Hello. My acne is under control at this point but I™m left with scars from stupidly picking over the years. I don™t really care about scarring on my cheeks, I only have a few that I personally think give me character but the ones on my forehead really bother me. I know that lasers don™t help with the depth, and I™ve heard about people doing subsicion (with fillers to prevent retethering). I™m willing to spend money to help my self-esteem because it really does bother me. I™ve also heard of people doing more extreme things like a dermabrasion and having decent results. I really don™t care if I have some scars visible, I just don™t like that I have so many right now to the point that going under certain lighting makes me look very ugly. Really sucks that this was easily preventable with no picking. If anyone could offer some advice I would appreciate it. I™m meeting with my dermatologist next week but I™m worried I™m going to go in and have them tell me to do a laser, which I know doesn™t help. I just don™t want to be scammed. I™m happy that I™ve followed this forum for a few months to gain some knowledge.
Also I™m curious, is this scarring considered severe?
Hey @LookinLikeTheMoon, firstly, picking irritates the skin with acne, that's for sure, but scars appear after cystic acne, whether they're picked or not. It isn't your fault.
You will not be cheated by your derm if, number 1, he/she is highly recommended, and number 2, your derm is known not to hard sell, number 3, you'reat the right forum to arm yourself with know knowledge, and knowledge is the best weapon against cheats.
Most derms are well trained doctors, and they know what they're doing. However, they can't read minds. As a patient, open communication is key. Tell your derm what bothers you the most, and tell them you would not just want lasers. If the derm insists on just lasers, say you'll consider, and leave. Say you'll like to do subcison for the deeper scars, and then lasers for overall texture. Lasers can help in your case as you have a good skin tone, and you have some redness. It will definitely improve your overall look.
Let us know how it goes.
42 minutes ago, SkinnyStrong said:Hey @LookinLikeTheMoon, firstly, picking irritates the skin with acne, that's for sure, but scars appear after cystic acne, whether they're picked or not. It isn't your fault.
You will not be cheated by your derm if, number 1, he/she is highly recommended, and number 2, your derm is known not to hard sell, number 3, you'reat the right forum to arm yourself with know knowledge, and knowledge is the best weapon against cheats.
Most derms are well trained doctors, and they know what they're doing. However, they can't read minds. As a patient, open communication is key. Tell your derm what bothers you the most, and tell them you would not just want lasers. If the derm insists on just lasers, say you'll consider, and leave. Say you'll like to do subcison for the deeper scars, and then lasers for overall texture. Lasers can help in your case as you have a good skin tone, and you have some redness. It will definitely improve your overall look.
Let us know how it goes.
Thank you. I know lasers will help the redness but Im worried more about the indents. I know redness fades with time but those dont. Ijust want there to be less of them if possible.
1 minute ago, LookinLikeTheMoon said:Thank you. I know lasers will help the redness but Im worried more about the indents. I know redness fades with time but those dont. Ijust want there to be less of them if possible.
Yes, exactly. That's why you gotta insist on subcision for the indents.
Hi @beautifulambitionIve seen you comment on many posts on this forum and I just wanted to ask if you could make any suggestions for how I can treat this? I visited my dermatologist today and she recommended that for now I stick with my current routine of doxycycline and a benezoyl peroxide/adlapene cream daily to prevent new acne. Ive had it under control (not many pimples coming in at all) for 3 months.
She recommended for me to have microneedling done at their office for 3 sessions. Money is not a concern at the moment for me as Im desperate to try something. I havent done anything for scars yet.
is there a treatment that I should specifically look for on my forehead here? Ive heard the forehead doesnt respond much to treatments.
On 1/24/2020 at 10:39 PM, SkinnyStrong said:Yes, exactly. That's why you gotta insist on subcision for the indents.
Okay so I went in today. My dermatologist wants me to stay on doxycycline at the moment to just prevent new acne from coming in and keep using my benezoyl peroxide/adalepene cream as well. Ive had <4 active pimples on my face at a time for 3 months so I at least have that under control. Drinking milk triggers it for me.
Im so relieved she didnt try to sell me on lasers. Unlike other dermatologists from hell that Ive heard of, she said that things like lasers and peels will help with redness and some texture, but microneedling and things like subcision will help with indents. Sherecommended I start with3 treatments of microneedling with varying depth depending on where scarring is (4 weeks apart each treatment). Im skeptical of this working as well but considering I do have a lot of minor scarring on my forehead it might smooth that out to the point that Im satisfied enough to just get subcision and filler in any deeper scars remaining. I wanted to hear your opinion on this. As I said before I dont mind minor scarring (mostly on the cheeks) because I feel like it gives me a little bit of character but the ones on my forehead really bug me, so any improvement would be a huge confidence booster.
also, if I do the microneedling, should I ask about doing radio frequency with it? Ive seen others do this and wasnt sure if it makes a big difference.
thanks for taking the time to read, I really appreciate your help.
4 hours ago, LookinLikeTheMoon said:Okay so I went in today. My dermatologist wants me to stay on doxycycline at the moment to just prevent new acne from coming in and keep using my benezoyl peroxide/adalepene cream as well. Ive had <4 active pimples on my face at a time for 3 months so I at least have that under control. Drinking milk triggers it for me.
Im so relieved she didnt try to sell me on lasers. Unlike other dermatologists from hell that Ive heard of, she said that things like lasers and peels will help with redness and some texture, but microneedling and things like subcision will help with indents. Sherecommended I start with3 treatments of microneedling with varying depth depending on where scarring is (4 weeks apart each treatment). Im skeptical of this working as well but considering I do have a lot of minor scarring on my forehead it might smooth that out to the point that Im satisfied enough to just get subcision and filler in any deeper scars remaining. I wanted to hear your opinion on this. As I said before I dont mind minor scarring (mostly on the cheeks) because I feel like it gives me a little bit of character but the ones on my forehead really bug me, so any improvement would be a huge confidence booster.
also, if I do the microneedling, should I ask about doing radio frequency with it? Ive seen others do this and wasnt sure if it makes a big difference.
thanks for taking the time to read, I really appreciate your help.
Hey @LookinLikeTheMoon, yes, I know skin treatment can be an anxious process. I feel you. You're also at the right place to seek good solid opinions.
Staying on doxycyline is wise. You certainly don't want new acne forming. Stick with that.
Yes, her not going straight to lasers is good, she is a good dermatologist. I'm interested in what microneedling she's talking about. She might be rather old school, because microneedling was the gold standard maybe a decade ago, but technology has improved since.I actually did medical grade microneedling (dermaroller) about 10 years back. There was improvement, but it wasn't as good as RFmicroneedling. You really should ask if she does RFmicroneedling.
You could do BOTH subcision and microneedling at the same time. The deeper scars will definitely benefit from subcision. If she doesn't do both at the same time, I suggest subcision first on the deeper scars, wait for them to raise a little, THEN do microneedling.
But that again, sometimes dermatology is more an art than a science, and techniques may vary from one derm to another. The end goal will still be the same, whatever the journey.
38 minutes ago, SkinnyStrong said:Hey @LookinLikeTheMoon, yes, I know skin treatment can be an anxious process. I feel you. You're also at the right place to seek good solid opinions.
Staying on doxycyline is wise. You certainly don't want new acne forming. Stick with that.
Yes, her not going straight to lasers is good, she is a good dermatologist. I'm interested in what microneedling she's talking about. She might be rather old school, because microneedling was the gold standard maybe a decade ago, but technology has improved now.I actually did medical grade microneedling (dermaroller) about 10 years back. There was improvement, but it wasn't as good as RFmicroneedling. You really should ask if she does RFmicroneedling.
You could do BOTH subcision and microneedling at the same time. The deeper scars will definitely benefit from subcision. If she doesn't do both at the same time, I suggest subcision first on the deeper scars, wait for them to raise a little, THEN do microneedling.
But that again, sometimes dermatology is more an art than a science, and techniques may vary from one derm to another. The end goal will still be the same, whatever the journey.
I will ask if it is RF microneedling because Ive seen good results with that. Thanks!!
On 1/30/2020 at 9:46 PM, SkinnyStrong said:Hey @LookinLikeTheMoon, yes, I know skin treatment can be an anxious process. I feel you. You're also at the right place to seek good solid opinions.
Staying on doxycyline is wise. You certainly don't want new acne forming. Stick with that.
Yes, her not going straight to lasers is good, she is a good dermatologist. I'm interested in what microneedling she's talking about. She might be rather old school, because microneedling was the gold standard maybe a decade ago, but technology has improved since.I actually did medical grade microneedling (dermaroller) about 10 years back. There was improvement, but it wasn't as good as RFmicroneedling. You really should ask if she does RFmicroneedling.
You could do BOTH subcision and microneedling at the same time. The deeper scars will definitely benefit from subcision. If she doesn't do both at the same time, I suggest subcision first on the deeper scars, wait for them to raise a little, THEN do microneedling.
But that again, sometimes dermatology is more an art than a science, and techniques may vary from one derm to another. The end goal will still be the same, whatever the journey.
I think I want to try tretinoin to fade some pie and help minimize newer scarring. Do you happen to know what percentage is a good idea to get for me? I want to go on the safe side but also not too safe so I can see results In a few months.
2 hours ago, LookinLikeTheMoon said:I think I want to try tretinoin to fade some pie and help minimize newer scarring. Do you happen to know what percentage is a good idea to get for me? I want to go on the safe side but also not too safe so I can see results In a few months.
I'm sorry I have no idea.
@LookinLikeTheMoonif you are new to retin-A/vitamin A-derivatives, you could try starting out at 0.01% to get used to itbefore moving up to 0.1%, 0.025% or 0.05%
On 1/30/2020 at 2:52 PM, LookinLikeTheMoon said:Hi @beautifulambitionIve seen you comment on many posts on this forum and I just wanted to ask if you could make any suggestions for how I can treat this? I visited my dermatologist today and she recommended that for now I stick with my current routine of doxycycline and a benezoyl peroxide/adlapene cream daily to prevent new acne. Ive had it under control (not many pimples coming in at all) for 3 months.
She recommended for me to have microneedling done at their office for 3 sessions. Money is not a concern at the moment for me as Im desperate to try something. I havent done anything for scars yet.
is there a treatment that I should specifically look for on my forehead here? Ive heard the forehead doesnt respond much to treatments.
I'd send him a PM. That poster is so inundated with messages that they don't post on the forums much anymore. IIRC, BA mentioned somewhere that people wanting advice from him should PM too.