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Bad acne scarring

MemberMember
8
(@fergyferguson20)

Posted : 01/12/2016 9:06 am

Hi guys

I have stuggled with acne on and off fora good 4-5 years now. During the early-mid stages of my acne, I was a bit of an acne picker, as I was young and carefree about any future scars I could get as long as I got rid of the acne I had at the time. The acne was predominately on the left side of my face during this phase of picking, so I've been left with a rough looking left cheek. Anyway, acne wise things are looking up from where they were six months ago - I'm currently in the end of my third month of accutane and have seen significant improvement. But unforunately many many red marks (which I know will fade) and scarring left behind have put a huge dint in my cofidence. :( 

Now, I know not to do any scarring treatments until six months after my accutane course finishes, however I'd like some help in advance.

I have attached images of my scarring, and would like to know what you guys would recommend in treating these scars when I get around to it - whether it be dermarolling, subcision, laser or something else.

These scars honestly hurt my confidence a lot so I'm aiming for a 70-80% improvement by the end of this year. And no I'm not expecting to get back 100% smooth skin ever again, I'm aware it's very unlikely.

I will be sure to keep you guys updated on my acne scarring journey when I get around to it, however I think that will be towards the back end of the year. 

Thanks in advance,
fergy :) 

image.png

image.png

P.s. The second photo attached really doesn't do my scarring justice on how bad it really is, under the right lighting it's quite bad, as you can see more from the first photo attached.

also, it may look like I've got a big dip in my cheekbone from scarring in the first photo also, but that's mainly just my natural cheekbone

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MemberMember
13
(@foreveralone)

Posted : 01/12/2016 10:30 am

if they are not very deep laser will help (but only few doctors are good at using laser see before after pics of the doctors treated patients ), rf needling and possiibly fillers (if u r okay with them) will help .. try to post ur pics on realself u will get some doctors advice .. here we are all struggling and trying to figure out whats best .. but to be true only 1 or 2 people have succeded treating there scars here .. so try to go to a good derm .. if possible

Lilc97 liked
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MemberMember
8
(@fergyferguson20)

Posted : 01/13/2016 2:53 am

16 hours ago, foreveralone said:

if they are not very deep laser will help (but only few doctors are good at using laser see before after pics of the doctors treated patients ), rf needling and possiibly fillers (if u r okay with them) will help .. try to post ur pics on realself u will get some doctors advice .. here we are all struggling and trying to figure out whats best .. but to be true only 1 or 2 people have succeded treating there scars here .. so try to go to a good derm .. if possible

Will do, thanks man!

Be positive! Not many have completely cleared their scars but I've seen many posts with significant improvement, and as time goes on treatments will only get better

 

More responses would be greatly appreciated guys

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MemberMember
403
(@f93d)

Posted : 01/13/2016 5:02 am

70-80% improvement is a miracle for scar treatments.

I've had much faster progress with lasers and subcision compared to dermarolling; I've rolled over 25 times since 2010 and have maybe gotten a 15% improvement.

An aggressive laser makes the most sense for your goals. Add in subcision. PRP optional. There are already multiple threads dedicated to it. Just know the risks - I chose to go slow and raise the laser intensity with each treatment.

With all my treatments, I'm probably at a 25% improvement (which really is nothing b/c the scars are all still there). Hope your results are better.

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MemberMember
8
(@fergyferguson20)

Posted : 01/13/2016 10:08 am

5 hours ago, f93d said:

70-80% improvement is a miracle for scar treatments.

I've had much faster progress with lasers and subcision compared to dermarolling; I've rolled over 25 times since 2010 and have maybe gotten a 15% improvement.

An aggressive laser makes the most sense for your goals. Add in subcision. PRP optional. There are already multiple threads dedicated to it. Just know the risks - I chose to go slow and raise the laser intensity with each treatment.

With all my treatments, I'm probably at a 25% improvement (which really is nothing b/c the scars are all still there). Hope your results are better.

yeah look, I understand acne scars aren't easy to improve, but I could show you multiple cases off this website alone where I've seen at least 50-60% improvement in scars, and what looks like 70-80% in a few. I suppose it all depends on your types of scars, your skin, and the doctors/treatmentsyou go with.

Do do you think you'll see much more improvement from your 25%?

Thanks very much much for your reply though, you seem to be quite knowledged in the area so I appreciate your opinion.

also, what's PRP?

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MemberMember
4
(@leadingease)

Posted : 01/13/2016 11:24 am

look for a board certified doctor that skilled in what he does before you decide / you want a place where they provide more then one method for scars because every scar is different and needs different treatment and not just a place where they only advertise what they have

https://www.realself.com/find/Australia/Brisbane/Dermatologist/Davin-Lim#photo-2155840 is a very good doctor that lives in australia his before and afters gives hope

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MemberMember
8
(@fergyferguson20)

Posted : 01/13/2016 7:20 pm

7 hours ago, LeadingEase said:

look for a board certified doctor that skilled in what he does before you decide / you want a place where they provide more then one method for scars because every scar is different and needs different treatment and not just a place where they only advertise what they have

https://www.realself.com/find/Australia/Brisbane/Dermatologist/Davin-Lim#photo-2155840 is a very good doctor that lives in australia his before and afters gives hope

I've actually stumbled across him before and he seems to have the best before and after shots of anyone I've seen in Australia. Unfortunately I'm from NSW so it's a bit hard for me to get there. Do you happen to know anyone in NSW that gets quite good results?

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MemberMember
270
(@blahblahblahblahz)

Posted : 01/14/2016 11:18 am

Dr. Davin Lim is the real deal. His before and afters are seriously the best I have seen that are believable.

I just found his new youtube channel the to other day and he has posted some great acne scarring videos.

This one is pretty damn good. Seriously, if I was anywhere in Australia, I'd find a way to get to him.

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MemberMember
12
(@bee4acne)

Posted : 01/14/2016 6:25 pm

Oh my god his work is amazing. The before and after of that guy is the best I've ever seen.

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MemberMember
270
(@blahblahblahblahz)

Posted : 01/14/2016 9:20 pm

I like that he specified that the after video was taken 10 weeks after the last treatment. So what is shown is actual results and not post op swelling.

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MemberMember
252
(@robertitoo)

Posted : 01/14/2016 11:43 pm

His work is great. Great tenacity and is very meticulous!

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MemberMember
403
(@f93d)

Posted : 01/15/2016 11:17 am

 

On 1/13/2016, 748, fergyferguson20 said:

yeah look, I understand acne scars aren't easy to improve, but I could show you multiple cases off this website alone where I've seen at least 50-60% improvement in scars, and what looks like 70-80% in a few. I suppose it all depends on your types of scars, your skin, and the doctors/treatmentsyou go with.

Do do you think you'll see much more improvement from your 25%?

Thanks very much much for your reply though, you seem to be quite knowledged in the area so I appreciate your opinion.

also, what's PRP?

Dr. Rahimi did my treatments for laser - as far as I know, one of the better ones in California. He also has amazing before and after pictures on realself with near 100% improvement, and others on this forum got 50%+ improvement. I got around 10%. This forum has a lot of hype for some treatments just because one person managed huge improvements.

I don't expect anymore improvement. The rolling scars were the easiest to treat and those have improved by 75%+. The boxcar scars won't budge (which is what I mostly have).

But yes, like the above posts mentioned, choose a good doctor.

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MemberMember
23
(@friskycreek)

Posted : 01/15/2016 11:35 am

To add on what @f93dsaid. Many before and after photos are shot in different lightning, so it might seem like a huge improvement but in reality it isn't the case. I can take close ups on my skin where my scarring looks almost nonexistant and others where it's very visible.

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MemberMember
270
(@blahblahblahblahz)

Posted : 01/16/2016 7:24 pm

To his credit, Dr. Rahimi does take on a lot of difficult cases as evidenced by his instagram page. Some of his patients have very significant scarring. That said, a lot of the pics are taken in completely different lighting, which is disingenuous. He has made it a habit recently to take before pictures in severe overhead lighting, and then presents the "afters" with a strong front flash which would make anyone's skin look much better. This is not a momentary lapse, but a deliberate misrepresentation on his part because he does it repeatedly. That is not acceptable to me. He's had some success with some members on here, but I also think he misrepresents his results and his prices have risen ridiculously. There are also a few cases on here where the member said they failed to get any real improvements after spending thousands.
The point is to take everything on the internet with a grain of salt. Even with his great before and afters, Dr. Lim's pics also need to be scrutinized closely. Always take note of the lighting and ask when the "afters" were taken after the last treatment.

Ang22, Dan34, getschwifty and 2 people liked
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MemberMember
41
(@getschwifty)

Posted : 01/19/2016 2:34 pm

On 1/16/2016 428, blahblah82 said:

To his credit, Dr. Rahimi does take on a lot of difficult cases as evidenced by his instagram page. Some of his patients have very significant scarring. That said, a lot of the pics are taken in completely different lighting, which is disingenuous. He has made it a habit recently to take before pictures in severe overhead lighting, and then presents the "afters" with a strong front flash which would make anyone's skin look much better. This is not a momentary lapse, but a deliberate misrepresentation on his part because he does it repeatedly. That is not acceptable to me. He's had some success with some members on here, but I also think he misrepresents his results and his prices have risen ridiculously. There are also a few cases on here where the member said they failed to get any real improvements after spending thousands.
The point is to take everything on the internet with a grain of salt. Even with his great before and afters, Dr. Lim's pics also need to be scrutinized closely. Always take note of the lighting and ask when the "afters" were taken after the last treatment.

I've seen Dr. Rahimi before, but now I am currently going to Dr. Cayce. We're not starting on scar treatments yet as my skin is not totally acne free and she wants me to continue using tretinoin 0.1% for three months to see if it will hopefully improve my scars.

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MemberMember
24
(@guevarabeats)

Posted : 01/20/2016 12:11 am

9 hours ago, getschwifty said:
I've seen Dr. Rahimi before, but now I am currently going to Dr. Cayce. We're not starting on scar treatments yet as my skin is not totally acne free and she wants me to continue using tretinoin 0.1% for three months to see if it will hopefully improve my scars.

Im not to sure but I think Retin A has helped my scars a bit along with needling

I needle my scars until I get pin point bleeding and as I do that I apply retin A at the same time on the area Im needling then I leave the blood on my face and I needle every two weeks 2mm

My scars are shallow though because I have thick skin

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MemberMember
41
(@getschwifty)

Posted : 01/20/2016 11:16 am

11 hours ago, GuevaraBeats said:
Im not to sure but I think Retin A has helped my scars a bit along with needling

I needle my scars until I get pin point bleeding and as I do that I apply retin A at the same time on the area Im needling then I leave the blood on my face and I needle every two weeks 2mm

My scars are shallow though because I have thick skin

Yea, my doctor said tretinoin is wonderful for scarring. She even wants me to shift to tazorac in three months because it is a better scar cream than tretinoin. When all else fails, I think she wants me to undergo microneedling and I'll bring up subcision.

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MemberMember
24
(@guevarabeats)

Posted : 01/21/2016 2:10 am

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/15075042/

good study on retin A on atrophic scars

Ommmmmm liked
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MemberMember
41
(@getschwifty)

Posted : 01/21/2016 2:12 pm

12 hours ago, GuevaraBeats said:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/15075042/

good study on retin A on atrophic scars

Yea, I came across this study before. My only caveat would be I'm applying tretinoin WITHOUT Iontophoresis. I actually have no idea how to acquire that too.

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MemberMember
8
(@fergyferguson20)

Posted : 01/27/2016 8:04 am

Thanks for all your responses guys, appreciate it a lot.

What type of scarring would you say I have? Bare in mind that in the first photo that big dip in my face is my natural cheekbone positioning and not acne scarring.

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