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I see in Dr Davin's Lim IG account, he fixed pebblestone scarring which should be categorized as hypertropic scarring with CO2 laser. Not mentioned whether it's fractionated or fully ablative and how many sessions to achieve the smooth result. Also whether it's a spotor the whole area treatment. Is there anyone here undergo CO2 or Fract Er laser for the bumps with success?
Unfortunately, I still have issues with my bumps. The issue is mine are very small though getting bigger by years especially when my skin is in oily condition. So it could be tough for the dermto have thesame vision with mine , on top of that being patient. At the end, my derm treated the whole chin instead of just the bumps which does not fix the issue still and i got unnecessary redness and sensitivity on the surrounding areas.I've undergone 2x laser Fract Er, quite aggresive settings with the latest one was semi ablative. After these treatments, i do feel i have 2 types of issues with the bumps on my chin, gland and pebblestone scarring. After the 2nd laser,i feel the gland issues are getting smaller but the bumps with define edges which i think similar to hypertropic scarrings do not budge. They also don't get any bigger by time and whenmy skin is oily unlike the gland ones. I think cautering them would be better solution.
So yeah, i havent met that All in Onederm yet. My derm knows what he's doing with the laser so his aggresiveness is just right BUT he's just not patient enough with every issues i have in my face as i do have several and these bumps are of lesser issue
Also skincare does help such as retinol or moisturizers that does not cause the skin to produce more oil (not necessarily oil free)
Keep updating here when you have your treatment. I will update mine as well.
15 hours ago, poorbunny888 said:I see in Dr Davin's Lim IG account, he fixed pebblestone scarring which should be categorized as hypertropic scarring with CO2 laser. Not mentioned whether it's fractionated or fully ablative and how many sessions to achieve the smooth result. Also whether it's a spot or the whole area treatment. Is there anyone here undergo CO2 or Fract Er laser for the bumps with success?
Unfortunately, I still have issues with my bumps. The issue is mine are very small though getting bigger by years especially when my skin is in oily condition. So it could be tough for the derm to have the same vision with mine , on top of that being patient. At the end, my derm treated the whole chin instead of just the bumps which does not fix the issue still and i got unnecessary redness and sensitivity on the surrounding areas. I've undergone 2x laser Fract Er, quite aggresive settings with the latest one was semi ablative. After these treatments, i do feel i have 2 types of issues with the bumps on my chin, gland and pebblestone scarring. After the 2nd laser, i feel the gland issues are getting smaller but the bumps with define edges which i think similar to hypertropic scarrings do not budge. They also don't get any bigger by time and when my skin is oily unlike the gland ones. I think cautering them would be better solution.
So yeah, i havent met that All in One derm yet. My derm knows what he's doing with the laser so his aggresiveness is just right BUT he's just not patient enough with every issues i have in my face as i do have several and these bumps are of lesser issue
Also skincare does help such as retinol or moisturizers that does not cause the skin to produce more oil (not necessarily oil free)
Keep updating here when you have your treatment. I will update mine as well.
hey poorbunny888
thanks for the answer. Yeah these bumps are still there no matter what treatment one gets, it's very frustrating. I saw a new derm like a year or so ago and asked about these. Steroid microdroplet injections were recommended but for some reason I didn't get them. The next time I asked Genius RF was recommended but I seriously doubt that it will help much. I haven't seen any difference. And when you say you don't see any improvement from Erbium ablative laser I probably won't see any improvement either. I've read that BA and Dr Lim recommend co2 laser as a spot treatment and steroid microinjections for these raised lumps. I assume it will take a few sessions. I think I will just find a doctor near me who offers the Total FX and ask him to do the combination laser and steroids on the scars. I will let you know how it goes 
Cauterization would also be an option for the raised lumps but I don't know who offers it. Plastic surgeons maybe?
On 4/5/2021 at 8:38 AM, poorbunny888 said:I see in Dr Davin's Lim IG account, he fixed pebblestone scarring which should be categorized as hypertropic scarring with CO2 laser. Not mentioned whether it's fractionated or fully ablative and how many sessions to achieve the smooth result. Also whether it's a spot or the whole area treatment. Is there anyone here undergo CO2 or Fract Er laser for the bumps with success?
Unfortunately, I still have issues with my bumps. The issue is mine are very small though getting bigger by years especially when my skin is in oily condition. So it could be tough for the derm to have the same vision with mine , on top of that being patient. At the end, my derm treated the whole chin instead of just the bumps which does not fix the issue still and i got unnecessary redness and sensitivity on the surrounding areas. I've undergone 2x laser Fract Er, quite aggresive settings with the latest one was semi ablative. After these treatments, i do feel i have 2 types of issues with the bumps on my chin, gland and pebblestone scarring. After the 2nd laser, i feel the gland issues are getting smaller but the bumps with define edges which i think similar to hypertropic scarrings do not budge. They also don't get any bigger by time and when my skin is oily unlike the gland ones. I think cautering them would be better solution.
So yeah, i havent met that All in One derm yet. My derm knows what he's doing with the laser so his aggresiveness is just right BUT he's just not patient enough with every issues i have in my face as i do have several and these bumps are of lesser issue
Also skincare does help such as retinol or moisturizers that does not cause the skin to produce more oil (not necessarily oil free)
Keep updating here when you have your treatment. I will update mine as well.
@poorbunny888 Did you get co2 fraxel laser for these right? How is the results so far? I got these pebblestone scarring from using tretinoin too harsh as you do and I can't stop using them since then I get acne. I lowered my dose and usage frequency, they don't get bigger in size or they don't increase in number right now but they don't disappear as well. They are almost on my whole face, I am adding pictures.
unfortunately after 3 sessions of Fractional Er with semi ablative setting, the bumps don't budge and/or might decrease just a bit. I'll have my derm to advance the setting to fully ablative on next appointment and let's see if there'd be more improvements. Also, as our type of skin is sensitive one, when i did the whole chin, they'd become sensitized and more flares coming up. so for the 3rd treatment, i only treat "locally" on the bumps and the flares calming down.
i see significant improvements if not the whole bumps go away on Dr. Davin Lim's IG with the same ablative treatments. wonder why mine couldn't have the same result
in the end i might try to buy the cauter pen and do it myself, fingercross i wouldn't need to do this
Note: People need to be warn about tretinoin usage as my chin was also very smooth with not even a single hormonal acne and now i messed it up and wonder if it could ever go back to previous condition #sic
On 4/6/2021 at 4:21 AM, Guest said:In the endI'll get a cauterization device and will ablate the raised scarsmyself. It's not rocket science. I've found cautery pens online.
Dear, how's your cauterization at home going? Could you please provide a link of what kind of cauter pen you bought? is it the plasma pen that people rave about for creating fibroblast for collagen ? i think that could be used to "shave/burn" bumps
Hi All, i just visit a derm that gave quite an interesting solution i've never heard but very on point.
Instead of blazing on the skin with ablative lasers/cauters facing risks of pigmentation issues and depressed scars, he advised to undergo a 6 months course of Accutane smallest dose of 10mg to 'dry up' or decrease the size of the sweat glands then using long pulse ND YAG to burn it off. Long pulse is usedto minimize the risk ofpigmentation and further scarring on skin surface
Has anyone been advised of this solution? I'm very interested to try and my derm told me the 10mg Accutane dose is very safe. He also said it won't accumulate within the body?? Is this true? I think i read that accutane would just wears off after some time
I have the same. They seem to be confined on the chin (and nose a bit). From what I read in the papers these are called "papular acne scars" and they seem to be underrated.
Antibiotics (tetracyclines, amoxicillin) seem to stop inflammatory lesionsthat are causing those scars pretty effectively. But a week after you stop antibiotic therapy the inflammatory lesions that cause these scars come back and they cause scarring very fast and the scarring is pretty severe.
Hi all - I also have issues with this, lots of pebble stone looking bumps all over my chin that seems to look worse when I wear makeup and in certain lights. They aren™t very visible when I smile or when the skin is stretched out. I still have active acne though so I™m going to start my 2nd round of accutane and will let you know if that improves them at all.
Hi Everyone - I am suffering with this issue as well. I had cystic acne as a teenager and went on roccutane at 15 y.o. Scars started after then and 10 years later, I still have them. They are in the lower part of my face, jaw, chin and neck. And also since I hade acne on my chest and back, they are there as well.
They look exactly like the person above me posted. I can feel them inside from my mouth when I put my tongue next To where the scars are from the outside. I can see its bumpy.
HAS ANYONE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN THIS?
On 7/12/2019 at 3:07 PM, Aussie Scientist said:poorbunny
Thanks for geting back to me.
Your whitish tongue (indicates candida fungus) and scalp condition (indicates candida or malasezzia fungus) indicate that you have fungal condition.
What scalp treatments did you use, may I ask ??
Do NOT use antibiotic cream on your skin - antibiotics make fungal conditions WORSE. Fungus and bacteria are TOTALLY different organisms.
You (most likely) have a fungal condition on your skin. You do NOT have a bacterial condition on your skin.
Do NOT use steroid creams or any steroid products on your skin - steroid creams (and oral steroids) CAUSE fungal conditions (and make them worse) by weakening the ability of he body's natural immune system to "fight the fungus".
Sometimes people with VERY inflamed skin from fungal infection need to use hydrocortisone cream along with antifungal creams, for a few days or to dampen the inflammation, but your skin is not inflamed, so do not use steroid creams or any other steroid products on it.
Do use antifungal cream on your skin and the bumps will (most likely) disappear.
Fungus sometimes does spread to areas without antifungal cream as you control it with the antifungal cream, so apply the antifungal cream to the affected areas and to the surrounding areas of your face to stop the fungus spreading.
I suggest you do the following -
1. Buy clotrimazole topical antifungal cream (often sold as Canesten - no prescription needed) and apply it to the areas with the bumps 2-3 times a day. You may need a more targeted antifungal cream if the clotrimazole does not fix your problem. I can provide information about more targeted antifungal cream, if necessary. But best to start with clotrimazole cream, which is a broad spectrum antifungal cream and easy to obtain.
2. Wash your hair in an antidandruff shampoo.
3. Do NOT apply any moisturisers or organic oils to the areas with the bumps. Keep your skin very dry. Wipe off sweat. Fungus loves moisture. And one type of fungus that causes acne feeds on organic oils.
4. Do NOT exfoliate your skin.
I am happy to hear back from you.
I don't understand. Isn't Canesten part of the steroid family? I don't want to go near steroid creams!
Hi All, i just visit a derm that gave quite an interesting solution i've never heard but very on point.
Instead of blazing on the skin with ablative lasers/cauters facing risks of pigmentation issues and depressed scars, he advised to undergo a 6 months course of Accutane smallest dose of 10mg to 'dry up' or decrease the size of the sweat glands then using long pulse ND YAG to burn it off. Long pulse is usedto minimize the risk ofpigmentation and further scarring on skin surface
Has anyone been advised of this solution? I'm very interested to try and my derm told me the 10mg Accutane dose is very safe. He also said it won't accumulate within the body?? Is this true? I think i read that accutane would just wears off after some time
Hi did you end up trying this? I have bums on my chin as well and Ive done 6 sessions of micro needling, 5 sessions of Venus viva, fractura, chemical peels but they wont budge. Attached is a photo
Hi everyone, Im so happy to have landed on this forum because I too have struggled with this condition for many years. The scars on my chin appeared after a massive breakout I had in college and a dermatologist I visited diagnosed them as fibrotic papules. After doing extensive research online, I believe I actually have papular acne scars. Unfortunately for us, this is a fairly new diagnosis in the dermatology community hence the lack of a consistent treatment plan for them.
I actually had some luck treating mine. In the first picture attached, these were when the scars were at their worst. I then went on accutane, I did 3 sessions of microneedling, I injected steroids in the most prominent ones, and I have done 3/4 sessions of radiofrequency microneedling ( aka Morpheus8). I also did four sessions of a laser called Palomar Fractional before that. So I basically threw the whole book at these scars and have spent close to $10,000 trying to heal them. The last two pictures are what the scars look like as of today, after all these treatments. As you can see, they are much better than the first picture, but theyre still there.
These scars have negatively affected my confidence and make me feel very self conscious.I hate taking pictures, especially in bright sunlight. It looks like I have rocks underneath my chin. I have overcome this by smiling really wide in pictures because this stretches out my chin and the scars sorta dissapear lol.
I just wanted to share my experience with you all. Lets not give up. We will find a cure for these scars!
@pablos I tried steroid injections. They did not work for me. I had them done about two years ago so my memory is a little foggy but I recall the scars diminished slightly, and then returned to their original form.
Hi everyone,
I hope you take some time to read this because I believe it is of value to fellow sufferers.
This topic has been one I have been silently following since I found it after I tried to research what the hell it was that was on my chin and I just can not get rid of for years now.
I first started noticing this issue in 2019/2020, after some awful years of sudden cystic hormonal adult acne. My suspicions were unfortunately confirmed by a diagnoses of PCOS. Because PCOS is chronic this for me unfortunately also means the acne is chronic. I have learned what the triggers are for the problem and which supplements are helpful. So I can keep it at bay now, but not permanently.
This is important because this is the cause for the Pebblestone scarring on my chin. It absolutely is nothing else but Hypertrophic SCARS. The constant cystic painful acne on my chin was traumatic enough to cause hypertrophic scars. Stuff like tretinion or retinol can also be too harsh on the skin to traumatize it enough and leave scars.
It is NOT fungal acne, and they arent closed comedones. If it were, then dermatologists and you would have no issue treating it and there would be easy/accessible solutions.
These pebblestone scarring is caused due to an overproduction of collagen. Your body decides to do that when something traumatic happens to the skin (such as constant cystic hormonal acne) and if you have a Vitamin D deficiency. After all, your skin has to constantly stretch when dealing with inflamed cysts from deep under the skin. And unfortunately for me, as an ethnic person living in a cold cloudy country, I very much had a big vitamin D deficiency.
Because the issue is caused by an overproduction of collagen, generic suggested treatments like micro needling will not help because micro needling is used to stimulate more collagen growth.
I went to multiple dermatologists and again to my disappointment most of them in the country I live in are not caring and lazily prescribe accutane as an easy fix. None of the dermatologists I visited and paid for were knowledgeable enough to recognize the issue. Now I do believe that accutane can temporarily fix it, however since there is no guarantee, and since a purging period can actually worsen the issue, I decided not to do it. Along with the health risks accutane carries, and the fact that PCOS makes my success chances relatively small.
I went to multiple aestheticians, who did agree that it looked like scarring, but they did not have a solution. They told me I could experiment with micro needling every two weeks so that instead of building collagen, it would break the collagen. But since I dont want to experiment anymore and still suffer from hormonal acne at least once a month, this was not ideal. So I looked further.
Then in a year in which I did not have acne for more than 13 months, I went to visit a clinic to get cortiseroid (steroid) injections, like dr. Lim online advised. These injections are nowhere to be found in this country, except on prescription in hospitals and the few expensive luxury clinics. But the clinic I went to advised against it, because the bumps were too small and the injections would likely cause dents/atrophic scarring, so I went for their suggestion of CO2 laser instead, also just like what dr lim who termed it pebblestone scarring advised online. However, despite my excitement to finally have fully clear skin, it did not make a difference. In fact the laser treatment activated my painful cystic acne again, after long months of no acne. I do also have to mention that the derm at this clinic tried really hard to squish the bumps on my chin first during the consultation appointment bc she, just like many others, thought these skin colored bumps were closed comedones. Again, these are NOT closed comedones and is NOT fungal acne!
I do not believe there is a solution to this issue yet. And that preventing more scarring tissue is key. It seems to be a complete novelty to professionals. The best thing I can do now is to try to keep the cystic hormonal acne at bay, and to keep my vitamin D levels in check.
Another thing I did try in which I saw a bit of difference was medical grade silicon tape. However I quit after a week because you have to keep it on for 8+ hours and do so for weeks even months. And since the issue is on my face I felt a bit awkward continuing.
I will give it a try again and see it if actually works if I follow the full treatment period, just like how it clinically works successfully for many other hypertrophic scars. There are many studies on it, and I suggest we ought to treat these scars like other hypertrophic scars. It might be our best bet, and after losing so much money time and patience, I really have nothing else to lose anyway.
If successful, I will edit this post with results.
Also, the scars on my chin fade if I smile, so if my skin is stretched tightly. The area is NOT itchy (unlike fungal acne). After a zit there is some PIE/PIH for a while which in combination with the raised bumps makes it look like active acne while it isnt. If there is no PIH/PIE the bumps are skincolored or slight lighter than skin color. BHA/AHA/mandelic acid/vitamin C/benzoyl perioxide/tretinoin also do not make a slight difference for the raised bumps. I have tried all of these in a period of multiple years. This is why I am certain that they are hypertrophic scars.