Like many others before me, I have decided to keep a log on my needling progress.
So about me; I'm 27; I've had acne since I was 11. The worst of it was during my teens but I still get it now. I was on antibiotics for 3 years I think (on and off). I was advised to go on accutane but decided against it. The worst of the pits is on my cheeks, but I also have it on my forehead. I have bumps on my chin which I'm pretty sure is raised scarring but will have to get that checked out.
I've had numerous glycolic peels, lactic acid peels, microdermabrasions, easy TCA peels (about 15%). Neither have made a difference to my pits and only temporarily helps my discolouration.
I have been needling individual scars and dermarollong for nearly 2 years. I was aiming to do it once every 3 months but due to social life, it‚„s sometimes more like 4-5 months. Progress so far has been minimal but because I haven‚„t been taking pictures, it is hard to be positive.
I have also done TCA CROSS on my right cheek which made my scars shallow but slightly wider. I have decided not to continue with this; I don't want to ruin my 'normal' skin.
Products I use
Cleanser - Priori Gentle face cleanser (I have only been using this a month, I was using Neutrogena but I prefer this; skin feels softer).
Cellular Skin RX Vit C serum
Moisturiser - Priori Barrier Repair Complex
Sun Protection - Boots Soltan Once Sun cream (it has 5 start UVA protection and lasts 6 hours).
At night I try to use Skinceuticals 0.5 Retinol but my skin is very sensitive to it, so I'm only using it a couple of times a week, hopefully I will build this up. Otherwise I just use the Priori Moisturiser.
I've also had LED's for a year but to be honest I haven't been as consistent with them. To begin with, I was using it every night for approx 3 months, but I think I have lost my motivation with the LED's. I'm looking for a new one though, please let me know if there are any recommendations.
My last needling session was on the 14th April. I now plan on doing this every 6-8 weeks rather than 3 months. I will limit the use of my dermaroller and just do it every other session or so.
I have attached pics of my cheeks below which was taken on the 13th April 2010.
Right Cheek
Hi Dave, unfortunately, about 80-85% of that redness has existed for 10 years. I don't like it but I'm not really losing any sleep over it because at least it can be hidden under tons of makeup and concealer.
Once thatas hidden, the holes in my cheeks are still very noticeable. I know everyone has this problem but the pictures don't really show the worst of it. Those are definitely pitted scars that are still there when I stretch my skin. Yesterday, my 5 year old cousin asked me why I have strawberry skin!! (The redness was hidden so itas the holes he was referring to). He obviously wasn't trying to be mean; just saying what he sees.
Having said that, I do appreciate that my skin could be a lot worse!!
I have exactly your problem, but I think mine is more numerous and probably redder.
I noticed the area around your chin. Not to make you feel bad, but seems you have numerous soft micro-scars that give you that undulating appearance. I have it, but all over my chin, and lower cheek area. My icepick/boxscar scarring has improved thanks to the dermaroller, but I hope to improve those micro-scars as well. It gives me a bad old person appearance when the lighting hits me just right.
I just started derma rolling so I don't know the full results as of yet. I can see some improvement and I am confident it'll continue to work over months. My only issue is the redness. It was there from 15 years ago, it'll probably be there for years to come. Not sure how to get rid of it, but I don't expect to it go away now, especially because I just started rolling about 3 weeks ago.
This is my first picture BEFORE dermarolling. And yes I still have some active acne. I'm almost 30 years old and the bloody-sh*ts won't go away. I have been treating my acne since I was 15. Sometimes I win the fight for a while, then I lose it again. I decided I'm not stopping my scar treatments over a few breakouts.
Hi
I've just read the response to this post. I felt like I wasn't getting much success but I've always kept an eye on this forum without signing in.
Since this original post, I only needled once after this but I don't think it made any difference. Since then, I started on the obagi tretinoin with the blender. I was on the blender for a year but it didn't make much difference to the red marks so I gave up on that but continued with the tretinoin. However, whilst I've now been on tretinoin for almost 4 years, I shy away from wearing it more than 2 times a week because of all the dryness and irritation. I have tried recently to increase the usage and not worry about the irritation and I think my skin is beginning to tolerate it better...
I went for a consultation to the Zenith Clinic in Nottingham, in the hope that they would perform subcision so that I could try the subcision and suction method but I was told (unsurprisingly i guess) that subcision wouldn't work for my scars. She did however, recommend the dermaroller (I told her it didn't work for me but I didn't tell her I did it myself) and then recommended the EndyMed 3DEEP Fractional Skin Resurfacing. Has anyone heard of this?? I've done a small search and I'm not convinced, but apart from the usual selling crap, there doesn't seem to be much info/reviews on it.
So, I've decided to try the saline solution and the suction method. I'm aiming to do this every two weeks. I haven't seen many posts on saline and suction but it makes sense to me to try these together (from a layman perspective). I will attempt to post pics and keep you and myself updated on the progress.
Petpeeve
I have exactly your problem, but I think mine is more numerous and probably redder.
I noticed the area around your chin. Not to make you feel bad, but seems you have numerous soft micro-scars that give you that undulating appearance. I have it, but all over my chin, and lower cheek area. My icepick/boxscar scarring has improved thanks to the dermaroller, but I hope to improve those micro-scars as well. It gives me a bad old person appearance when the lighting hits me just right.
I just started derma rolling so I don't know the full results as of yet. I can see some improvement and I am confident it'll continue to work over months. My only issue is the redness. It was there from 15 years ago, it'll probably be there for years to come. Not sure how to get rid of it, but I don't expect to it go away now, especially because I just started rolling about 3 weeks ago.
This is my first picture BEFORE dermarolling. And yes I still have some active acne. I'm almost 30 years old and the bloody-sh*ts won't go away. I have been treating my acne since I was 15. Sometimes I win the fight for a while, then I lose it again. I decided I'm not stopping my scar treatments over a few breakouts.
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