Notifications
Clear all

Fractional CO2 , acne scars

MemberMember
657
(@miro)

Posted : 02/17/2019 9:18 am

Hi, after long time of hesitating , i decided to do a treatment on my acne scars on forehead and left side ( temple and cheek ). I wanted to try Infini RF, I saw video form Davin Lim, he was advoacting it a lot on youtube.

However dr i went to said that she would rather use Fractional CO2 then Infini RF, cause it could giveme betterresults. The price for both devices at their clinic was the same so i decided to do laser.

I said to her that i red many horror stories like scarring , hypop and fat loss people got from laser.She said she never saw fat loss form laser treatment at their clinic. Hypopig. and scarring can occur , but they will begin my first session with low setiings so nothing can happen to me. They said that a i cannot expect great results with low settings but there ispracticly no riskif i will listen to em and do my aftercare - moisturise and avoid sun. Soi did it a month ago.

The settings they used was just 1 pass, 10 mj, density 16 and 2mm deep on my whole face.

I asked dr if it is necessary to do whole face even areeas where i have no probems, She said it will give me facelift and younger look, and with these settings it will be walk in the park.

Everything went ok , it was painless, i healed within 5-6 days , redness was gone within 10 days.

However after 10 days i started to notice that on my both temples there are little areas and small holes really shalow , like the fat is lost. I was like omg isnt this that infamous fat loss ? Also under my eyes but not directly under,but on cheeks i have someting like thicker skin ( i hope i am using correct word ). So i went to the clinic after 22 days . They checked me a said it heals perfectly. I said wait a minute what about those temples and cheeks, She said its naturall to loose fat for people after 40 . Well i said i didnt have that before ( even my girlfriend confirmed me that ) , they said no it cant be form laser .

I asked em about that skin under my eyes and they said that its process of healing its normal. Well I am gonna wait another month and i booked 2 appointments , 1 at the clinic i did laser, and 2 on diff clinic, cause i wanna hear another opinion from diff. doctor.

My questions: can I haveeproblems withjust 1 pass, 10 mj, density 16 and 2mm deep ? Is it low setting ? Is it good to have whole face lasered with the same setiings ? Isnt 2 mm deep too much for some areas of face ?

Sorry for my english , I d like to know your opinions .

Quote
MemberMember
1750
(@beautifulambition)

Posted : 02/17/2019 11:25 am

@MiroHi there use the translate function in your browser if you wish.

I am sorry for your expedience, ... we always do manual methods first like subcision, tca cross, fillers, and microneedling.

This Dr was obviously trying to sell you laser and lied to you, I am sorry about that. Dr's like this push laser treatments and promise it can do things(marketing).

Please read the FAQ and you can see with laser anything is possible as side effects. With poor treatment even with low settings yes this can be a side effect. See the FAQ it's pinned at the top of the scar treatments sub, then goto laser, and see the side effects. We only use laser or energy devices last if nothing else works. It's always best to start out making your own collagen though manual methods. Especially subcision for pits.

Dr Lim is a top 1% acne scar Dr in the world. As such his laser work is not like other practitioners who often just blast you with laser, and have no skill to do so.

I cannot advise on what's doing on with your scars without a closeup picture(Scars make shadows) - directional light or a flashlight. Please note that after laser one heals from 6-12 months even in low energy settings that are not seen superficially.

I think it would be best to see other practitioners and look for manual treatments subcision or tca cross, etc before considering any energy device.

For hyperpigmenation there is vascular laser which does not effect the skin like a co2 laser would. This is only for reds or browns.

Miro liked
Quote
MemberMember
657
(@miro)

Posted : 02/17/2019 1:49 pm

Problem in this country is that Drs dont even offer something like subcision , we have lasers , dermapen , its well known clinic with good reputation, they were very nice. There was really no diff between prices of laser and Infini , Infini was even more expensive I guess. So i didnt feel like they were trying to sell something most expensive. I saw many people online, like women they had this treatment and everything was fine.

The worst thing is that i am blaming myself , that maybe i did something wrong with aftercare, but i dont think so , i moisturize with Cicalfate few times a day and I avoid sun, I use 50 sunprotection.

I really thought like wtf can happen with 1 pass and low settings ? Well ...

I asked dr what to do with that temple and she said fillers will fix it .

 

And of all people me, i red so many horror stories even here, i said em that i am afraid of this laser, but they said ok we start with low settings, people that ended badly from laser had high power settings and thats what happened to em, dont worry.

However i try to take some pictures with my girlfriend , where should i post it ? Here or to your PM ?

I wonder what that other doctor will tell ...

Quote
MemberMember
86
(@scarright)

Posted : 02/18/2019 1:04 am

Miro, I understand your concern about not having a suitable doctor that does manual methods in your country, however, I firmly believe it is a waste of time doing scar treatments at incompetent doctor just because they are close to you.

Why would a doctor use laser on parts of your face that don't have scars? Madness.

The doctor doesn't do Infini because he/she doesn't have the knowledge and skills. Fractional laser has a poor record on places like the forehead. Someone like Davin Lim uses lasers, but he uses a large variety on different settings.

My advice, if you would want to take it, is to save enough money to travel to the closest recommend doctors list that you can find on the sticky thread on this forum.

I hope your get results from your treatment and remember it can take several months for collegen to build up. If this doctor continues to sell you laser I would look elsewhere. All the best.

Miro liked
Quote
MemberMember
657
(@miro)

Posted : 02/18/2019 2:22 am

1 hour ago, ScarRight said:

Miro, I understand your concern about not having a suitable doctor that does manual methods in your country, however, I firmly believe it is a waste of time doing scar treatments at incompetent doctor just because they are close to you.

Why would a doctor use laser on parts of your face that don't have scars? Madness.

The doctor doesn't do Infini because he/she doesn't have the knowledge and skills. Fractional laser has a poor record on places like the forehead. Someone like Davin Lim uses lasers, but he uses a large variety on different settings.

My advice, if you would want to take it, is to save enough money to travel to the closest recommend doctors list that you can find on the sticky thread on this forum.

I hope your get results from your treatment and remember it can take several months for collegen to build up. If this doctor continues to sell you laser I would look elsewhere. All the best.

Well they did my whole face, cause we agreed we are gonna do rejuvanation or younger look or whatever you call it in english , cause i am over 40 so thats why, lot of people does Fractional Co2 for younger look. I saw women with scarfree skin did laser just cause they wanna look younger.

Look I red somewhere on realself, that even Davin Lim scarred people with laser, which he admitted and offered repair ( theres topic on that site ). Its really weird, looks like a lot of people have good results from lasers and lot of people dont, like rolling a dice or roullete.

After my laser exp. i was home a lot of time , i did research. Looks like subsicion and fillers and dermabrasion ( not micro ) , are really things that can help skin, but dermabrasion can go wrong too.

I understand what are u saying, but theres no one close to me who is really good, I had good refs from that clinic , they are 400 km from me.

Looks like i am gonnahave togo abroad for really good scar revision doctor. Is there anyone good in europe ? I am from SLovakia, perhaps Czech republic ?

Also i must say, it really gave me that younger look, at least so far, and the areas with scarring got slightly better , but there those three areas where i see that damage was done, where of course i had no problem before laser.

Iam pissed off, cause maybe if it was done by someone who is really good, there would be only improvement and no damage who knows .

Btw 8 years ago I did four sesions with dermarolling and dermastamp, 1,5 mm deep needles , spaced 2 months apart but the results where almost zero.

Looks like a i gotta find the doctor that is not pushing for energy devices but manual work, which is hard, any help would be apreciated .

Quote
MemberMember
86
(@scarright)

Posted : 02/18/2019 5:27 am

Are you willing to fly to the UK? That would be my course of action, if you can afford this option. There are a couple of decent doctors in the UK. Please read the FAQ on this forum and read the list of reputable scar revision specialist. Beautiful Ambition made that list based on people's experiences, reviews, reputation, etc.

Miro liked
Quote
MemberMember
657
(@miro)

Posted : 02/18/2019 6:00 am

30 minutes ago, ScarRight said:

Are you willing to fly to the UK? That would be my course of action, if you can afford this option. There are a couple of decent doctors in the UK. Please read the FAQ on this forum and read the list of reputable scar revision specialist. Beautiful Ambition made that list based on people's experiences, reviews, reputation, etc.

I give it a try with that other doc, i wonder what he will tell me, i heard that he is very cool guy , we ll see, as for european guys, i just checked out the forum and found name Dr Emil Hennigsen ?Beautiful Ambition and even Lim said that he is good, i saw some lady on this forum went to him in Odense and was very pleased with reslults, if i red it correctly she paid 900 Euro for subsicion and laser which is affordable, its not overpriced at all.

Quote
MemberMember
1750
(@beautifulambition)

Posted : 02/18/2019 10:43 am

@MiroIt takes me about 24-hrs to respond. I get very very busy answering all the worst scar cases by private message daily 50+ emails. If you want email me them or you can post your pictures here for a plan. Chu and Emil are good. It depends on your scar type of course which I would direct you to.

I have been tirelessly adding more practitioners to the Acne Scar treatment guide or FAQ, it will just take me some time as I always find more to add. Takes a lot of time. That will be updated my goal is in the next few days as people have been waiting. They are general derms mainly with lasers who also can do subcision. Of course Emil is more of a top acne scar provider specialty wise. I would not be price shopping by how much treatments cost. Your biggest concern should be are they skilled, and can they do subcision. Some on the list are more of laser dermatologists. I would always hold off till you have tried manual treatments many times as we want your own collagen to develop, and not zap the skin for texture, that should come later. I will try to help you with a plan when I see the pics of the scars.

 

Miro liked
Quote
MemberMember
657
(@miro)

Posted : 02/19/2019 2:11 am

I tried to take pics of my scars yesterday with phone , but its awfull , my gf is not good photo maker :-), I am going away from home for a few days, I ll be back at weekend and we will try to do as much good angled photos of whole face as we can . Thx

Quote
MemberMember
1750
(@beautifulambition)

Posted : 02/19/2019 9:29 am

@MiroWhen you get time that's fine. I just need to see the shadows. Use a flashlight or directional light to show me the shadows the scars make.

 

Quote
MemberMember
50
(@sibel)

Posted : 02/19/2019 11:51 am

I had the same concerns after the laser and I got more problems after Dermapen too. U can read about my experience with Dr.Chu.

Quote
MemberMember
657
(@miro)

Posted : 04/22/2019 3:40 am

I have not posted for a while, I went to other dermatologist in my hometown, he said i need to wait at least for 6 month since the laser to see whats going on with my skin and how it heals completly, mosturise nad avoid sun .After cca 2 months after treatment ( now its 3 months ) it looked like it wasnt that bad after all, my skin looked younger and better, scars were still there but improvement was maybe about 20% , which was great. I had maybe 2 weeks of hope . Well about a week ago it began . Suddenly out of nowhere started to appear small new scars, some irregularities on the skin, its like from nowhere, boom suddenly its there, has anyone experienced the same problem ? Also few little holes like from a needle . Has anyone had same exp. ? Its either skin is tighteningand creating something like donut effect for some areas or swelling has gone down completly and scars are appearing i dont know. the 26th i have appointment with my dermatologist so i ll see what he will tell, however my mood and confidence is again down on the floor, this sucks.

Btw i ve been talking to friend of mine , he is a doctor ( not a derm , but a great doctor ) and he told me, that in his opinion, theres nothing you can do about acne scars, maybe little improvement but thats it. He said that science would have to find out the wayhow to cut your skin out and replace it with new skin, or find the way to force new skin to grow on that place where the old scarred has been taken away ,which is sci fi nowadays. I feel like he is right.

If i look on the internet and check some photos before and after even from reputable derms, looks like they all use at least slightly diff lightning or angles, there may be some improv, but they want results to look better so they do this trick.

I ve red somewhere on realself from derm from USA honest post, No laser will do much for acne scarring, to get 50% of improv for your acne scarring is compl jackpot, and that goes with heavy lifting with fillers and subc, i have not seen anything better then 50% inmy whole life. Well...

Quote
MemberMember
1750
(@beautifulambition)

Posted : 04/22/2019 9:17 am

@MiroI take this response as a cry for help, or a rant of being displeased. While that is fine..

I believe this is in the wrong area, you just posted in the "Scarless Healing" post(I see you just posted there as well) and those threads are more appropriate there by people who do not like today's current scar treatments and are waiting for the next best thing. Also part of your post references the"Spontaneous Scarring Condition - AMVC - Atrophia Maculosa Varioliformis Cutis - Pitted Scars Suddenly Appearing ," thread and as such that may help you more to read and post there. Spontaneous scars are not normal and related to auto - immune like conditions. If you cannot get this under control. There really is no reason to treat your scars as it's like chasing something you can never fix(your health - the cause - is more important than a side effect "scars"). Also there is logical fallacies in your post I am pointing out so other's are not depressed or hopeless by this message (many kids / young adults here). Eg. General practitioner telling you something about scars, that he does not treat. I think it would be best for you to get some help as it seems you have internal scars that are worse than your condition. Talkspace is a app that offer's unlimited counseling on your smart phone and they can help you deal with these internal wounds.

Quote
MemberMember
657
(@miro)

Posted : 04/22/2019 9:56 am

Well maybe that post is negativ or slightly misunderstood cause of my english , and of course my mood is sometimes a problem. If theres too much negativity in that just delete it , or parts of it.

I am thankfull for u trying to help and comunicate with me through messages, and I sure will take your advice or already took it, I have visited derm in my town and again i ll have another visit 26th as i wrote. Then i wanna visit doctor or two aswe spoke through the messages, to listen to em what they have to say, and listen to their advice as experts before i decide what to do next after summer.

I just wanted to do update on my post, as i ve seen lot of people started something on this page and suddenly disappeared, but maybe it wasnt the luckiest way to do like this. I ll surely will update my exp. in future, i ll try to do it without negativity , which is really pointless.

I respect what u do for people here.

I am just curious , i ve done a lot of research cause i wanted to go throught this "journey" of improving my scars ( i know icant fix em just improve em ) , do u really think that theres a chance f.e. for something like 70- 80% of improvement like many dermatologist claim , or has anybody seen anything like that, just thinking about it.

I surely will update when I decide what to do next based on doctors advices.

 

Quote
MemberMember
1750
(@beautifulambition)

Posted : 04/22/2019 10:31 am

@MiroI have about 3-4 reports of posts disappearing today. I am not the web dev here. Please report using the report feature above in the posts also you can post in the accouterments area. Seems like some sort of bug that occurred.

I never would promise you 70%, ... I only promise 50% with a good Dr. Otherwise your results are variable. You may have more I cannot say, many Dr's say they can do this, and let some people down. I am being honest here. It really depends on how you heal. How many treatments you do, ... and what treatment you respond best to. Some people's health is bad. Other's have a poor diet. I do find dermastamping and doing glycolic peels between Drtreatments helps.

Great, hope finding a good dr does well.

Quote