I have done many subcision sessions over the last five years and they have definitely improved my scarring. Peels, needling and lasers didn't yield much improvementbecause I had pitted scarring and the texture from scarred areas to unscarred areas is too significant for needling or at-home TCA peels to make any major difference.

I have definitely felt happier with the success I've gotten, but you need to be careful you don't go overboard and continue moving the goal posts over time. Sometimes it feels like nomatter how much improvement I get,it's never enough and I'll always want more. But I need to remind myself where I came from when I started this journey.

I get fixated on certain scars and think once I get improvement in that area, I'll move on, but something else always seems to arise that I fixate on. If you have BDD, try to look at things objectively instead of from the skewed BDD lens. I do believe the improvement was important to my overall happiness, but it's by no means the be-all and end-all we often think it will be, and ultimately it's your mindset and how you really view yourself that impacts your happiness. Money doesn't buy happiness but it canhelp improve your quality of life, and I think the same thing can be said for successful scar revision.

I've been treating my skin for 6 years and have seen about a 60% improvement. I've done diy tca peels, standard microneedling in office, and dermastamping at home.

My largest sum of improvement came from 3 RF microneedling sessions, an esthetician assisted skincare routine, and an in office chemical peel in a year span.

My overall health is improving. Having facial scarring inpactsmy psychological health, my heart rate, my stress levels, my career. Having scars improved my spiritual life actually, more time for self reflection and prioritizing what really matters. I wouldnt trade a single dollar I spent on treatments for anything else. If it bothers you, I highly recommend just pursuingtreatments. Buckle in for the long game. I'm going spend the next 4 years annuallyvisiting my surgeons office and then moving on to maintainence. So that'll be about a decade with this journey. I'm alright with that because the severity of the scarring has let up and I let go with every step forward.

Ive had severe acne scarring since I was about 14. I had to suffer a great deal seeing people in high school have better skin than I could ever dream of having and it really weighed on me until I was 21 and could do something about it. Ive now been treating for 3-4 years now and I would never go back or wish I had kept the money.

Ive gone from being quite disfigured and weird looking with scars covering most of my checks to looking a whole lot better! Id say I have had at least 50% improvement, its hard to say exactly..

I guess it depends on where you start from and what your expectations are. Your mental state and how your scars affect your day to day life. I remember being 17 years old and looking in the mirror and crying. I would sob so hard and wish I had a different life and better skin. So now that Ive been through all the pain and money spent, I can absolutely say its worth it!! Your self confidence and worth is priceless!

I must say we are in a society that tells us a blemish is bad and ugly so having less than perfect skin is considered bad. I think we need to embrace flaws to a certain extent but it comes to a point where your flaws are so great you cant ignore them or pretend they arent there anymore.

I would say it has been worth it, but I started this journey years ago before this forum really took off and what i consider this "modern" era of scar revision. Even just 5 years ago, doctors were totally clueless about scar revision and kept pushing people to do laser so that they could recoup the cost of their $100K lasers. Since that time I and many other members have concluded that lasers don't do jack for scars and that manual techniques like subcision and fillers are vastly superior for scar revision. The body of knowledge has improved tremendously.

Because I didn't really know what the heck I was doing back then, there was A LOT of trial and error which caused untold amounts of setbacks for me. I wasted $1000s and put my skin through hell in the process.

If I had all this information at the outset of my journey, I could have made significant strides in a much shorter amount of time and moved on. And more importantly, I wouldn't have made things worse at various points in the my journey.

The most important thing is to not lose sight of objectivity. It's easy to get obsessed and inadvertently go too far.

I guess in my case, I have days when I feel like the treatments I've done are worth it, and other days when I feel like 'f**k, why does my skin look so bad'. I have, however,come to realise doing the treatments were important for my well being as I feel like at least I can gain control of it.

Subcision, laser, Infini, filler, and others that I don't remember over the course of last 10 years or so have yielded mixed results. In retrospect, I think the best estimate I got is around 30% improvement. By all means, that would be considered decent. But, considering how much I've spent and the downtime they collectively required, I don't believe the return on investment was that good.

Be that as it may, I have spent the last 18 months applying only TCA on a 3-month interval. The improvement I've seen thus far clearly trumps all other treatments. I see AT LEAST 50% improvement (and I'm being very conservative here). Shallow scars are practically gone and deep scars appear shallower. [Removed]

On 5/21/2020 at 2:58 AM, Sirius Lee said:

Subcision, laser, Infini, filler, and others that I don't remember over the course of last 10 years or so have yielded mixed results. In retrospect, I think the best estimate I got is around 30% improvement. By all means, that would be considered decent. But, considering how much I've spent and the downtime they collectively required, I don't believe the return on investment was that good.

Be that as it may, I have spent the last 18 months applying only TCA on a 3-month interval. The improvement I've seen thus far clearly trumps all other treatments. I see AT LEAST 50% improvement (and I'm being very conservative here). Shallow scars are practically gone and deep scars appear shallower. [Removed]

Do you have pictures for the TCA?

On 5/11/2020 at 11:39 AM, shei514 said:

Ive had severe acne scarring since I was about 14. I had to suffer a great deal seeing people in high school have better skin than I could ever dream of having and it really weighed on me until I was 21 and could do something about it. Ive now been treating for 3-4 years now and I would never go back or wish I had kept the money.

Ive gone from being quite disfigured and weird looking with scars covering most of my checks to looking a whole lot better! Id say I have had at least 50% improvement, its hard to say exactly..

I guess it depends on where you start from and what your expectations are. Your mental state and how your scars affect your day to day life. I remember being 17 years old and looking in the mirror and crying. I would sob so hard and wish I had a different life and better skin. So now that Ive been through all the pain and money spent, I can absolutely say its worth it!! Your self confidence and worth is priceless!

I must say we are in a society that tells us a blemish is bad and ugly so having less than perfect skin is considered bad. I think we need to embrace flaws to a certain extent but it comes to a point where your flaws are so great you cant ignore them or pretend they arent there anymore.

 

was that RF treatment infini ??

Your case is minimal to many of us. I probably have 70% improvement from my 5 Fraxel Repairs. I don't really see that you are at the point where you need to step up to the fractionalized CO2 laser. Each time I was treated at the maximum settings, and the first time my face was so swollen that I looked like a 500 pound man. Treating at a lower intensity like 30-40 Mj yields no results.

11 hours ago, DudleyDoRight said:

Your case is minimal to many of us. I probably have 70% improvement from my 5 Fraxel Repairs. I don't really see that you are at the point where you need to step up to the fractionalized CO2 laser. Each time I was treated at the maximum settings, and the first time my face was so swollen that I looked like a 500 pound man. Treating at a lower intensity like 30-40 Mj yields no results.

Wow, 70% improvement. You must beecstatic. Do you mind sharing some objective photos of your journey? Sorry for my skepticism. It's just that I've done tons of research on boards and in the medical literature over the years and I've NEVER seen 70% improvement from a laser. So, please, if you could oblige...

MihaelaP, I don't have any before pictures to show the extent of my scars. I tried to take pictures with my 35mm camera, but just didn't show what I wanted them to show. I had some pretty intense treatments, including Dermabrasion, full face CO2, and finally 5 Fraxel Repairs done at maximum settings of 70 mj. I doubt that you will find a doctor that would treat you at that level - fear of lawsuits. When I had my first Repair there was only about 10 machines in the whole country. What sold me on Repair was that I had 2 non-acne scars, and they disappeared with the first treatment. Fraxel Repair used at the lower settings like 30-50 just do not give the good results. There lies the dilemma, the doctors will not treat you at the proper level to effect improvement. To show the efficacy of the ablative fractionalized CO2 laser - in this case the DeepFX which is about the same as the Fraxel Repair, the Berns Triplets were badly scarred in a fire.

https://www.today.com/health/berns-triplets-scarred-fire-healing-inspiring-preparing-wedding-t40831

@DudleyDoRightYou weren't able to show your scars on photos?? Are we talking about minimal superficial scarring here?

Ok. You didn't take any before photos. How about after the 1st, the 2nd treatment as you began to see those tremendous results? Neither you, nor your doctor thought of documenting this success? Oh my, if I were a dermatologist and I got such results, I'd be chasing you for photos and I'd be publishing them in all dermatology journals - 70% improvement is just incredible! Do you mind sharing the name of your doctor? I gather he is willing to take risks if he's treated you at such high settings. Has he been able to replicate the improvement you got on another patient? You giving this link about the efficacy of Fraxel Re:Pair for burned (!) victims is even more concerning: is there really no other account of successful laser treatment of ACNE SCARS??? Scars from burns are totally different from acne scars, a whole different ball game!

It's always strange, super strange for me when I read about 70% improvement from lasers, or 50% from TCA peels/cross and the people cannot show a single photo. I'm not saying I don't believe you, subjectively you can feel like your scars have improved a lot and I'm happy for you, but until there are objective photos, it's all very very strange and unreliable.

@mihaelaP , Did you read my list of treatments? The pictures I do have do not even come close to how bad the actual scars were. I really do not give a crap if you believe me or not. You are calling me a Liar and I don't appreciate it one bit. Do you have the slightest concept about how hard it is to treat burn scars? I have been around here since 2008, and I sure as heck don't give a damn what you think. I went through 30 years where the only treatment was Dermabrasion. I had Dermabrasion with no improvement. Then came full face CO2. I had full face CO2 in 1996 with no improvement Then I waited another 9 years for the release of Fraxel Restore. I was scheduled to begin those treatments and the doctor came back into my room and said that Restore could not help me. About a year later Fraxel Repair was released, and I had 5 treatments at maximum settings, and that was the only thing that ever worked for me. You have no idea the hell I went trough for 40 years with no hope, and you got the guts to come on here and call me a liar.

55 minutes ago, DudleyDoRight said:

@mihaelaP , Did you read my list of treatments? The pictures I do have do not even come close to how bad the actual scars were. I really do not give a crap if you believe me or not. You are calling me a Liar and I don't appreciate it one bit. Do you have the slightest concept about how hard it is to treat burn scars? I have been around here since 2008, and I sure as heck don't give a damn what you think. I went through 30 years where the only treatment was Dermabrasion. I had Dermabrasion with no improvement. Then came full face CO2. I had full face CO2 in 1996 with no improvement Then I waited another 9 years for the release of Fraxel Restore. I was scheduled to begin those treatments and the doctor came back into my room and said that Restore could not help me. About a year later Fraxel Repair was released, and I had 5 treatments at maximum settings, and that was the only thing that ever worked for me. You have no idea the hell I went trough for 40 years with no hope, and you got the guts to come on here and call me a liar.

You weren't called a liar.MihaelaP just needed pictures to see the improvement objectively. It is better to have proof than just rely on your word. You come off as overly defensive now. Citing your time here proves nothing.

@DudleyDoRightwell, when you're making claims that you've got 70% improvement from Repair, you'd better be prepared for questions and asks to back them up!

I didn't askfor your personal story, orfor an emotional response from you. I just politely asked you for photos and the name of your doctor. For some reason, you aren't willing to share either of them.After all we are all in the same boat and here to share experience and info, or am I wrong?

On 5/5/2020 at 1:11 AM, Kay24 said:

I've been treating my skin for 6 years and have seen about a 60% improvement. I've done diy tca peels, standard microneedling in office, and dermastamping at home.

My largest sum of improvement came from 3 RF microneedling sessions, an esthetician assisted skincare routine, and an in office chemical peel in a year span.

My overall health is improving. Having facial scarring inpactsmy psychological health, my heart rate, my stress levels, my career. Having scars improved my spiritual life actually, more time for self reflection and prioritizing what really matters. I wouldnt trade a single dollar I spent on treatments for anything else. If it bothers you, I highly recommend just pursuingtreatments. Buckle in for the long game. I'm going spend the next 4 years annuallyvisiting my surgeons office and then moving on to maintainence. So that'll be about a decade with this journey. I'm alright with that because the severity of the scarring has let up and I let go with every step forward.

Hey can I direct message you withsome questions about your RF treatment? I don't want to hijack the thread.

1 hour ago, MihaelaP said:

@DudleyDoRightWell, when you're making claims that you've got 70% improvement from Repair, you'd better be prepared for questions and asks to back them up!

I didn't askfor your personal story, orfor an emotional response from you. I just politely asked you for photos and the name of your doctor. For some reason, you aren't willing to share either of them.After all we are all in the same boat and here to share experience and info, or am I wrong?

MichelaP, I gave you the reason I refuse to post pictures that are not good and do not show my scarring, what about that do you not understand. I gave you my personal story because who in the world would go through that pain for nothing. You have no idea the hell I went through for 40 years and you come on here calling me a liar. Acne scars destroyed my life starting about 12-13. Can I go back and retake pictures from 40 years ago. You have all these treatment options that did not even exist when I was looking for help. I am from a different era than you. There were no cell phones to take selfies with, there were no computers. What you take for granted did not even exist. People weren't taking pictures of themselves to see their improvement from the newest treatment because dermabrasion was the only treatment. I would like to see you wait for 30 years for any hope, and then try that treatment and it doesn't help, then wait another 9 years, for the next big idea and have the doctor schedule you and then come back and tell you that is wouldn't work on you. Then Fraxel Repair was released and it worked. You are so wrapped up in the current world that you refuse to see that I did not have your options, and people didn't run around taking pictures of themselves.

1 hour ago, DudleyDoRight said:

MichelaP, I gave you the reason I refuse to post pictures that are not good and do not show my scarring, what about that do you not understand.  I gave you my personal story because who in the world would go through that pain for nothing.  You have no idea the hell I went through for 40 years and you come on here calling me a liar.  Acne scars destroyed my life starting about 12-13.  Can I go back and retake pictures from 40 years ago.  You have all these treatment options that did not even exist when I was looking for help.

Yes, I understood perfectly so did everybody with a bit of common sense.

I thought you had the treatments starting in 2009. And still no name of the doctor. Sorry, but your doctor must be the dummest doc ever not to document and publish your huge improvement. After all you had 30% on the 1st treatment and went to see him 4 more times. 

What's really sad is that there are people who will want to believe this 70% improvement from a laser myth. At best will shell out thousands of dollars with months of recovery time and minimal to non-existant results. At worst they will suffer further damage from the laser. As with everything in medicine when you up the dosis, you increase the unwanted side effects. I just dont want to imagine what the Repair would do at your high and aggressive settings. Have a good day.

Lasers don't work for deep scars. You need to elevate the scars first with subcision tca cross or rf microneedling and then eventually have a laser for a final touch, to improve textural issues.

22 hours ago, Scarmony said:

You weren't called a liar.MihaelaP just needed pictures to see the improvement objectively. It is better to have proof than just rely on your word. You come off as overly defensive now. Citing your time here proves nothing.

Come back and talk to me when you wait 40 year for any hope.

Well worth it, given i do everything at home (needling, tca and subcision). I've seen 25-75% improvement, depending on the scar. All it has cost me is $ on supplies.

7 minutes ago, Vidrar said:

Well worth it, given i do everything at home (needling, tca and subcision). I've seen 25-75% improvement, depending on the scar. All it has cost me is $ on supplies.

How do you do subcision at home?

1 minute ago, BlueMaloney said:

How do you do subcision at home?

22G hypodermic, 25G for small scars.

The argument here is bizarre. Why wouldn't a series of aggressive laser treatments improve Dudley's complexion? And I've noticed that doctors only insist on documenting with pictures in the last few years.

We can talk crap about lasers, but honestly, a series of lasers can yield improvement depending on the setting of the laser, the skill of the doctor, and the skin type of the patient. For my skin, that would be too ablative, but if you can afford it and it can help, why not?

It's been a long journey for me. I went through a period of lots of at home peels like gylcolic and TCA combined with copper peptides. A total of 5 subcision treatments, sometimes combined with suction, sometimes Fraxel restore. Two additional lasers, once with Sciton (way too aggressive for me!) and another with Halo. I've had probably 50-60% improvement. Not perfect, but I'm not nearly as insecure and self conscious about them, and I feel more comfortable taking pictures.

I'm not giving up though. I want to do at least one more subcision/laser combination. My pores are still too enlarged. Conveniently, I'm showing signs of aging, so the laser will help with that as well.

On 6/14/2020 at 12:20 PM, BlueMaloney said:

How do you do subcision at home?

This is super dangerous! I tried to do this at home and injured myself. Please do NOT do it at home!