Rullan tends to push for phenol peel like right away? I just wanted to consult the threads super quick for validation just bc I'm about to set up the appointment and I'm definitely scared.
I found a research paper on phenol peel w Korean skin done in 1999 and the results were all good, some complications here and there but they were all manageable. For context I'm Korean American.
My question is ” am I ready for the peel? My concerns are around cost/effect. Or should I try to lift my scar beds more? I've done 3 sessions of subcision/phenol cross/microderm w Rullan and it's been pretty amazing, the most improvement being like 6 months out from the third session. I'm now 9 months out. Rullan says if I choose not to do the phenol, the next best thing would be erbium/subcision/cross/filler, obviously expecting several rounds of that too.
You still have way too many ice picks to even consider a phenol peel, but I'm not a doctor. I've been seeing Dr. Rullan as well and I feel that he misses spots and doesn't see some scars like we do in different lighting. I think it would be helpful if you sent these pictures for him to examine and reassess. I also don't think the peel will do anything for your nose except maybe soften the texture a bit. However, you have ice picks there so it would be a waste of time and money. Most importantly, the down time you have to suffer can be X amount of months. Take a lot of time to think about it and look at the recent threadby a userwho documented doing the phenol peel.
@dodgerguyyeah these are the ones I sent him and he's seen me in person three times. but even before meeting me he was suggesting the phenol peel, so I'm glad I'm getting other perspectives here. so phenol peels don't do much for ice picks?
@dazzedi have before pics in a past post. overall they're more shallow than before, nothing too dramatic but it's the most I've gotten
@walkietalkie yes i've had 3 procedures with him
@makingtimeThere is no peel that will magically wipe away ice pick or boxcar or rolling scars. It's meant more to fix texture issues from scar treatments for those with acne scars. I'm going in for phenol CROSS and maybe erbium tomorrow after a four month break, and I'm probably a better candidate than you for phenol peel. That said, I know a phenol peel would give me some improvement, just not worth the money and amount of down time. Plus, there's no guarantee you'll get positive results.
@makingtimeTCA cross has been used for over 20 years to treat icepick scars with great success and there is ample evidence to prove its efficacy. Phenol, if used as a cross method, should work equally well for your icepicks/boxcars.
Im sitting in a hotel room with my son who is recovering from his first day of phenol. Its supposed to be a 2 dayprocess however Dr Rullan determined that it would be best to leave the acid an additional day. In 2 hours he will do the remainder of the procedure. If Dr Rullan said you are ready for phenol I would take his advice, he sees many patients day after day in his office for acne scars. He can determine what is best for you. Ive spent so much money on treatments with other dermatologists that would have never yielded the results they promised. I trust Dr Rullan 100% he truly cares about his patients you can see that through his bedside manner and the procedures he does. Why do you think so few Drs do treatments like subcision and phenol? They are time consuming and require an immense amount of skill. AnyDr can fire a laser charge a large amount of money and not give you real results.He is not after your money please dont think that If he is recommending phenol its only because he wants to gain profit. If you have already had 3 subcision sessions ask if they can work with you in regards to a discount they should be able to offer something. They also accept Greenskya financing option (dependent on your credit) they have many options for repayment with no interest up to 18 months. I wish you the best on your journey. I will try to document my sons phenol journey he is very private but I know it will be helpful to other so I hope he lets me do it. One thing I can suggest from the first day is please have someone who can help care for you the first couple days. Its a pretty extreme procedure.
13 hours ago, dodgerguy said:You still have way too many ice picks to even consider a phenol peel, but I'm not a doctor. I've been seeing Dr. Rullan as well and I feel that he misses spots and doesn't see some scars like we do in different lighting. I think it would be helpful if you sent these pictures for him to examine and reassess. I also don't think the peel will do anything for your nose except maybe soften the texture a bit. However, you have ice picks there so it would be a waste of time and money. Most importantly, the down time you have to suffer can be X amount of months. Take a lot of time to think about it and look at the recent threadby a userwho documented doing the phenol peel.
Actually you are incorrect about it not helping the ice pick scars. Laser will definitely not help ice pick but phenol most definitely will. The phenol and dermabrasion performed the day after will basically sand or smooth the top layer of skin. It literally removes as much skin as possible giving a change to grow back smoother and thicker. Most patients with sever acne scars (like my son) will need 2 for the best results.
1 hour ago, Blanca00 said:Im sitting in a hotel room with my son who is recovering from his first day of phenol. Its supposed to be a 2 dayprocess however Dr Rullan determined that it would be best to leave the acid an additional day. In 2 hours he will do the remainder of the procedure. If Dr Rullan said you are ready for phenol I would take his advice, he sees many patients day after day in his office for acne scars. He can determine what is best for you. Ive spent so much money on treatments with other dermatologists that would have never yielded the results they promised. I trust Dr Rullan 100% he truly cares about his patients you can see that through his bedside manner and the procedures he does. Why do you think so few Drs do treatments like subcision and phenol? They are time consuming and require an immense amount of skill. AnyDr can fire a laser charge a large amount of money and not give you real results.He is not after your money please dont think that If he is recommending phenol its only because he wants to gain profit. If you have already had 3 subcision sessions ask if they can work with you in regards to a discount they should be able to offer something. They also accept Greenskya financing option (dependent on your credit) they have many options for repayment with no interest up to 18 months. I wish you the best on your journey. I will try to document my sons phenol journey he is very private but I know it will be helpful to other so I hope he lets me do it. One thing I can suggest from the first day is please have someone who can help care for you the first couple days. Its a pretty extreme procedure.
Actually you are incorrect about it not helping the ice pick scars. Laser will definitely not help ice pick but phenol most definitely will. The phenol and dermabrasion performed the day after will basically sand or smooth the top layer of skin. It literally removes as much skin as possible giving a change to grow back smoother and thicker. Most patients with sever acne scars (like my son) will need 2 for the best results.
Many of us would love to track your son's progress. Even if he doesn't want any pictures taken, discussing the healing time table and eventual results would be wonderful! Thank you for sharing.
11 hours ago, Blanca00 said:Im sitting in a hotel room with my son who is recovering from his first day of phenol. Its supposed to be a 2 dayprocess however Dr Rullan determined that it would be best to leave the acid an additional day. In 2 hours he will do the remainder of the procedure. If Dr Rullan said you are ready for phenol I would take his advice, he sees many patients day after day in his office for acne scars. He can determine what is best for you. Ive spent so much money on treatments with other dermatologists that would have never yielded the results they promised. I trust Dr Rullan 100% he truly cares about his patients you can see that through his bedside manner and the procedures he does. Why do you think so few Drs do treatments like subcision and phenol? They are time consuming and require an immense amount of skill. AnyDr can fire a laser charge a large amount of money and not give you real results.He is not after your money please dont think that If he is recommending phenol its only because he wants to gain profit. If you have already had 3 subcision sessions ask if they can work with you in regards to a discount they should be able to offer something. They also accept Greenskya financing option (dependent on your credit) they have many options for repayment with no interest up to 18 months. I wish you the best on your journey. I will try to document my sons phenol journey he is very private but I know it will be helpful to other so I hope he lets me do it. One thing I can suggest from the first day is please have someone who can help care for you the first couple days. Its a pretty extreme procedure.
Actually you are incorrect about it not helping the ice pick scars. Laser will definitely not help ice pick but phenol most definitely will. The phenol and dermabrasion performed the day after will basically sand or smooth the top layer of skin. It literally removes as much skin as possible giving a change to grow back smoother and thicker. Most patients with sever acne scars (like my son) will need 2 for the best results.
I would love to see pictures of before and afters if the peel did "sand" away ice pick scars. From what I read and two dermatologists I've spoken to, you want to level all your scars as much as possible before doing the phenol peel. If the ice picks were superficial and your son has done multiple treatments to lift up the base of the scars then it's possible the peel can work. Looking at the OP's scars, to me they still look too deep for a phenol peel to work well. Hope for the best for your son.
I think sanding the ice picks away completely is being a bit too optimistic. The most famous thread on here by @f93d , who did a pretty aggressive phenol peel, didn't completely smooth out all of his ice pics. But to be fair, he did say that it was worth it to him in spite of the tremendous downtime.
You should ask Rullan to evaluate the depth of your scars compared to how deep the peel goes. Inquire as to whether the peel will get under your icepicks, express your concern that it will not get under them and ask for an up close eval. Rullan seems to have higher integrity than most doctors, I do think the answer you get from him will be more accurate than an answer you can get here.
7 hours ago, dirigo39 said:I wonder why he is pushing phenol peel so much. Rullans office also recommend the phenol peel to me.
And then doubling his subcision cost in one year.
Well, if all you people would stop recommending Rullan and what a fantastic result you got, his prices might actually drop. 
43 minutes ago, dirigo39 said:$6000
Yes you read that correctly.
Is that for the whole package (Phenol + subcision + microneedling) or for just the Phenol?What does Rullan say about expected outcome during the consultation? Does he believe 1 treatment is enough? If more than one, how much does he want from you?
Regardless, if you'rewilling to pay that amount of money then you should expect a decent improvement.
3 hours ago, tomwaits said:Only 1 session of peeling 6k.... Damn
It's a full face phenol peel though. No joke of a choice
People are underestimating that procedure. I think 6k for a two day, transformative procedure by one of the best acne scar revision specialists in the world is acceptable.
5 hours ago, Kay24 said:It's a full face phenol peel though. No joke of a choice
People are underestimating that procedure. I think 6k for a two day, transformative procedure by one of the best acne scar revision specialists in the world is acceptable.
How do you define "transformative"?
19 hours ago, Sirius Lee said:How do you define "transformative"?
It has the ability to knock ten years off your face, that's transformative to me. For someone like me with very extensive surface damagebut the scarring is rather shallow it would greatly change my skinappearance.
I guess it's up to how deep the scarring is and how much it bothers you. My surgeon quoted me 6k to do a full face TCA, which istoo much, but6k for phenol with one of the best seems pretty good to me.
4 hours ago, Kay24 said:It has the ability to knock ten years off your face, that's transformative to me. For someone like me with very extensive surface damagebut the scarring is rather shallow it would greatly change my skinappearance.
I guess it's up to how deep the scarring is and how much it bothers you. My surgeon quoted me 6k to do a full face TCA, which istoo much, but6k for phenol with one of the best seems pretty good to me.
Not a bad deal. But was that after just 1 transformative treatment?
Please find someone who will try TCA cross!! I would recommend that above phenol peel.
I recently went to a doctor who provided very positive results for damaged pores. I had some complications, but it might be worth it to you still. Do you want me to send you a pm? The doctor is near LA.
On 7/11/2020 at 12:59 PM, Sirius Lee said:Well, if all you people would stop recommending Rullan and what a fantastic result you got, his prices might actually drop.
lmao!!! I remember when Dr. Rullan charged $350 for subcision. Considering his treatments do not seem to yield more than at most ~20% improvement, his new pricing seems excessive.