Small boxcars and rolling scars and a few icepicks.

*Subcision on any of the areas that are more established pits, the deepest ones. They might be able to use filler on those, examine in person ... If you cannot afford filler do Chinese cupping (amazon after)
* RF microneedling there are numerous brands, you will do 3 of these spaced around your subcisions , ... allow enough time for healing between treatments ie. 3 months
* TCA Cross for your icepicks and smaller defined border scars this takes several treatments to raise the scar bed of these scars
* Several medium strength tca peels or a deep sedated peel.

I feel your laser work did not do much because it was fractional and not fully ablative erbium to resurface the skin, many get as good of results with Acid Peels.

You already know about the FAQ ;-P to learn more about these things.

[Media removed]

@beautifulambitionThank you! I see you all over the board so I appreciate this! Is there a cheaper microneedling RF than the Infini?

Sadly, I haven't been able to find a surgeon that does a combination of procedures. The closest one in the Q&A list is the one in Bellevue and we were scheduled for ablative CO2, fat transfer, and sanding, which freaked me out being 6mo post-tane and having sanded a lot of things in college. How do you use regular sandpaper on someone's skin? Craziness. I ultimately canceled because taking out the fat transfer and sanding didn't change the combo-package price.

Yah I don't recommend Philip Young, ... have had some bad reports from him being about $$$$ recently. Checkout your local med spas, many brands like vivance, intracel, intensif, secret, infini, etc... I m sure I am forgetting some. As long as the person is experienced with this and has done thousands and can use more conservative power settings on your first treatment, you should be fine.

RF needling is insulated so fine 6 months out of tane. Make sure they pinch your skin for the thickness (to know), and don't use the full length setting of the needles. Discuss this during the first apt.

Young is not recommended because he's had some terrible reviews with pictures on realself. They're buried by highly suspect "positive" reviews clearly written to inflate his rating. I'd look elsewhere.

@makingtimeIm in seattle area too. Have you had any consultations with anyone here? If so, who have you seen? Ive done alot of research on Dr. young and hes had some good results, but his prices are OUTRAGEOUS. He charges like, 2k for subcision of the entire face. I will spend 400 on a round trip flight to see someone else before i pay that amount on a procedure that doesnt even use any expensive equipment.

Also, i would have a test patch done with any laser treatments even after 12 months. Accutane can have permanent side effects on how your skin heals and repairs itself. I dont think ill ever be able to have most laser treatments because of accutane.

35 minutes ago, seattlegal90 said:

Ive done alot of research on Dr. young and hes had some good results, but his prices are OUTRAGEOUS. He charges like, 2k for subcision of the entire face. I will spend 400 on a round trip flight to see someone else before i pay that amount on a procedure that doesnt even use any expensive equipment.

To add insult to injury, might I add that Philip Young doesn't offer subcision in his Acne Scar Package. Instead of subcision, you will get CO2 laser, fat graft, and dermasanding. Price tag: $8,000 for entire face.

(I really don't understand why he would combine laser and sanding at the same time, but apparently he believes it works.)

11 minutes ago, Sirius Lee said:

To add insult to injury, might I add that Philip Young doesn't offer subcision in his Acne Scar Package. Instead of subcision, you will get CO2 laser, fat graft, and dermasanding. Price tag: $8,000 for entire face.

(I really don't understand why he would combine laser and sanding at the same time, but apparently he believes it works.)

Just out of interest, does that 8000 include several treatments using all of these devices? What happens if you get no result, do you still keep getting more treatments if you choose this 'package' option.

SeattleGal, I would also like a test patch if someone recommended laser. My concern is doctors wouldn't give you one, because of the time and money used to set up the machine to perform something that may/may not lead to further treatment and cash off you.

@Sirius LeeI dont agree with that approach either. I think there are some people who have really tough skin that really benefit from such an aggressive treatment as scars are so terribly hard to treat, but there are a lot of people who have delicate skin too. I think that is why he has mixed reviews. I know if i had that package done i would be left very deep acne scarring. Thats why its so important for everyone to educate themselves and determine what their skin can handle as the doctors will just feed the same BS to everyone. I would never spend 8k on a treatment plan package unless it was an actual breakthrough in acne scar treatment lol

@ScarRightI have wondered this as well, and i think some doctors would refuse this request, and my response would be to walk out the door. If im willing to pay 300 or so to zap an inch or two of my face and avoid ruining my entire face they should understand if they actually care about their patients outcome. If anything itll be a good way to weed out the doctors that are only in it for the money.

@Sirius LeeI didn't even realize the acne scar package consisted of the same treatments for everyone. He advertises it like it's specialized to every case and every scar. Huge sigh of relief when I canceled and got my money back.

@ScarRightI've been offered a test patch for ablative CO2 but I had to pay a price for it.

@seattlegal90I've been going to Advanced Dermatology for acne concerns and I'm never sure he has much of a plan. He also tries to get you to buy stuff at his place a lot. The people at Bellevue Laser seem invested but as the name suggests, only perform lasers. I had Lux 1540 there, which they're all about, but I don't really believe in it and think I'm ending it with that one treatment. I'm thinking of Pacific Derm, which has mixed reviews, $100 consultation fee, and does Infini but not PRP, and checking out Dermatology Associates and Glow Medispa for Infini and PRP with free consultations out of Realself deals. I've gone to Larrabee Center for a consultation and as soon as he saw me, he wanted his associatel to come in who was the 'ethnic skin type' expert. The whole thing was uncomfortable but honest and they're the ones who offered to do a test path for CO2 if I payed a fee. It was weird because they both sort of left the appointment, had me talk to a cosmetics person who tried to sell me expensive hydroquinone creams to prepare for the test patch and avoid pigmentation, but decided I'd try to find cheaper creams online, and left without follow-up from the doctors or even a quote. I called back and asked for a quote but never got one. Later I had microneedling done by an esthetician there which is a separate facility upstairs. I had also tried Lamperti Facial Plastic Surgery in hopes of having more extreme procedures done on my scars, but he couldn't do anything for me and recommended a list of dermatologists and estheticians.

Then there's Dr. Young, who seemed really interested in helping me. His whole "beauty theory" is just weird though. First red flag for me.

I'm going to Jason Emer when I visit LA for something else, but having a free consultation which isn't with the doctor himself. He costs $300 for a consultation. My experience with Advanced Derm has really diminished the value of a consultation, so I'm always a skeptic when it comes to this. I'm also in the area for a week so I wouldn't get anything too actionable out of it. I guess I'm curious what LA is like compared to Seattle when it comes to acne scar surgeons.

If anyone knows anything about these doctors, let me know!

You guys, Young has terrible reviews on realself. Forget pricing, he's actually harmed patients. There was a guy who had fat grafting for a few tiny acne scars and Young totally over injected him. He injected his entire face and the guy came out looking pretty bad. There were also other patients who were left with horrible scars from failed procedures. Hes also does the typical procedures like lasers and tca cross but created a fancy marketing name for them to basically lure less informed patients. You are smart for cancelling is all I'm saying.

Always ask for a patch test. Any doctor who is serious and compassionate would honor your request. I have asked for them before with no problems. The only laser that would create a cost for them is Fraxel Repair because it uses consumables. Every other laser like Mixto or Total FX does not use consumables.

Dr Rullan is not that much farther in San Diego. He's probably the most reliable and ethical doctor in southern California.

@beautifulambitionI'm most likely going to be doing the Infini RF and subcision on separate occasions. Do you think it's fine to do a subcision a month or so after Infini? Or even another Infini after an Infini a month apart? I've been reading on these forums and I seem to get mixed views on whether a month is more effective or 23. Curious what the idea is behind the spacing because I always assumed collagen production didn't reset and was more continuous.

24 minutes ago, makingtime said:

I'm most likely going to be doing the Infini RF and subcision on separate occasions. Do you think it's fine to do a subcision a month or so after Infini? Or even another Infini after an Infini a month apart?

I don't mean to hijack this from @beautifulambition, but you should NOT get any series of invasive treatments like subcision or Infini in less than 3 months apart. The collagen takes up to 6 months to mature while peaking at around the 3 month mark. If you receive additional treatment in less than 3 months, you're needlessly disrupting the collagen production. Don't get suckered by selfish derms and plastics whose motives are more $$$ than your well-being.

With that said, Infini responds very poorly if you have little to no collagen (eg. temple and forhead, as well as areas of fat atrophy). So my suggestion is get subcision + filler, followed by Infini 3 months after. Hopefully this will allow enough collagen stimulation by the time you get Infini.

@makingtimeI hate when they try to sell you their creams and expensive crap haha. How much was the microneedling treatment if you dont mind my asking? Ive thought about doing doing a few sessions, but im afraid it will break me out. Im fairly certain ill be flying to cali when i have subcision and filler done. All of the places i have found in Seattle area are either overpriced or the doctor is too inexperienced with acne scar treatment. Let me know how LA goes as im extremely curious as well.

@makingtimeDo not goto Emer in Hollywood. Nothing but problems for people who have seen him specifically for scar work. He does mega treatments all at once when the body does not heal like this and charges outrageous fees. His marketing is targeted for the gullible. It's sad really he posted on Instagram he was the only one in the world to have a filler and a simple search showed many had the product before him and it was not a good treatment. You pay for the Hollywood glits and glamour.

Sirius is right. The body does not heal in one month. Here is where people get confused on this forum. When I say one month in the FAQ - this is the minimum for standard non rf microneedling or a light-medium peel at home. Your going to be doing stronger treatments. As such 3 months is the minimum and it takes the body about 6 months to heal. There must be some med spa's by you that provide Infini or Rf needling in Seattle. IT's subcision that is typically hardest to find (Rullan in SD is a flight away- treat and go home if you wish).

From what I've read in the past it seems DR. Rullan is VERY highly recommended here. I'm sure others can chime in.

I'm sure "he who's name shall not be spoken" will see these posts and have them deleted lol.

There is also Dr Ben Behnam in Santa Monica. He's an easy going younger doctor and does subcision, tca cross, laser. I don't know about his results but his prices are about the average. Sometimes I think we should be more careful about mentioning doctors names openly because they see this and raise their prices. It happened with Rahimi and E M e R. Their prices are both astronomical now.