I'm planning on having scar treatment, starting within the next few weeks.
It will consist of radiofrequency microneedling, subcision, TCA cross and eCO2 laser, with more of a focus on laser. I think most of these will take place in a single session, apart from the TCA cross.
I've heard people don't really like laser, as they don't get good results.
But most of my scarring is fairly textural and superficial.
Would laser be the right choice in my case?
I'm worried about downtime and redness that persists weeks and months later. Some pictures of recovery I've seen online look horrendous.
I posted pictures of my scarring in another thread if you want a better idea.
The problem with laser is two things 1. lame results and 2. worsening texture. I guess the third is redness but that's fixable. You have a 50/50 chance imo, so risk is high with benefits potentially low. Peels are superior in risk factors, but not results.
I'm personally opting out of lasers. My scars are now shallow and I'm stepping away because of the texture dissatisfaction on here and real self. There are people who have come to this board with no scars, did laser, and ended up here because of the aftermath. You should research your machine and the operator.
Erbium seems to be safer than co2, fractional co2 is the biggest offender with texture issues, full ablation seems to be better than fractional. The thing is I've seen great results with fractional co2 from others, I've also seen complete mental breakdowns because of it. So 50/50, the risk is up to you. Research is necessary. I personally don't want to risk my texture.
The results people get with lasers is so confusing.
It's meant to treat texture, but people end up with worse texture; it's meant to treat scarring, but people end up with worse scarring.
After some research, I've found that:
Dr Emil states that "Up to 70% improvement of superficial and textural scars can be seen after four treatments."
Davin Lim also says that boxcar scars respond best to lasers.
These are the scars I mostly have, and texture is also my biggest issue.
I'm just so confused because if I don't have laser, then I don't know how else to effectively treat these issues.
I'm seeing an acne scar specialist, so I don't think that he would necessarily push laser as some other clinics might without a good reason.
18 hours ago, smith_123 said:The results people get with lasers is so confusing.
It's meant to treat texture, but people end up with worse texture; it's meant to treat scarring, but people end up with worse scarring.
After some research, I've found that:
Dr Emil states that "Up to 70% improvement of superficial and textural scars can be seen after four treatments."
Davin Lim also says that boxcar scars respond best to lasers.
These are the scars I mostly have, and texture is also my biggest issue.
I'm just so confused because if I don't have laser, then I don't know how else to effectively treat these issues.
I'm seeing an acne scar specialist, so I don't think that he would necessarily push laser as some other clinics might without a good reason.
Fractional by design treats your skin in a dot fashion and hoping you skin heals correctly. But the reality is your body could fail to heal it correctly depends from person to person. So if you dont heal those dots properly you end up with worsened texture. The best scenario for texture is to actually go with full ablation erbium laser with good settings depending on your scarring.