Hey guys!
Just to give you a little bit of background information- I'm almost 23 now, and I have struggled with acne/acne scarring since I was about 12. Needless to say, I'm a seasoned veteran in the world of acne. When I was 12-13 my acne was not terribly severe. By the time I was 14, my acne had become cystic. I was experiencing large, painful cysts every now and then. At age 15 my acne exploded (no pun intended... Okay, maybe a little). Large, bean-sized cysts had erupted over my entire face, but especially my cheeks, forehead, temples, and chin. My self-esteem plummeted, and I barely left the house or wanted to talk to anyone. I looked and felt horrible. By 16 I was on accutane, which was a godsend! It finally cured me of my horrible affliction, for the most part. I was, however, left with some scarring.
Fast forward to today:Considering how severe my cystic acne was, I really got lucky with the amount of scarring I have. It's not all that bad, but it's enough to be frustrating and noticeable. My scars are mostly rolling acne scars, mostly on my cheeks. I do have a few mild ice-pick/pit scars on one temple. Also, I feel like there is a constant pink blotchiness onmy cheeks, where the scars are- as if my cheeks are always slightly flushed.What is this and how can I make it go away?? So far, I have had one Fraxel laser treatment (Mixto laser), and I feel like the results were pretty minimal. I have used a derma-roller at home with 1 mm needles, but results were also minimal (although I've only used it a small handful of times). Now, I use Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair nightly as well as religiously washing my face with gentle cleansers, wearing a daily face moisturizer contains SPF, and using a gentle toner (containing salisylic acid and glycolic acid).
My question: What could I do to eliminate my scars (at least as much as possible), smooth out my skin texture, and have more confidence in my face. Also, how can I even out my skin-tone? As I mentioned before, there is a constant pink blotchiness/flushed-lookon my cheeks where my scars are. It's not very noticeable, but I notice it and it definitely creates some unevenness in my skin-tone.
I am familiar with excision, subcision, lasers, peels, and needling, although I've only had one laser procedure so far, and I don't have an appointment for another one. I want to invest in something that will provide me with great results and a high level of improvement.
ADVICE?Any advice is valuable and appreciated! Thanks guys!!!
Pictures would help diagnose the severity and the appropriate treatment. If you have mostly rolling scars, then subcisions and filler would help with that.
The pinkness is relatively pretty easy to treat. You can do several sessions of Vbeam Perfectha, which is a pulse dye laser, which is the fastest and most surefire way to get rid of the pinkness.
This is what I read in 50% of threads I open:
15 hours ago, iZachary said:I have had one Fraxel laser treatment (Mixto laser), and I feel like the results were pretty minimal.
Either:
1) Lasers are an expensive scam, and non-effective.
and/or
2) The people on this forum getting lasers do not have severe enough, large-spread scarring to notice any sort of change. They have smooth skin and are expecting something to be done, when there is nothing to be done (body-dysmorphia)
So which is it?
If you have rolling scars, then I can only speak from my own experience that subcision, dermarolling, and chemical peels have truly worked in synch with one another to:
1) greatly reduce the appearance of my scarring
2) greatly improve my skin tone
3) greatly improved my self-confidence
I had four laser treatments several years ago and they did absolutely nothing to help my appearance In fact, they were a total waste of money
If you have rolling scars, you need to deal with the underlying cause: tethered scar tissue that creates the dimpled look on your skin. Dermarolling/stamping also has helped create collagen in my skin and I have done multiple 25% TCA peels which have also created collagen, elastin, and improved the overall tone of my complexion.
Treating acne scars is a difficult and frustrating process because everyone's skin is different. I encourage you to look at a wide variety of options and definitely read people's reviews of the various treatment options.