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I need advice to improve my scars (with pictures)

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(@rominika)

Posted : 05/29/2018 9:35 am

Hello everyone, 

I'm 21 years old and have suffered from acne since I was 11 or 12 years old. 
My acne started to go away when I turned 18. Sometimes I still get a few pimples but it's not as bad as it used to be. My skin is a bit oily and sensitive. 
Acne has destroyed my skin and therefore I'm left with a lot of scars.
I have tried these treatments:
- 2015: One fraxel laser treatment 
- 2016: Glycolic acid peelings at different strengths and microdermabrasion
- 2017: TCA peelings at different strengths and microdermabrasion

Recently I started microneedling (only one treatment so far) but I'm not sure if that's effective for my scars.

What else could I do to improve my scars?

Right side of my face:
sketch-1527598780109.thumb.png.079b44b3836121ec49882e33214f48a4.png

Left side of my face:
sketch-1527598851513.thumb.png.2a14d4bfd3e75b7786059412904a5ff0.png

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(@sirius-lee)

Posted : 05/29/2018 2:58 pm

5 hours ago, Rominika said:

I have tried these treatments:
- 2015: One fraxel laser treatment
- 2016: Glycolic acid peelings at different strengths and microdermabrasion
- 2017: TCA peelings at different strengths and microdermabrasion

Recently I started microneedling (only one treatment so far) but I'm not sure if that's effective for my scars.

What else could I do to improve my scars?

Most of them look like very shallow icepick or boxcar scars. Either way, light scars. How much improvements have you seen from Fraxel or TCA? What type of microneedling are you getting? I believe combining RF microneedling like Infini and TCA peel will help a lot.

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(@harmlessboy1441)

Posted : 05/29/2018 9:31 pm

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(@harmlessboy1441)

Posted : 05/29/2018 9:52 pm

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(@raster)

Posted : 05/29/2018 10:19 pm

I have similar scarring as well to your right cheek, and microneedling gave me some good results (they used to be quite deeper). The problem is that the texture itself is quite a bit rough, and those small dings and dents are very shallow but quite numerous, so it looks like quite rough texture.

I've been thinking of ablative laser, but I'd need to travel quite far to get one (like literally go to another country), which isn't really feasible for me given the costs of travel, treatment and stay. I've also been thinking of fractional lasers, but from most accounts here, it isn't that good for acne scars.

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(@harmlessboy1441)

Posted : 05/29/2018 10:31 pm

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(@raster)

Posted : 05/29/2018 10:38 pm

Yeah, it's quite dismaying in direct sunlight. I think I'd even have preferred deeper but isolated scarring with overall smoother skin texture. Have you considered dermabrasion again? Was it a spot derma (only the scarred areas), and did you experience any side effects like hypopigmentation, etc.?

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(@harmlessboy1441)

Posted : 05/29/2018 10:54 pm

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(@raster)

Posted : 05/29/2018 11:02 pm

I understand about the "breaking down" of the scars. There will be weeks when they're almost invisible even after a busy day, then one day, they will look really deep and red and irritated and messy.

Thanks for the information on dermabrasion. I've been considering that as well (more available than fully ablative lasers), but hesitant due to the horror stories.

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(@harmlessboy1441)

Posted : 05/29/2018 11:21 pm

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(@rominika)

Posted : 05/30/2018 10:36 am

19 hours ago, Sirius Lee said:
How much improvements have you seen from Fraxel or TCA? What type of microneedling are you getting? I believe combining RF microneedling like Infini and TCA peel will help a lot.

Thanks for replying.
Fraxel and TCA only improved my hyperpigmentation scars.
Last week I got normal microneedling (2mm) done without RF. It was a very bloody experience.
I will definitely look into infini rf microneedling.

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(@rominika)

Posted : 05/30/2018 10:59 am

13 hours ago, harmlessboy1441 said:

I have your exact same scarring almost scarily identical. I know you don't want to hear this but I have not found any sort of viable solution yet.

I tried the following:

Dermabrasion (deep): 65-75% improvement (when my scars were not as shallow as yours etc)
TCA Cross (10-12 dots): 2 new small scars, 10-15% worsening on a few.
Microneedling: 15-20% worsening overall.

TCA and Microneedling were the worst decisions, because they worsened things and opened up a little "weak skin" that the Dermbrasion helped mask I guess.

So I stopped everything two years ago and just accept that I've found nothing that works well, or is worth the risk.

I wish I could give you a solution but I have not found one for the same exact scarring. I'm very resigned at the moment because society seems to discriminate constantly if you don't have normal facial skin. It's not all bad, but it's really tough. At the very least, at least mine/yours are very shallow.

I know you say you had a fraxel treatment in 2015. I was researching lasers but I did not want to make things worse and have read so many hit or miss stories with laser.

For us, I think lasers might be the only thing worth researching because we have a lot of shallow yet numerous tiny scars. Seems like only some sort of laser procedure would be effective with.

Yeah it really sucks to have so many small scars, I always feel so uncomfortable when I have to leave the house.

Fraxel laser didn't do much for my scars, it only helped with my hyperpigmentation scars. That's why I'm kind of skeptical when it comes to laser treatments.

You say you had dermabrasion done, would you recommend dermabrasion to me? Most people who had dermabrasion done don't seem to be satisfied with the results. There are so many bad reviews about it.

12 hours ago, Raster said:

I have similar scarring as well to your right cheek, and microneedling gave me some good results (they used to be quite deeper). The problem is that the texture itself is quite a bit rough, and those small dings and dents are very shallow but quite numerous, so it looks like quite rough texture.

I've been thinking of ablative laser, but I'd need to travel quite far to get one (like literally go to another country), which isn't really feasible for me given the costs of travel, treatment and stay. I've also been thinking of fractional lasers, but from most accounts here, it isn't that good for acne scars.

When did you start seeing results from microneedling?
I think I will try microneedling for awhile.

Yeah fraxel laser isn't really worth it. It didn't really improve my scars, it only helped with hyperpigmentation.

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(@benjamin94)

Posted : 05/30/2018 12:28 pm

On 29/05/2018 at 3:35 PM, Rominika said:

Hello everyone, 

I'm 21 years old and have suffered from acne since I was 11 or 12 years old. 
My acne started to go away when I turned 18. Sometimes I still get a few pimples but it's not as bad as it used to be. My skin is a bit oily and sensitive. 
Acne has destroyed my skin and therefore I'm left with a lot of scars.
I have tried these treatments:
- 2015: One fraxel laser treatment 
- 2016: Glycolic acid peelings at different strengths and microdermabrasion
- 2017: TCA peelings at different strengths and microdermabrasion

Recently I started microneedling (only one treatment so far) but I'm not sure if that's effective for my scars.

What else could I do to improve my scars?

Right side of my face:
sketch-1527598780109.thumb.png.079b44b3836121ec49882e33214f48a4.png

Left side of my face:
sketch-1527598851513.thumb.png.2a14d4bfd3e75b7786059412904a5ff0.png

Hi Rominika

How well do skin wounds heal for you?

Do you have any long term medical conditions?

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(@harmlessboy1441)

Posted : 05/30/2018 1:48 pm

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(@silavana)

Posted : 05/30/2018 4:50 pm

Most laser procedure and microneedling involve some sort of slight injury to the skin to encourage collagen growth. Therefore, you won't see instant results but should see improvement over a few weeks to a few months.

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(@raster)

Posted : 05/30/2018 9:02 pm

I saw some results maybe 2-3 weeks after my first microneedling. Do note that this was medical with a dermapen device.

I forgot to mention that I also had subcision done a week ago. It's kinda strange since subcision is supposed to be for deeper scars, and I have shallow surface scars. However, I heard lots of pops and snaps that are the signs of breaking tethers, which means that subcision was actually doing something. Still too early to say how much improvement I get.

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MemberMember
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(@rominika)

Posted : 05/31/2018 11:01 am

22 hours ago, Benjamin94 said:
Hi Rominika

How well do skin wounds heal for you?

Do you have any long term medical conditions?

I would say skin wounds heal pretty well for me.
When I started getting acne I used to pick on my acne alot. I am pretty sure that's the reason why I am left with so many scars now.

I don't have any long term medical conditions.

21 hours ago, harmlessboy1441 said:

"You say you had dermabrasion done, would you recommend dermabrasion to me? Most people who had dermabrasion done don't seem to be satisfied with the results. There are so many bad reviews about it."

My initial impression would be yes a lot if it works the same way as me. It weirdly took almost 12 months to fully fade the redness on my cheeks, which was called "very long". I have a feeling he went quite deep with it due to my scarring. The first 4-5 months red, another 5 months pink, 2 months fading to white.

But for the record, even 15 years later I cannot reconcile whether it anatomically changed my cheeks or if it's just normal with the same level of scarring we have/had after ablatives, be it dermabrasion or laser. At times I do feel it gets slightly pale or discolored or just decays throughout the day but I have a feeling it's mostly from the scarring dilating or something. I wash my face and it clears up a lot.

Cosmetically dermabrasion improved me like 80-85%. But my face still felt weird and it still was visible even though it was far better. The worst part was over the day it became more visible.

I think dermabrasion worked really well for me, really well indeed. You may be a candidate if you find a good dr and/or he goes deep enough I guess. Consider it and let me know if you have any questions.

I too am really leary of laser and am doubtful it would work or may reverse some of the dermabrasion. Thanks for sharing your experience on fraxel.

Thanks for your advice.
I think I will try microneedling for the next 3-4 months and see how well that works for my skin.
If it doesn't work I am definitely going to consider dermabrasion.

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