I have uneven skin texture (like orange peel) and ice pick scars. I sweat more than anybody I know, which explains large pores I have on my forehead/cheek/nose. Also suffering from minor hyperpigmentation and strawberry nose
I've tried "everything" except excision and punch grafts. Treatments I have tried are:
CO2 laser, Fraxel:repair, dermaroller, dermastamp, single needle, TCA peels (up to 45%, entire face), lactic peels, glycolic peels, microdermabrasion, Intracel, Legato, and finally subscision. What a list haha.
Also tried vit C serum, copper peptide, vit B serum, and MSM lotion. I tried retin-a for about a week and my skin could not handle it.
In my experience, Fraxel repair did was not worth it for the amount of downtime and result I got. Also, my skin became very sensitive afterward. The only thing I have not tried is TCA CROSS (spot treatment), but I want to fix uneven skin texture and blackheads/large pores on my nose at the same time.
I am not saying I want to fix everything in one treatment, but in a gradual manner. This is still an ambitious goal, but I still want to have my hope up. My main concern is orange peel like skin texture then strawberry like nose. Ice pick scars come last in my priority. Any suggestion in these three conditions would be greatly appreciated
Accutane isn't going to do anything for the texture of your skin/scars.
May I ask how many sessions of derma stamping you've done? And how much improvement you've received since starting all of these treatments? A lot of your scars are small but have harsh edges which may explain why you haven't had as much improvement as you'd like. I would personally recommend trying saline injections for the actual scars themselves (won't help with enlarged pores) as that will help to free the tethering that is probably holding your scar down. It's relatively inexpensive so it's definitely worth looking into, especially if all else has failed. It works best on small boxcar scars like what you mostly have.
Thank you all for the input. I was on accutane for almost a year to control my oily skin and acne. I still get acne here and there from stress and taking biotin. FWIW, I am one of those "weird" people who can't take fish oil at all because it breaks me out horribly.
I had dermastamping done at least four times, but I can't remember the exact number. I have not tried saline injection because I heard it is very risky. On the other hand, I realize that doing 45% TCA peel was probably more risky than saline injection, so I might give it a try now. Is there any downtime from the treatment?
One thing I forgot to do before treating my scar is taking a baseline photo. I have no idea how bad my scars looked before I got all these treatments. I think some definitely got better, but some got worse because the boundary between scar and normal skin tissue was removed from each treatment (scar->heal process), resulting in uneven skin texture I have currently.
Saline injections are pretty low to no risk. I think you might be confusing that with SILICONE injections. That's an entirely different subject. Sounds like you are giving me a run for my money with that list of procedures. I totally understand the feeling of doing many varied procedures and not getting the results one wants.
That said, I don't think saline injections are indicated for this. They are basically another form of subcision, and I'm not seeing rolling scars. You have ice picks and a somewhat shiny texture. Do you believe this was from Fraxel Repair?
Saline injections are probably the least risky procedure out there for scars right now, silicone injections on the other hand are pretty risk especially years down the road. I originally thought saline injections were intended for rolling scars, but I read an article in Dermatology Times where Dr. Sire, the doctor who pioneered the procedure, stated it was actually best for very small boxcar scars. I'm seeing a lot of those in your pictures, as well as what looks like scarred pores and uneven texture.
Four sessions of derma stamping isn't going to give you what you're looking for, unfortunately. I think you should continue with that every 6 weeks and use 1.5 mm to target your scars and the areas around the scar to really help tighten the skin. Stamping just the scar can help to "reorganize" the dense collagen/scar tissue but to actually tighten the skin and reduce the appearance of the scar you will need to stamp around it as well. With that said, it will probably be best to stamp your entire cheek to create an even, uniform tightening effect.
Also, I may be paranoid, but before I considered pursuing scar treatments, I actually went in and got tested for vitamin levels and an ANA to clear any possibility of impaired wound healing. I found out I was not only iron deficient anemic, but also severely deficient in other vitamins that would have probably created a detrimental effect on my skin had I started invasive or even non invasive treatments. I was really shocked as I had always maintained a pretty healthy diet and took multivitamins. So for anyone who is looking to start scar treatment or currently doing so with little success, it may be worth getting that checked out. Again, I might just be paranoid, but at the end of the day it's your face and it's not worth doing more harm than good.
That's pretty interesting about the saline injections and the nutrient deficiencies. Did the doctor recommend any specific things to treat the vitamin deficiencies? I've always had issues with healing, which just may be my physiology, but it's interesting to know that there may be something else going on.
I've been doing some research on Recell. It seems like a safe way to go with stuff like this. It is in the experimental stage and the FDA hasn't approved it for the states yet (that I know of) but it seems amazing. The few people that have treated their acne scars with it have had good results. It would be worth looking into if you've tried everything.
Four sessions of derma stamping isn't going to give you what you're looking for, unfortunately. I think you should continue with that every 6 weeks and use 1.5 mm to target your scars and the areas around the scar to really help tighten the skin. Stamping just the scar can help to "reorganize" the dense collagen/scar tissue but to actually tighten the skin and reduce the appearance of the scar you will need to stamp around it as well. With that said, it will probably be best to stamp your entire cheek to create an even, uniform tightening effect.
I tried about 4 dermastamp (1.5mm) sessions, 5 professional dermarolling (1.0 mm) sessions, and 2~3 home dermarolling (1.5 mm) sessions. I don't think they help much... tbh
Dude my scarring is somewhat similar to yours and I have been getting improvements from dermastamping. What needle length did you use? I'm currently doing 2.0mm
I tried 1.5 mm. Before that, I used 2.0 mm on my nose which created massive scars. I hope nobody makes stupid mistakes I did.
Four sessions of derma stamping isn't going to give you what you're looking for, unfortunately. I think you should continue with that every 6 weeks and use 1.5 mm to target your scars and the areas around the scar to really help tighten the skin. Stamping just the scar can help to "reorganize" the dense collagen/scar tissue but to actually tighten the skin and reduce the appearance of the scar you will need to stamp around it as well. With that said, it will probably be best to stamp your entire cheek to create an even, uniform tightening effect.
I tried about 4 dermastamp (1.5mm) sessions, 5 professional dermarolling (1.0 mm) sessions, and 2~3 home dermarolling (1.5 mm) sessions. I don't think they help much... tbh
>>Dude my scarring is somewhat similar to yours and I have been getting improvements from dermastamping. What needle length did you use? I'm currently doing 2.0mm
I tried 1.5 mm. Before that, I used 2.0 mm on my nose which created massive scars. I hope nobody makes stupid mistakes I did.
When you stretch the skin on your cheeks, do the scars flatten pretty easily or is there some resistance? That can help you to determine how dense the scar tissue is.
That's pretty interesting about the saline injections and the nutrient deficiencies. Did the doctor recommend any specific things to treat the vitamin deficiencies? I've always had issues with healing, which just may be my physiology, but it's interesting to know that there may be something else going on.
Yes, I take iron everyday, as well as b12, vitamin D and vitamin C. I had actually needled my skin about a year ago, once, and was left with a very odd looking scar on my face that I'm certain was from needling. It's about two inches long, and although really shallow, is still very obvious. Since anemia affects wound healing to a great extent, I definitely think it was due to that. I've needled recently and didn't have any problems.
When you stretch the skin on your cheeks, do the scars flatten pretty easily or is there some resistance? That can help you to determine how dense the scar tissue is.
After all those treatments I had for past two years and half, my skin is very tender. When I went to Korea for legato treatment this past spring, dermatologist told me my scar tissues are almost all broken up. I had cystic acne and picked on them, so my scar was very dense with deep scar tissue
Maybe I am finally ready to start the real healing process now that the scar band's are tender? I am really not sure.