Hi everyone.
Long story short, broke out very badly when I was 19 and I'm still looking to improve my acne scars (I'm 23 now). I did my first ablative CO2 procedure in May and had some success. The key was initial PEELING three to four days after the surgery. There is collagen reproduction over time, but it only helped maybe 10 percent. I had a second procedure of the same treatment three months later, no peeling at all and a minimal 10-15 percent collagen reproduction over the next six months. I just had a third ablative CO2 laser resurfacing procedure a week ago and again had no peeling. 
Really bummed about this, because while I know my skin will improve slightly over the next few months, seeing clumps of skin from my scars come off is what results in more dramatic results. I feel like I am now immune to peeling.
I am wondering what I should do next. I would say I benefited 30 percent from the first procedure, and 10 percent from the following two. Is my skin now immune to the laser? Should I try dermabrasion? I am going to do MSM cream because I heard it helps and at this point I'll do anything I can. This sucks, because I'll see a girl from across the room and clearly she is interested. I walk up in bad lighting and once she sees me up close and personal she is immediately turned off. I know many of you can sympathize.
Should I try Deep FX laser? Or would that most likely not differ too much in results from Mixto? I'm looking for options, but I think I may be stuck with acne scars for the rest of my life. My confidence has taken a significant hit. I still have a lot of friends and some girls still find me attractive, but I am not living up to my full potential and it eats away at me. Any advice would be helpful.
Have a great day.
Thanks for your reply. Yes, the first procedure the settings were aggressive and did a solid job (Peeling). Second treatment he went even more aggressive because I asked him to and it took me an additional week to recover (No peeling). Third procedure I went back to the first settings and it had the same effect as the second treatment (no peeling). That's why I feel that my scars aren't peeling or responding like they should to the laser. Having varied the settings twice and still seeing the same mundane results.
Who was your doctor, if you don't mind? This is the first time I've ever read about this. I know that with Deep FX, there is no crusting or peeling because it penetrates very deeply and has a very small spot size. I've had a test spot done before with Deep FX (no Active FX) and there was pinpoint bleeding but no crusting or peeling. I've never heard about that from Mixto, which is interesting.
Your results from the first treatment may have largely been superficial. Your thinking may actually be backward, the deeper treatments peel less than less aggressive treatments.
Scars always look a little filled in after a chemical peel, for example, especially when you peel. Give it enough time and you will be back where you started.
Does your doctor say peeling is the key? If you're trusting this guy/gal to blast your face then their opinion on the matter might be worth something.
I know plenty of guys with scarred faces with great girls. They may be responding to your drop in confidence as they walk towards you and you anticipate the worse. Stereotypically women pick up on emotional cues much better than men, so you are probably projecting negativity without realizing it.
Thanks again for your responses. You are probably right about the confidence part, Green Gables. I need to work on that. It just looks very bad in some lighting. He said that I can expect 40 percent improvement from each treatment when I first met him (20 right off the bat with peeling and another 20 over time with collagen regrowth). So when I don't even experience any peeling on my scars (there was peeling on my forehead and areas around my scars), then half of the treatment's value is down the drain.
what kind of scars do you have?
try subcision?
'Forty-six patients followed the protocol completely, had 60“90% improvement in depth and size of scars
