I have a long history of acne but it was when it became cystic in my mid-twenties that I experienced some bad scarring, mostly due to atrophy from cortisone shots I had in cysts.
I have attached several photos of the same exact place on my cheek, which truly demonstrate how much lighting impacts the look of scarring. I have scars in other areas of my face (my other post shows my forehead) and my other cheek is similar but this is the worst part. If I stretch my skin the scars completely go away. I'm guessing I will be told I need subsicion, but I haven't found a doctor in my area to do this and I'm not willing to travel a long ways to do something like this right now.
Questions:
1. How bad is the scarring? Would you say mild, moderate or severe?
2. What kind of treatment (other than subsicion, please) would you recommend? If suggesting laser, is there a particular kind that may be better for my situation
Lastly, these pictures are taken with the front camera for detail. In addition I am wearing makeup.My pore size/ overall texture isn't spectacular but it's not nearly bad as these pictures might look.
Thanks!
Overall the scarring looks pretty mild to me, compared to other pics that I've seen on here.
To my eye, it looks like you mostly have icepick/boxcarscars with a rolling/tethered scar in the middle of the cheek. It's a little bit hard to tell from photos, because I'm not sure what is covered by makeup and what isn't.
If you don't want to do subcision, you might consider fillers for the rolling/tethered scar. For the icepick/boxcars, Phenol Cross (Dr Rullan in San Diego is the only person who does this) or TCA Cross (more common).
@superburritoThank you for your help! Its the rolling scar(s) in the center of my cheek that really bother me.
After I posted yesterday I actually found a doctor in a nearby city who does subcision. The thing about subcision though is that I hear it being recommended all the time, but then I dont hear many success stories, and I have seen here on more than one occasion people claiming it made their skin worse. Have you done it?
Im hoping filler alone can be used first. Im also open to RF Microneedling, laser, TCA (which Ive tried elsewhere). I love San Diego but I live across the country.
Thanks for the pictures, that helps.
""If you stretch your skin they go away"" - they are distensible, cool. Filler and subcision will help in that case, volume will improve the scars.
What is your area, we have Dr's all over on the FAQ, pinned in the scar treatments forum, at the bottom there. If you live across the country Dr Wiener is good in Florida.
Your scarring is very mild, see severe cases daily. Mainly have textural issues. The big rolling scar on the right cheek, some box cars, icepicks, and scarred pores.
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Disclaimer: Information and support is not meant to diagnosis, treatment, or cure any health or mental condition and is not a substitute for professional face to face medical care (consult with a few Dr's and pick your favorite one). Posts are for informational purposes only, please consult your personal health care practitioner before engaging in anything discussed.
@okmichelle, so far I have had two subcisionswith Dr Rullan in San Diego, and I have not had any major complications. With my last one, the bruising lasted for weeks, though after the first week, most of it was gone. I only had very mild rolling scars, so I didnt have any fillers combined with subcision.
I have also traveled to Dr Weiner in Florida for Infini RF and also had a great experience. He does subcision as well as well as TCA cross
After a few mediocre/badexperiences with doctors in San Francisco, which is where I live, I decided it was worth the travel to the top doctors in the country to avoid risk and complications, and have a better outcome. It ended being cheaper or just the same cost, even with travel fees,to do it outside the Bay Area.
@beautifulambitionthank you so much! I found a doctor near me who does nokorsubsicion. His name is Dr. Payman Kosari in Charlotte, NC. He has an instagram showing procedures hes done, and I am looking forward to my consultation. I will also check out your list of doctors. Thank you very much for your suggestions and your skin care regimen.
@superburritothanks for sharing all that. I wish I could travel to wellknown doctors but I dont have the budget for that.Would you be able to say what percentage improvement youve seen? Edit: I just read your update to your post-thanks!
@okmichelleDr Kosari is excellent, he is on the list of providers 😉 He also has rf needling. His office has experience in plastics as well and laser. Your all set.
BA
@okmichelle I would say I have about a 15% improvement so far.
Hey!
I would like to view the pictures of @okmichellebut somehow chrome or safari cant read the files.
What browser do yall use and does anybody have my problem as well?
@SaraWillFightI'm having the same problem when trying to view other people's posts. I've tried Chrome and Explorer and both are doing this. It just started being an issue for me a couple days ago.
3 minutes ago, okmichelle said:@SaraWillFightI'm having the same problem when trying to view other people's posts. I've tried Chrome and Explorer and both are doing this. It just started being an issue for me a couple days ago.
yeah same. I'm using my mac and I cant see anybody's content which sucks because I'm trying to find people I can relate to on here
@okmichelle@SaraWillFight, same issue with viewing images for me. it's not a browser issue, it's something going in the software running this forum.