I went to my derm today, who also happens to be a cosmetic surgeon. I have scarred pores and a couple very small icepicks. I asked him if there is something I could do, after the waiting period, about my scars. He said that we would discuss that in the future BUT he said that accutane will help making my scars less noticable.
It did seem like my scars were less noticable about 2 weeks ago, before my pores were enlarging to let the blackheads loose.
Has anyone noticed that accutane improved the appearance of their scars?
I went to my derm today, who also happens to be a cosmetic surgeon. I have scarred pores and a couple very small icepicks. I asked him if there is something I could do, after the waiting period, about my scars. He said that we would discuss that in the future BUT he said that accutane will help making my scars less noticable.
It did seem like my scars were less noticable about 2 weeks ago, before my pores were enlarging to let the blackheads loose.
Has anyone noticed that accutane improved the appearance of their scars?
Bullshit! Your derm's comments has no evidence. Accutane will dry your skin, causing it to flake, some people like me experience severe flaking. It is only during the flaking of skin will you temporary find your scars less visible. Your skin will eventually grow back and the scars will still be as obtrusive as before.
In fact, the scars seems to have worsen.
Hope this helps
I'm sure everyone has their own opinion of this subject. I guess I will just have to wait and see if what he says is true for me. If not, then I might have to use his cosmetic services.
I wonder if he was referring to my paticular scars...which are exacerbated by the bumpy acne under my skin.
I really do think this derm does know what he is talking about because he has been had a practice in dermatology and cosmetic surgery for 20+ years and has prescribed accutane for as long as its been around for hundreds of patients. I think the evidence he is referring to is what he has seen and not published information.
I do know that when I used retin a my scarring was definately "smoothed" and accutane is a systemic version of retin a. So far I have seen a definite improvement in my overall complexion, which is find by me!
I also asked him about what if the oil comes back, what are my options. He said a low dose of 10mg indefinately after this treatment would do the job. If you think about it, if it does improve my scarring because of the flaking and exfoliation of my skin, then the 10mg would keep the layers from growing back, thus a somewhat indefinite reduction of the appearance of my scars.
I think it may have helped mine some. It gets rid of all that bumpiness which makes scar look even more depressed. It also helps tone, too.
I didn't have dry skin on tane, just normal - little to no flaking at all, which was great, because topicals made my skin all irritated and red. I hate them a lot! I hope I never have to use them again!
I would go on tane in a sec again if I needed to and I wish I'd gone on sooner. Oh well.
I think I wasn't that dry because I took it in the spring/summer, and there's more humidity and not all that dry air - unless you live in, say, Arizona or something.
I've wondered about accutane helping scars.
it seems logical: increased renewal of skin cells, peeling, thus leading to new skin overall.
but i don't think scar tissue gets replaced like that. from what i've read the scar tissue will only shrink and become tighter over time.
i thought putting some retin a on my face would speed the peeling while on accutane but it just made my skin red and inflammed. i guess we just have to wait and let accutane run its course. if it helps scars that's a bonus.
Ive been wondering the exact same thing, Im just on my third week of Accutane, and I think that the overall appearance of my skin looks alot smoother including my indented/pitted scars.
I previously posted about using a topical while on Accutane, and people basically responded saying it was a no-no, so I decided not to do it, but then I thought about trying just a test patch on a particular scar. The topical I tested was Dermalogica skin renewal booster containing Lactic and Salicylic acid (I had used it prior to the Tane). I dont know if Im just imagining it, but I think that scar/area looks a lot more even.
I dont really know if I have the guts to try it on other scars or a bigger area of my face yet, cos I am quite scared, knowing that the Derms tell you not to use anything while on Tane.
The scar I tested it on now looks like its kind of stretched out, making it look less defined and more shallow. Thats the only way I can describe it. Does this sound normal? Hunter (if you are reading), did this happen to your scars while on Tazorac?
What do people think? Do you thinks its safe to carry on using it? I DO NOT want to make my scars worse and I suppose my fear is that even if this topical does work on my scars while Im on Tane, what will happen when I finish the Tane, will my scars revert back to the way they did look or could this even make them look worse?
Need advice please guys!
I'm on month one of my accutane treatment. Personally, I would not mess with my scars right now with topical stuff. My skin is very thin and fragile right now, and thats why they say don't mess with it-it could lead to more scarring that I do not want!
I have already seen some scar improvement, even though many say its BS. I can't wait to see if there is more improvement by the end of my treatment.
K
Accutane has helped my scarring tremendously, and my skin is not dry. I load up on moisturizers (that, thanks to the accutane, never break me out) to keep my skin hydrated (notice I say hydrated, and not oily-- oil-free moisturizers are still great in my book). Now, whether or not they return to their old look when I get off the tane is beyond my reckoning at this point. But, as Lucy Mum claims, the lessened appearance of scarring due to flaking is bull. I haven't been flaking for three months.
The problem is there are lots of different cases of scarring and certain things will work for certain scars. Something like accutane would work on scars that are not real deep. My face had minor scars that have gone or are almost not noticable after accutane. I had the 4 ice pick scars that didnt really improve at all except that they are noraml colored now with no redness. I didnt expect the ice picks to just go away though.
If u have ice pick scars or deeper scars common sense will tell u to go to a doctor and get some sort of surgery if u want them gone. Accutane and retinoid cemes and gels work great on minor scars and redness, but anything real deep isnt going to improve much.
GoldRex-That's great congrats! I hope it does that for me! What type of scars did you have?
Rolling scars on my cheeks. They're much less noticeable, but they've never exactly been of the "Oh my GOD look at his scarring!!" severity. The shadows of my cheekbones provide some nice camouflage, too.
Imsolost:
Not too sure yet. Check out my gallery and you will see my scars. They are mostly scarred pores and shallow ice picks.
rich1234:
Ok, so now I've heard from 4 people that their derms/nurses have said that accutane will improve the look of scars (at least certain types of scars). i think there is something to be said about that concensus!
Ok, so now I've heard from 4 people that their derms/nurses have said that accutane will improve the look of scars (at least certain types of scars). i think there is something to be said about that concensus!
Not really. You'll find 4 others who say Accutane left terrible, disfiguring scars on them......not really a consensus, more like: different people have different reactions.....
Ok, so now I've heard from 4 people that their derms/nurses have said that accutane will improve the look of scars (at least certain types of scars). i think there is something to be said about that concensus!
Not really. You'll find 4 others who say Accutane left terrible, disfiguring scars on them......not really a consensus, more like: different people have different reactions.....
yeah...its sucks cause how do you know if you'll be one of the lucky ones or one of the ones in deep regret.
i keep going back and forth with accutane. im not sure its worth the risk of being one of the ones who regrets it. even if they are in the minority.
sigh.
I have read on some websites that it improves scarring. My GP(doctor) also said to me that roaccutane can help reduce the appearence of scarring. I also read somewhere that roaccutane encourages skin cell shedding as well as shrinking of glands and stuff which i imagine is the reduction of scars...
also reduction of scars makes quite good sense considering roaccutane is a form of vitamin a and vit a is meant to help your skin go soft and look nice generally, so an overdose(which i guess the course effective is lol) is gonna shove a load of vit a skin-goodness in there and help your skin repair itself *shrug* i hav no PHD in dermatology tho so please dont kill me if im wrong.
I have read on some websites that it improves scarring. My GP(doctor) also said to me that roaccutane can help reduce the appearence of scarring. I also read somewhere that roaccutane encourages skin cell shedding as well as shrinking of glands and stuff which i imagine is the reduction of scars...
also reduction of scars makes quite good sense considering roaccutane is a form of vitamin a and vit a is meant to help your skin go soft and look nice generally, so an overdose(which i guess the course effective is lol) is gonna shove a load of vit a skin-goodness in there and help your skin repair itself *shrug* i hav no PHD in dermatology tho so please dont kill me if im wrong.
I've tried to find websites that will attest this observation. Where did you find them?
I have formed the same kinds of conclusions as you. Also, I am thinking that since the retin a improved the look of my scars then accutane will also improve the look of them, since accutane is a systemic version of retin A.
I wish I could photograph my scars and any improvement, but it is going to be hard to capture improvement of my scars.
I have read on some websites that it improves scarring. My GP(doctor) also said to me that roaccutane can help reduce the appearence of scarring. I also read somewhere that roaccutane encourages skin cell shedding as well as shrinking of glands and stuff which i imagine is the reduction of scars...
also reduction of scars makes quite good sense considering roaccutane is a form of vitamin a and vit a is meant to help your skin go soft and look nice generally, so an overdose(which i guess the course effective is lol) is gonna shove a load of vit a skin-goodness in there and help your skin repair itself *shrug* i hav no PHD in dermatology tho so please dont kill me if im wrong.
I've tried to find websites that will attest this observation. Where did you find them?
I have formed the same kinds of conclusions as you. Also, I am thinking that since the retin a improved the look of my scars then accutane will also improve the look of them, since accutane is a systemic version of retin A.
I wish I could photograph my scars and any improvement, but it is going to be hard to capture improvement of my scars.
okey dokey heres one link:
http://wo-pub2.med.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/Web...?contentID=1571 (at the very bottom of the webpage there is a pragraph on Treatment for severe, cystic, or inflammatory acne)
I quote: "Isotretinoin reduces the size of the sebaceous glands that produce the skin oil, increases skin cell shedding, and affects the hair follicles, thereby reducing the development of acne lesions. "
another link: http://dermatology.about.com/cs/isotretino.../accutane_3.htm
erm... quoting: "A further reduction of acne lesions and improvement of scarring is seen for months after treatment has stopped. "
thats all i can think of. and at the time i wasnt realy looking for stuff on acne scarring which is why i dont have loads on it. but hopefully that'll settle you a bit.
Isotrtinoin's main aim is not to get rid of scars so im not gonna expect too much (I have scarring) but u may find if u have looks of marks/abrasions they'll fade between 6-12months anyway(i know its a long time to wait isnt it. it sucks.). and if any dont fade after a year they are officialy classified a scar (lol) which means u cud probably just get a home abrasion home kit or suminc. but yeah. hoped that helped and good luck with ur treatment 