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Will Retin-A help heal my scars?

 
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(@feelsgood)

Posted : 12/27/2009 7:57 am

I really need to do something about my scars.

 

Starting 2010, I plan on going to my doctor or dermatologist and asking for Retin-A. I've read that Retin-A is really beneficial for your skin and helps you look younger.

 

Do you think it will improve slightly or even drastically my scars? Do you have any experience using Retin-A for rolling, boxcar scars, and redness?

 

I may use Retin-A for life if it really does make me look younger, even with the scars.(Does that even make sense...)

 

Also, what type of laser or surgical treatment would you recommend? I need some ideas when I get rich and can afford it.

 

WARNING - GRAPHIC IMAGES!

 

Forehead

 

Left side of face

 

Left temple

 

Left temple & cheek

 

Left temple & cheek again

 

Right temple

 

Cheek... butt cheek

 

 

Gawd. First it was acne, now my scars has a choke hold on my confidence...

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(@feelsgood)

Posted : 12/27/2009 6:51 pm

Bump for help.

 

Would retin-a help me?

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(@dave99)

Posted : 12/28/2009 12:51 am

Retin-A certainly won't hurt. I just started using it again. What they charge for it is ridiculous, but what can you do. It will help with aging skin overall. But I wouldn't expect miracles with the scars unfortunately. I use to get a dry ice slush treatment when I was younger from the doc. They put dry ice on gauze and use tongs to rub it on your face. I haven't seen people talk about it much here. I guess it's not done much anymore. But basically what it did was give a bit of a peel. I always noticed that the skin looked smoother afterward. I think it kind of tightened the skin, which gave the appearance of the scars being diminished. I've often wondered if there was a way I could do that myself. It's not hard to buy dry ice. I tried laser... Made them better for a while, but they came back. I'm convinced there's probably something that can be done repeatedly over time which would eventually repair the skin. But the problem is most people go for the quick fix, and it's also hard to find people who have done something for a long time to see what happened in the end. I don't trust the doctors and probably won't ever have any major treatment again. I think most of them are just trying to make money.

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(@illusion-of-ugly)

Posted : 12/29/2009 2:12 am

retin a actually caused me to have a massive cystic breakout for 2 months and was actually the cause of most of my scars. and i mean it seriously gave me terrible terrible absolutely horrible scars when i barely had any scarring problem beforehand. it was counter-productive to me

 

ill never go near the stuff again.

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(@illusion-of-ugly)

Posted : 12/29/2009 2:16 am

my scars are actually much worse than yours, and its all because of retin a

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(@pastelpaas)

Posted : 12/29/2009 2:19 am

I will never touch retin-a again. it was the cause of almost all my scars.

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(@lady-odd-duck)

Posted : 12/29/2009 2:22 am

I hope it helps with some of the more severe scarring at least a little. Luckily I have no scars on my face...don't seem to scar there for some reason. But I have a few almost keloid-like scars on my chest - very unattractive. I think my derm. prescribed it mostly for it's uses against acne formation and because I have quite a bit of PIH on my face.

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(@phillyphilly)

Posted : 12/29/2009 2:45 pm

idk about Retin a but I have been using Differin for the past 4 months and my scars have shown definite improvement

 

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(@progression)

Posted : 12/30/2009 12:36 am

idk about Retin a but I have been using Differin for the past 4 months and my scars have shown definite improvement

 

 

Like most topicals, i.e. different, Retin-A, even BP, make your scars look very good if you have any. But after using these topicals is when the skin starts to scar.

 

One will not see any new scarring until really stopping any of the above treatments for a few months.

 

:T

 

Personally, I wish I was wrong. I've used all these products over 10 years...

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(@nightskies)

Posted : 12/30/2009 12:55 am

Used retin a for a full year, started with no scars, ended with a noticable indentation at EVERY place I had had acne during that year, my face is covered with a fine layer of scars that catch the light and make my face look dirty for a lack of the better word.

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(@dave99)

Posted : 12/30/2009 4:16 am

I think if you are past the point of getting breakouts, it is safe to use Retin-A.

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(@acnepwns)

Posted : 12/30/2009 2:10 pm

I got a tube of Retin-A I havent used yet and I have some scars that are similar to yours. After reading all of these posts I am getting really scarred of using it...

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(@thx)

Posted : 12/31/2009 12:07 am

It has helped me.

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(@feelsgood)

Posted : 12/31/2009 2:44 am

Interesting comments. Lol @ AcnePwns. I was fairly optimistic about using Retin-A for my scars but after reading these comments, not so much. Well, I'm going to the doctors after New Years because it is closed for the holidays. I have this feeling that Retin-A will help my scars but I guess I'll find out when I start using it.

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(@steviec)

Posted : 12/31/2009 9:30 am

I've used Retin-A for a few years and don't think I have any more scars since starting on it.

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(@108077854)

Posted : 01/02/2010 5:53 am

retin a was actually the solution to my acne problems(very and i mean very few breakouts now). it makes your scars LOOK worse but once you stop for a week or two they look alot better

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(@scarfacee)

Posted : 01/03/2010 9:45 pm

I've never heard of anyone getting scars from Retin A. As far as I know, you're not supposed to use it until you're completely free from breakouts. If you use it while you have acne, you might get scars or if you use it while you have acne, you get scars from that acne you would have gotten without using Retin A so Retin A didn't cause them.

 

I'm using it now and it's already working wonders. 3 weeks in. It tightens the skin, which improves my mild rolling scars. The derm called them mild although I'd disagree! I'd say moderate.

 

One tip: I don't apply the Retin A directly to my skin. I mix a pea sized drop, which is what's recommended, with a huge drop/blob of lotion and put them on at the same time and leave it on overnight. I think doing it this way minimizes drying/breakouts. So far this time, no zits. Last time I used it I had a breakout of 10 or so pimples for a few weeks, but they went away.

 

So far, I recommend it and I recommend you get it from a Canadian Pharmacy, where it's half price of what it is in the US and that includes the shipping.

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(@sportsguy23)

Posted : 01/04/2010 4:26 pm

This is a good post...I posted something similar about Retin A/Tazorac causing scars....

 

This is an important topic that we need to discuss...as many of us are still using these things.

 

 

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(@thx)

Posted : 01/04/2010 5:00 pm

Okay, I've been using 0.025% retin-a for slightly over four months. Here's what I can tell you from my experience:

 

Has it helped? Yes.

Did it make some of the scars worse? Yes.

 

Let me explain. My main pitted scars are improved. One has disappreared entirely. One shrunk by 2/3s and a five year old one (was rather deep too) is half the size and now has an island of normal level skin right in the middle of it. Some of my skin texture has improved also. I started off with just applying it to my most troubled area (where these scars are) and over the past 6 weeks I switched to my entire face.. only time will tell how the rest of my skin will react. Btw, my scars looked really bad for about month when I first started retin-a.

 

However, I now have a few shallow scars where I hadn't seen any before. They are no big deal in themselves, I just fear that they could worsen. But because of the major improvement I have seen, I will continue to use retin-a.

 

Here's my theory: you likely have scars that you can't see that are underneath your skin. Think of holes in swiss cheese - maybe at the surface of the cheese there are no holes, but if you remove a slice or two you will notice holes in the cheese itself. Retin-a exfoliates your skin over and over, you may be digging out 'holes' that were not noticeable to you.

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(@steviec)

Posted : 01/05/2010 6:00 am

I use the 0.025% strength too and my scars aren't worse. In fact people often commented on how my skin was getting better, especially those who I hadn't seen in a few weeks/months.

 

Now, I haven't had acne in a few years - in fact since I had a course of the Roaccutane. The doctor said even when I come off the roaccutane he doesn't think acne will come back - and it didn't. That was even with taking 20mg of Prednisone daily, so it was impressive stuff and worked.

 

My next stop is 10% TCA Peel, hopefully working my way up to the 15-20-30% slowly, so my skin gets used to it.

 

So although it's only my personal experience, there is certainly nothing for me to suggest Retin-A has made things worse.

 

I live in England so maybe it's different for people who live in a place that gets a lot of sun? I don't know.

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(@sportsguy23)

Posted : 01/05/2010 10:55 am

Okay,

 

Well I started tazorac last Feburary .1%

 

Now I stopped using tazorac for a few weeks in July...and I stopped using it for a month for this past month...for a procedure...

 

Now I am starting to use it again...and this time plan on keep using it diligently.

 

I first started it becuase I was breaking out and Benzaclin wasn't getting rid of my cystic acne.

 

I used Tazorac and it got rid of my cysts...and skin has been "relatively" clear since...I occasionally get smaller pimples but if I am dilligent about it then clear skin...Note: I use benzaclin followed by a moisturizer some mornings.

 

 

So here is the thing my skin looked better somewhat but I was wondering if I was noticing new scars (tiny ones) showing in areas that I didn't notice before...this seems to have happened a few times.

 

There is also an argument that it makes the scars worse for a while then it eventually starts filling in and getting better.

 

What I know:

tazorac will make acne (or retin a) worse in beginning...and that can cause scarring.

 

Tazorac: Clears acne and improves photodamage, and peels the skin which may improve in overall skin appearance improvement.

 

Now:

 

I think that these retinoids have the power to improve the appearance of the larger scars and could also make smaller ones more noticeable. Not sure, depends, but could also improve those smaller ones with time too.

 

I need to do more research.

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(@usacc)

Posted : 01/05/2010 5:09 pm

Retin-a isn't gonna do ANYTHING for your scars.

 

They are depressed scars. You need 2-3 subcisions with a heavy laser like fraxel repair.

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(@sportsguy23)

Posted : 01/06/2010 4:19 pm

usacc: Retin A and tazorac does improve texture of skin over a process of 1-2 years...with dilligent use and control of breakouts your skin can improve somewhat. Will it improve as much as they want it? No probably not, but it can help.

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(@usacc)

Posted : 01/06/2010 8:54 pm

As far as I see, his skin seems pretty smooth in the first place, with wide depressions. The wide depressions have fibers that go deep into the skin and need to be cut. I don't see how retin-a or any sort of exfoliation will help to raise the depressions.

 

usacc: Retin A and tazorac does improve texture of skin over a process of 1-2 years...with dilligent use and control of breakouts your skin can improve somewhat. Will it improve as much as they want it? No probably not, but it can help.
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(@steviec)

Posted : 01/07/2010 6:24 am

Maybe a TCA Peel would help?

 

It may need to be worked up to something like 30% but could that raise the depressions?

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