars; however, you really have to apply them for 6-9 months to see some improvement.
In the future, when you have income to spend on treatments, maybe lasers could work.
A cheap device is a microneedling roller. I'm not super optimistic on this but some people say they have some effect. It's $10.
22 hours ago, harmlessboy1441 said:Let me say this. Even if your scars were 80% less, you'd still have issues. I've learned that painfully well over the years. Many things will change like your ability to function "better" if you get improvements but the stuff never fixes completely at least for me.So when people say they know they aren't as bad as others, I get it, but all scars do mental damage, so I never downplay that and I think people should understand that.
If you want my opinion, you have scars for sure and I'm sure it affects your life as does mine, but yours are not that bad in the scale of acne scars.
The largest one or two you might have "excised" or "subsicion" I always get the two confused, but that might be an option, but you need a REALLY good surgeon. It will leave a depression and filler is a highly imperfect solution it seems (been exploring that lately). But it might be a better option for you than leave the scars as is.
As far as the surrounding random icepick/boxcar type stuff. I personally had immense success from Dermabrasion many years ago. Others have had immense success from several combination treatments including laser and some other stuff which is more modern.
Nobody's alone it just feels like that in our nearby towns sadly when everyone has better skin around us, but may of us are out there.
Thanks for your reply! I have to say I would be very pleased with 80% improvement, but I admit I would still have issues with myself. I have been insecure about my appearance for as long as I can remember, I always found something bad about me even when there wasnt, but acne and scarring just gave me a clear focus for my insecurity.
As for the scars, I have considered treatments like subcision and excision. Subcision is using a needle under the skin to break up the bands of scarring that tether the scar to the lower levels of the skin. When the bands are cut, the depression fills out. and filler can be used to support it and stop re-tethering. Excision is cutting out the scar and stitching it up, replacing the scar with a scar that is less severe and easier to treat with lasers and such. Excision is very promising, but could be risky because the scars I have are very broad so excising would be difficult. I would be uncomfortable without the best surgeon in the country, and would be willing to fly out to Australia to see Dr. Davin Lim, who is probably the best at scar revision.
Im most concerned with the clear area of scarring in the middle, where there are 3 or 4 individual scars near to each other, because those are the only scars I can really notice, even under angled lighting. However for the rest of the cheek I might consider dermabrasion for the overall texture (possibly very shallow yet very broad rolling scars as well as enlarged pores.)
1 minute ago, Amanda Hall said:Filler is temporary and can last between 6 months to a year or two. Not sure if you know how much they cost but are you willing to spend $500-1,000 for a syringe?
Right now, make sure your acne is under control. When it is, you can still use Retin-A and Tazorac or other prescription topicals for your scars. Doctors say that these can help with scars; however, you really have to apply them for 6-9 months to see some improvement.
In the future, when you have income to spend on treatments, maybe lasers could work.
A cheap device is a microneedling roller. I'm not super optimistic on this but some people say they have some effect. It's $10.
Thanks for your reply!Im willing to pay that much if the results are decent, and im using differin gel now to try and control acne and treat scarring simultaneously. Im also considering micro needling at home (with a stamp device rather than a roller bc its safer) as results are decent.
We're not doctors so it's hard to say whether or not fillers will get you satisfactory results. Doctors will tell you yes but they want your money so... 
Look into TCA Cross.This type of treatment is too smooth out the harsh edges of the scars. Not every doctor performs this though. It won't be covered by insurance. It also requires multiple treatments.
One good thing is that I see that you have redness which always makes scars look worse. Once that subsides (who knows how long it will take), your face will look better.
Some of the treatments that members here have done require some downtime. When I was in high school, I was very self-conscious so you really need careful consideration when looking at these treatments.
1 hour ago, will20834 said:Thanks for your reply! I have to say I would be very pleased with 80% improvement, but I admit I would still have issues with myself. I have been insecure about my appearance for as long as I can remember, I always found something bad about me even when there wasnt, but acne and scarring just gave me a clear focus for my insecurity.
As for the scars, I have considered treatments like subcision and excision. Subcision is using a needle under the skin to break up the bands of scarring that tether the scar to the lower levels of the skin. When the bands are cut, the depression fills out. and filler can be used to support it and stop re-tethering. Excision is cutting out the scar and stitching it up, replacing the scar with a scar that is less severe and easier to treat with lasers and such. Excision is very promising, but could be risky because the scars I have are very broad so excising would be difficult. I would be uncomfortable without the best surgeon in the country, and would be willing to fly out to Australia to see Dr. Davin Lim, who is probably the best at scar revision.
Im most concerned with the clear area of scarring in the middle, where there are 3 or 4 individual scars near to each other, because those are the only scars I can really notice, even under angled lighting. However for the rest of the cheek I might consider dermabrasion for the overall texture (possibly very shallow yet very broad rolling scars as well as enlarged pores.)
Yeah you'd think by now they could figure out a way to permanently fill a few freakin holes or build some tissue that functions but nope. I honestly had higher hopes back in around 2005 when I did the Dermabrasion that by 2020 or 2025 they'd be cloning cells or even at an old age I'd still be able to witness some sort of treatment.
Don't get me wrong, they still can't cure cancer or other things, but seriously tissue and fat and skin they can't figure a better way to heal or substitute by now?
40 minutes ago, harmlessboy1441 said:Yeah you'd think by now they could figure out a way to permanently fill a few freakin holes or build some tissue that functions but nope. I honestly had higher hopes back in around 2005 when I did the Dermabrasion that by 2020 or 2025 they'd be cloning cells or even at an old age I'd still be able to witness some sort of treatment.
Don't get me wrong, they still can't cure cancer or other things, but seriously tissue and fat and skin they can't figure a better way to heal or substitute by now?
It™s honestly ludicrous that we have been to the moon, and created complex technology to make our lives efficient and yet we still haven™t cracked our own biology. It is dumb that in the last 50 years we haven™t figured out how to regenerate a little bit of tissue, and the only methods we have are œdestroy the skin so it grows back like wtf? Could I ask how old you are? Because if you™re under 50 I think you will witness the start of when we will start making large leaps in science and technology at an exponential rate, and hopefully then we can start to regenerate cells or even begin a cure for ageing.
2 hours ago, Amanda Hall said:We're not doctors so it's hard to say whether or not fillers will get you satisfactory results. Doctors will tell you yes but they want your money so...
Look into TCA Cross.This type of treatment is too smooth out the harsh edges of the scars. Not every doctor performs this though. It won't be covered by insurance. It also requires multiple treatments.
One good thing is that I see that you have redness which always makes scars look worse. Once that subsides (who knows how long it will take), your face will look better.
Some of the treatments that members here have done require some downtime. When I was in high school, I was very self-conscious so you really need careful consideration when looking at these treatments.
Yeah i™ve almost passed the point of feeling insecure and kind of accepted this is the way things are gonna be. People still accept me and I even had a girlfriend so it™s not holding me back too much. I would be fine to go out or go to school after a treatment- the only issue I would have is the risks of damage from exposure to the elements/sun. The redness makes it really confusing for me to figure out which parts are scars and which are not.
As for TCA, I think it™s more for icepick scars which I don™t really have. I could use it for my large pores but I don™t know how useful it would be as my scars are quite broad rather than deep.
Im pretty much an expert by now on all the treatments that are available, and yet I still don™t know what treatments I should do and in what order. I guess i™ll have to get an expert opinion and properly weigh up my options when everything has calmed down.
2 hours ago, will20834 said:Its honestly ludicrous that we have been to the moon, and created complex technology to make our lives efficient and yet we still havent cracked our own biology. It is dumb that in the last 50 years we havent figured out how to regenerate a little bit of tissue, and the only methods we have are destroy the skin so it grows back like wtf? Could I ask how old you are? Because if youre under 50 I think you will witness the start of when we will start making large leaps in science and technology at an exponential rate, and hopefully then we can start to regenerate cells or even begin a cure for ageing.
Yeah ive almost passed the point of feeling insecure and kind of accepted this is the way things are gonna be. People still accept me and I even had a girlfriend so its not holding me back too much. I would be fine to go out or go to school after a treatment- the only issue I would have is the risks of damage from exposure to the elements/sun. The redness makes it really confusing for me to figure out which parts are scars and which are not.
As for TCA, I think its more for icepick scars which I dont really have. I could use it for my large pores but I dont know how useful it would be as my scars are quite broad rather than deep.
Im pretty much an expert by now on all the treatments that are available, and yet I still dont know what treatments I should do and in what order. I guess ill have to get an expert opinion and properly weigh up my options when everything has calmed down.
TCA (and yes for icepicks so they say)seems hit or miss. I seen people that claim it does great before other procedures, and others where it widens and makes it much worse. I mean I guess everything is a gamble let's be real, but TCA came into being around the time microneedling did too and that was basically a whole lot of hype and marketing or at least the basic kind. And yeah I'm under 50. I had Dermabrasion when I was just turned an adult.
But seriously, at this point not being able to fill holes is insane with science. I would chock it up to limited amount of money/industry so the R&D money isn't that out there in a capitalistic society, but I would think any tech that accomplished this would have many more uses than just acne scars, injuries or anything else would apply. So it's probably more wrong priorities, incompetence, or just whatever who knows.
12 hours ago, harmlessboy1441 said:Yeah you'd think by now they could figure out a way to permanently fill a few freakin holes or build some tissue that functions but nope. I honestly had higher hopes back in around 2005 when I did the Dermabrasion that by 2020 or 2025 they'd be cloning cells or even at an old age I'd still be able to witness some sort of treatment.
Don't get me wrong, they still can't cure cancer or other things, but seriously tissue and fat and skin they can't figure a better way to heal or substitute by now?
Interesting point there is an article that Dan wrote creator of acne org what differentiates from people that scar from acne and why some dont. The theses can be made on this research as to what can they do to tweak that issue in the body that would balance the tissue hence creation of new tissue in the right amount. Take total of 40 candidates one with severe acne leading to acne scars(20), then other 20 with severe acne leading to no scars. Research the biology of the person not get getting scarred and build that drug that can tweak it in the people that scar. I know I explained it simply but I guess big pharma has no interest as this would be one stop end to atrophic scars. And then they cant charge other people for it.