Notifications
Clear all

Scar Success!

 
MemberMember
48
(@dc-girl-3)

Posted : 01/17/2014 4:11 pm

Hi everyone,

Here's my before and afters:

Just wanted to post my success for moral support and encouragement for anyone else like me that thought they'd NEVER make progress.

I had acne my whole life and it became cystic when I reached my late 20's. I had the worst acne of ANYONE I'd ever seen, I even had to have some surgical excision of cysts that never left. It was that bad. I don't use any acne products. I only wash my face once a day, don't even wash it in the mornings. I use coconut oil as a cleanser sometimes and a makeup remover if I wear make up.

The pics are about 2 years apart. I attribute the improvement in scarring to derma-stamping, single needling, STOPPING retin-A, silicone mircro-droplet injections, TCA spot treatment on scars and eating a healthy diet with no soy, grains, or unsaturated oils. There are some red areas in this after pic because I recently did some TCA spot treating on a couple icepick scars but I don't break out anymore and this redness is temporary and easily covered with make up.
I highly recommend derma-stamping and TCA for scars, when used cautiously and only if you've educated yourself on proper use. I really love using a 30%tca to spot treat small spots at a time because I don't have to hide in my house for 2 weeks that way, it's a slower longer process but I find that at least that way it actually gets done. As for stamping, I now do it once a month (or every 4-6 weeks) and I also just starting massaging my face and scars which feels good and brings blood flow to the surface of your skin making it healthier. There's a post somewhere on the forums here called "30min massage for scars" you can read which is very helpful too. I don't even use any cleansers except honey in the shower and sometimes coconut oil. I got rid of all the store bought, chemical laden crap. That being said, I do think salicylic acid, lactic acid and tca are good as long as they're not done too much, and health wise, I feel they're pretty safe to use. They're made from milk and fruit.
I used to think it would never get better and I'm so glad I was patient, took pictures, kept learning, and kept persevering.

MeShell22, George26, ScarsWillBeHistory and 12 people liked
Quote
MemberMember
14
(@luckydory)

Posted : 01/17/2014 4:17 pm

Guys, we may have something here. I haven't been this taken away in someones scar improvement in quite some time. Even if it took 2 years this is still amazing.

Quote
MemberMember
80
(@paigems)

Posted : 01/17/2014 4:32 pm

Congratulations and thanks for sharing! I think your skin looks awesome :)

Quote
MemberMember
48
(@dc-girl-3)

Posted : 01/17/2014 4:45 pm

On 1/17/2014 at 4:32 PM, paigems said:

Congratulations and thanks for sharing! I think your skin looks awesome

Thank you!

Quote
MemberMember
42
(@leadingforce)

Posted : 01/17/2014 5:06 pm

your scars look shallow so i guess fillers probably helped

Quote
MemberMember
5
(@hiddy-cheeks)

Posted : 01/17/2014 5:14 pm

Congrats, your skin looks great. Do you think any one treatment helped the most. How many silicone treatments did you get and can you microneedle after silicone?

Quote
MemberMember
48
(@dc-girl-3)

Posted : 01/17/2014 5:27 pm

On 1/17/2014 at 2:14 PM, Hiddy Cheeks said:

Congrats, your skin looks great. Do you think any one treatment helped the most. How many silicone treatments did you get and can you needle after silicone?

TCA and needling did most of the work, although the micro-droplets did help, but I'm not sure how much exactly. I got one treatment.

And yes, you can microneedle after silicone. I really like needling because it makes you look better right away without much, if any downtime.

On 1/17/2014 at 2:06 PM, LeadingForce said:

your scars look shallow so i guess fillers probably helped

You can "guess" whatever you want but I listed ALL the things that I did above. Silicone isn't bad, not at all, but I would never look that good, if I had only done that. I think silicone is good to get a person jumpstarted because it's not that pricy and you see results quickly, but TCA and stamping are sooooo much cheaper and you can do it at home.

Quote
MemberMember
42
(@leadingforce)

Posted : 01/17/2014 5:44 pm

On 1/17/2014 at 2:27 PM, DC-girl said:
On 1/17/2014 at 2:14 PM, Hiddy Cheeks said:

Congrats, your skin looks great. Do you think any one treatment helped the most. How many silicone treatments did you get and can you microneedle after silicone?

TCA and needling did most of the work, although the micro-droplets did help, but I'm not sure how much exactly. I got one treatment.

And yes, you can microneedle after silicone. I really like needling because it makes you look better right away without much, if any downtime.

On 1/17/2014 at 2:06 PM, LeadingForce said:

>your scars look shallow so i guess fillers probably helped

You can "guess" whatever you want but I listed ALL the things that I did above. Silicone isn't bad, not at all, but I would never look that good, if I had only done that. I think silicone is good to get a person jumpstarted because it's not that pricy and you see results quickly, but TCA and stamping are sooooo much cheaper and you can do it at home.

it is cheaper but it takes 2 years and nobody wants to wait that long lol

Quote
MemberMember
48
(@dc-girl-3)

Posted : 01/17/2014 5:53 pm

On 1/17/2014 at 2:44 PM, LeadingForce said:
On 1/17/2014 at 2:27 PM, DC-girl said:
On 1/17/2014 at 2:14 PM, Hiddy Cheeks said:

Congrats, your skin looks great. Do you think any one treatment helped the most. How many silicone treatments did you get and can you microneedle after silicone?

TCA and needling did most of the work, although the micro-droplets did help, but I'm not sure how much exactly. I got one treatment.

And yes, you can microneedle after silicone. I really like needling because it makes you look better right away without much, if any downtime.

On Invalid Date at NaN:NaN PM, LeadingForce said:

>

>>your scars look shallow so i guess fillers probably

helpedlockquote>

You can "guess" whatever you want but I listed ALL the things that I did above. Silicone isn't bad, not at all, but I would never look that good, if I had only done that. I think silicone is good to get a person jumpstarted because it's not that pricy and you see results quickly, but TCA and stamping are sooooo much cheaper and you can do it at home.

blockquote>

it is cheaper but it takes 2 years and nobody wants to wait that long lol

lockquote>

Silicone is faster but to be honest I noticed more from the tca and needling.

Actually, the needling makes you look good IMMEDIATELY, not 2 years later, but then the swelling goes down and it's not quite as great as it was the 1st day.

But with tca, I've had times where I saw immediate improvement after only 1 treatment.

The pics I posted are to show everything I've done in 2 years time, and the total effect of that, but TCA will often give you results within only a month or two.

Quote
MemberMember
42
(@leadingforce)

Posted : 01/17/2014 7:12 pm

maybe multiple tca peels will improve it slightly but never get rid of

Quote
MemberMember
252
(@robertitoo)

Posted : 01/17/2014 8:07 pm

LeadingForce, remember DCgirl isn't the only person to pretty much 'cure' her scars..

anyways DCgirl..i'm so happy for you! patience paid off! I have one question regarding you stopping Retin A..why did you? did you use it properly? explain please.

again, congratulations

Quote
MemberMember
48
(@dc-girl-3)

Posted : 01/17/2014 8:52 pm

On 1/17/2014 at 5:07 PM, Robertitoo said:

LeadingForce, remember DCgirl isn't the only person to pretty much 'cure' her scars..

anyways DCgirl..i'm so happy for you! patience paid off! I have one question regarding you stopping Retin A..why did you? did you use it properly? explain please.

again, congratulations

Thank you!

Yes, I used Retin-a properly. I used it exactly how my derm told me to, pea sized amount daily.

I stopped using it because I read about the deaths in a Tretinoin-Retin-A Trial that the FDA was silent about.

The purpose of trial was to establish the effectiveness of Retin-A as a chemoprevention intervention for nonmelanoma skin cancer. The trial failed to demonstrate effectiveness as a cancer prevention treatment. Instead, there were statistically significant, unanticipated extra deaths among those applying tretinoin, compared with those given a placebo: the trial was terminated 6 months early (in 2004).

They used:

"Interventions: Application of tretinoin, 0.1%, or vehicle control cream twice daily to the face and ears.

Main Outcome Measures: Death, which was not contemplated as an end point in the original study design.

Results: The intervention was terminated 6months early because of an excessive number of deaths in the tretinoin treated group. Post-hoc analysis of this difference revealed minor imbalances in age, comorbidity, and smoking status, all of which were important predictors of death. After adjusting for these imbalances, the difference in mortality between the randomized groups remained statistically significant."

I didn't see any reason to keep using it, It costs a lot, it didn't keep me clear, and it didn't make my skin look good. In the before picture of my scarring you can see how crappy and lifeless my skin looks. THAT was when I was using retin-A.

It also made the texture of my skin weak and I started reading a lot more about the damage of retin-A on essesntial day spa, so I knew I wasn't the only one experiencing that.

It seemed like I actually scarred easier when I used it, like it was thinning my skin out and and ever since I stopped my skin is so much more plump and healthy and rosy looking.

On 1/17/2014 at 4:12 PM, LeadingForce said:

maybe multiple tca peels will improve it slightly but never get rid of

I had newer shallow scars that were completely eliminated after one application of 30% tca.

On 1/17/2014 at 2:44 PM, LeadingForce said:
On 1/17/2014 at 2:27 PM, DC-girl said:
On 1/17/2014 at 2:14 PM, Hiddy Cheeks said:

Congrats, your skin looks great. Do you think any one treatment helped the most. How many silicone treatments did you get and can you microneedle after silicone?

TCA and needling did most of the work, although the micro-droplets did help, but I'm not sure how much exactly. I got one treatment.

And yes, you can microneedle after silicone. I really like needling because it makes you look better right away without much, if any downtime.

On Invalid Date at NaN:NaN PM, LeadingForce said:

>>your scars look shallow so i guess fillers probably

helpedlockquote>

You can "guess" whatever you want but I listed ALL the things that I did above. Silicone isn't bad, not at all, but I would never look that good, if I had only done that. I think silicone is good to get a person jumpstarted because it's not that pricy and you see results quickly, but TCA and stamping are sooooo much cheaper and you can do it at

home.

it is cheaper but it takes 2 years and nobody wants to wait that long lol

Just wanna mention, it might only take 10 months for someone else to do what took me 2 years. I did my treatments randomly, and in frequently. I wasn't even religious about it, not to mention I only got totally clear a year ago so the first year of scar treatments weren't very effective because I was still breaking out and wasn't as focused on scarring as I was on the acne.

Quote
MemberMember
252
(@robertitoo)

Posted : 01/17/2014 9:25 pm

Awesome!! Can't wait to try TCA 30% soon. At the moment I am prepping my skin with Retin A...regarding Retin A I think I will stick with it for a while, at least 6 months and seee what it does. Apparently, the first few months are the worse since your skin is getting accustomed to the strong cream.

Did you prep your skin with an exfoliator prior to Tca 30%?

and how many dermastamp/needling treatments did you do in the span of a year? I assume 7-9? How many TCA?

Quote
MemberMember
48
(@dc-girl-3)

Posted : 01/17/2014 9:29 pm

Awesome!! Can't wait to try TCA 30% soon. At the moment I am prepping my skin with Retin A...regarding Retin A I think I will stick with it for a while, at least 6 months and seee what it does. Apparently, the first few months are the worse since your skin is getting accustomed to the strong cream.

Did you prep your skin with an exfoliator prior to Tca 30%?

No, I generally avoid exfoliating, just make sure your skin is clean and dry. And you're supposed to work your way up to the 30%, so if you haven't used the 15% yet, you might wanna use that one first.

And FYI, if you're on retin-A the TCA instructions say to stay off of it for about 7-10 days prior to the application. That's another reason I don't use it.

You will have some downtime with TCA when it's done properly, it frosts your skin and then scabs over and you have to wait for the scab to fall off naturally, and then there will be redness for a while, at least 2-3 weeks, and sometimes much longer.

Quote
MemberMember
252
(@robertitoo)

Posted : 01/17/2014 9:48 pm

You are essentially exfoliating your skin using chemical peels but oohkay. :P Awesome. Yea I have 30% I plan on diluting it to 15% the first time I use it :)

Quote
MemberMember
48
(@dc-girl-3)

Posted : 01/17/2014 9:53 pm

On 1/17/2014 at 9:48 PM, Robertitoo said:

You are essentially exfoliating your skin using chemical peels but oohkay.  Awesome. Yea I have 30% I plan on diluting it to 15% the first time I use it 

Yes, what I meant is, I don't use any "scrubs" on my skin.

Good luck with the TCA, I'm rooting for you! ;)

Quote
MemberMember
42
(@leadingforce)

Posted : 01/17/2014 10:20 pm

i doubt 30% tca chemica peels wipe away shallow scars because i have tried it already and my scars are shallow

Quote
MemberMember
48
(@dc-girl-3)

Posted : 01/17/2014 10:49 pm

.

i doubt 30% tca chemica peels wipe away shallow scars because i have tried it already and my scars are shallow

Feel free to doubt all you want. I'm not gonna waste my time trying to convince you. It eliminated a couple of scars for me that were new, shallow scars. That's a fact, end of story.

Sorry you haven't had good luck. If your diet is bad, you might not be healing as well, or maybe your scars are old, which means they need more than 1 treatment. Or maybe you didn't do it right, or maybe you used a crappy tca, the possibilities are endless, my friend.

Quote
MemberMember
42
(@leadingforce)

Posted : 01/17/2014 11:42 pm

.

 

i doubt 30% tca chemica peels wipe away shallow scars because i have tried it already and my scars are shallow

Feel free to doubt all you want. I'm not gonna waste my time trying to convince you. It eliminated a couple of scars for me that were new, shallow scars. That's a fact, end of story.

Sorry you haven't had good luck. If your diet is bad, you might not be healing as well, or maybe your scars are old, which means they need more than 1 treatment. Or maybe you didn't do it right, or maybe you used a crappy tca, the possibilities are endless, my friend.

or 30% tca peel wouldnt be strong enough to read the dermis to fix the scars or you would get second degree burns

Quote
MemberMember
48
(@dc-girl-3)

Posted : 01/18/2014 12:17 am

On 1/17/2014 at 8:42 PM, LeadingForce said:
On 1/17/2014 at 7:49 PM, DC-girl said:

.

On 1/17/2014 at 7:20 PM, LeadingForce said:

i doubt 30% tca chemica peels wipe away shallow scars because i have tried it already and my scars are shallow

Feel free to doubt all you want. I'm not gonna waste my time trying to convince you. It eliminated a couple of scars for me that were new, shallow scars. That's a fact, end of story.

Sorry you haven't had good luck. If your diet is bad, you might not be healing as well, or maybe your scars are old, which means they need more than 1 treatment. Or maybe you didn't do it right, or maybe you used a crappy tca, the possibilities are endless, my friend.

or 30% tca peel wouldnt be strong enough to read the dermis to fix the scars or you would get second degree burns

Dude. A tca peel IS a chemical burn. And if you have a scar that's too deep, of course you should microneedle it or go another route if you're not getting success with TCA.

What are you after here? I have before and after pics and laid out exactly how I got here just to be helpful. What's your goal? Trying to dissuade someone from improving their scars with TCA? Why? Because they might burn themselves? OF COURSE YOU CAN BURN YOURSELF, IT'S AN ACID. A TCA peel is simply controlled damage. That's why I VERY CLEARLY said in my initial post, that I recommend TCA when you've educated yourself and it's used cautiously and properly. Is there anything on this planet that can't hurt you when you're not prepared or don't handle it properly? A kitten could claw you in the eye and put your eye out if you're careless enough.

And if a scar's too deep for TCA, then use needling or other means, I never said TCA is the only way to treat scars, I just said it brought immediate improvement in some newer shallow ones I had. That's it. I clearly stated I used both of these AND SEVERAL OTHER TACTICS BESIDES ACIDS to get where I am now.

I'm just telling people what I've done and what works for me. I do this because I know the agony of hopelessness that many people with scars have.

acnescars2000, Karen*, Nydude and 2 people liked
Quote
MemberMember
456
(@sirius-lee)

Posted : 01/18/2014 3:16 am

DC Girl,

First of all, OMG, sing hallelujah! That is one big leap, girl! |::) Seriously, you look stunning.

So I have a few questions. I too have just implemented the tiny single microneedling into my masochistic regimen and I would like to know what is your weapon of choice. Insulin lancet? Does it even make any difference as long as you are able to poke till you drop? (I can already hear somebody cheering Boo-yeah!)

 

Quote
MemberMember
0
(@searching2014)

Posted : 01/18/2014 7:54 am

Congratulations on your success!

I have a question on single needling, do you also poke the borders of the scars or just in the scars?

Quote
MemberMember
4
(@scartagnan)

Posted : 01/18/2014 8:18 am

DC-girl your skin looks fantastic. Congratulations!

When you said you cut out unsaturated fats, did you mean to say saturated fats? Are you saying these diet changes helped your needling success or were you more talking about getting rid the acne?

I'd also be interested to know how old your scars were and how old you are, if that's not too personal a question.

Thank you so much for posting.your success, it really helps to give hope.

Quote
MemberMember
42
(@leadingforce)

Posted : 01/18/2014 9:58 am

On 1/17/2014 at 9:17 PM, DC-girl said:
On 1/17/2014 at 8:42 PM, LeadingForce said:
On 1/17/2014 at 7:49 PM, DC-girl said:

.

On 1/17/2014 at 7:20 PM, LeadingForce said:

i doubt 30% tca chemica peels wipe away shallow scars because i have tried it already and my scars are shallow

Feel free to doubt all you want. I'm not gonna waste my time trying to convince you. It eliminated a couple of scars for me that were new, shallow scars. That's a fact, end of story.

Sorry you haven't had good luck. If your diet is bad, you might not be healing as well, or maybe your scars are old, which means they need more than 1 treatment. Or maybe you didn't do it right, or maybe you used a crappy tca, the possibilities are endless, my friend.

or 30% tca peel wouldnt be strong enough to read the dermis to fix the scars or you would get second degree burns

Dude. A tca peel IS a chemical burn. And if you have a scar that's too deep, of course you should microneedle it or go another route if you're not getting success with TCA.

What are you after here? I have before and after pics and laid out exactly how I got here just to be helpful. What's your goal? Trying to dissuade someone from improving their scars with TCA? Why? Because they might burn themselves? OF COURSE YOU CAN BURN YOURSELF, IT'S AN ACID. A TCA peel is simply controlled damage. That's why I VERY CLEARLY said in my initial post, that I recommend TCA when you've educated yourself and it's used cautiously and properly. Is there anything on this planet that can't hurt you when you're not prepared or don't handle it properly? A kitten could claw you in the eye and put your eye out if you're careless enough.

And if a scar's too deep for TCA, then use needling or other means, I never said TCA is the only way to treat scars, I just said it brought immediate improvement in some newer shallow ones I had. That's it. I clearly stated I used both of these AND SEVERAL OTHER TACTICS BESIDES ACIDS to get where I am now.

I'm just telling people what I've done and what works for me. I do this because I know the agony of hopelessness that many people with scars have.

youre the only one getting upset here haha im just reply to your post relax and letting people know not to get there hopes up thinking it will remove there scars

Quote
MemberMember
48
(@dc-girl-3)

Posted : 01/18/2014 11:16 am

On 1/18/2014 at 6:58 AM, LeadingForce said:
On 1/17/2014 at 9:17 PM, DC-girl said:
On 1/17/2014 at 8:42 PM, LeadingForce said:
On 1/17/2014 at 7:49 PM, DC-girl said:

.

On 1/17/2014 at 7:20 PM, LeadingForce said:

i doubt 30% tca chemica peels wipe away shallow scars because i have tried it already and my scars are shallow

Feel free to doubt all you want. I'm not gonna waste my time trying to convince you. It eliminated a couple of scars for me that were new, shallow scars. That's a fact, end of story.

Sorry you haven't had good luck. If your diet is bad, you might not be healing as well, or maybe your scars are old, which means they need more than 1 treatment. Or maybe you didn't do it right, or maybe you used a crappy tca, the possibilities are endless, my friend.

or 30% tca peel wouldnt be strong enough to read the dermis to fix the scars or you would get second degree burns

Dude. A tca peel IS a chemical burn. And if you have a scar that's too deep, of course you should microneedle it or go another route if you're not getting success with TCA.

What are you after here? I have before and after pics and laid out exactly how I got here just to be helpful. What's your goal? Trying to dissuade someone from improving their scars with TCA? Why? Because they might burn themselves? OF COURSE YOU CAN BURN YOURSELF, IT'S AN ACID. A TCA peel is simply controlled damage. That's why I VERY CLEARLY said in my initial post, that I recommend TCA when you've educated yourself and it's used cautiously and properly. Is there anything on this planet that can't hurt you when you're not prepared or don't handle it properly? A kitten could claw you in the eye and put your eye out if you're careless enough.

And if a scar's too deep for TCA, then use needling or other means, I never said TCA is the only way to treat scars, I just said it brought immediate improvement in some newer shallow ones I had. That's it. I clearly stated I used both of these AND SEVERAL OTHER TACTICS BESIDES ACIDS to get where I am now.

I'm just telling people what I've done and what works for me. I do this because I know the agony of hopelessness that many people with scars have.

youre the only one getting upset here haha im just reply to your post relax and letting people know not to get there hopes up thinking it will remove there scars

Well the whole reason for my post is hope.

Hope is healthy. Not expectation, but hope, there's a difference.

And I had fabulous success with TCA on shallow, newer, atrophic type scarring but if it's the older, white, hard, knotted kind, it will need to be stamped/needled.

On 1/18/2014 at 12:16 AM, Sirius Lee said:

 

I really love the tiny single insulin lancets, because they're so cheap and easy to get but I recently invested in the microneedle from owndoc because according to them you shouldn't go quite so deep. I'm not sure if that's true but that's what I'm currently using anyhow. I would just read the directions for single needling on Owndoc, they pretty much have it down to a science.

I just pricked at each scar until it was to swollen and/or bleeding and I couldn't really see any untouched areas. And yes it's a good idea (IF YOUR SKIN IS STRONG ENOUGH; I.E. NOT ON RETIN-A) to pivot and reach underneath the scar at an angle. I did that many times. I have one caveat though, just because you wanna create enough injury to sustain a cascade healing reaction isn't the same as just mutilating your face, so don't go overboard, but make sure you're bleeding and that you cover all the surface area of the scar thoroughly.

For depth, I go as far as I can, 1mm, I'll go 1mm deep. Other than single micro needle, my 2nd weapon of choice is the Derma-stamp and so that is straight on- not at an angle.

Quote