Hello Everyone,
I created this post to document my acne scar treatment journey in order to show the healing process and the potential outcome of the latest acne scar treatments for a darker skin type. I've been following this forum for years as a lurker and upon guidance from BeautifulAmbition I finally decided to take the next step and seek treatment with Dr. Steven Weiner at The Aesthetic Clinique in Destin, Florida.
Background:
Male, 26 years old , Fitzpatrick Skin Type 5, Oily Skin Type
Left Cheek: Grade 4 Scaring / Right Cheek: Grade 3 Scaring (Goodman/Baron Qualitative Grading Scale)
Ethnicity: Black/East African
Cystic Acne: Around 18-24 (Cysts would often form in the same area of my left cheek. I stopped my cystic acne through changing my diet as sugar/processed foods was the leading cause of it.)
Treatment History:
Fraxel Co2 2011 (1 Treatment at local Dermatologist, Never Continued)
2016 Consultation with Dr. David Rahimi in Los Angeles, when he was highly recommended on here in 2014-2015, and never followed through with the treatment. Quoted $3,500 in 2016 for Venus Viva, Subcision w/ Permanent Filler or Fat Transfer.
Prescription Tretinoin Cream 0.1% on and off since 2011.
>> FAST FORWARD >>
June 4th 2020, Virtual Consultation with Nurse Sandy Weiner. She was super informative and recommended RF Micro-needling, with Subcision and HA Filler. Due to Covid-19 she said they are now recommending HA Fillers due to permanent fillers (Bellafill) relying on the bodies immune response to the virus, if i recall correctly.
July 13th 2020 Appointment with Dr. Steven Weiner.
Appointment lasted from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm (a little over 3 hours)
Nurse Sandy greeted me at the front door, had me fill out some forms and questionnaires, and gave me a very informative break down of the treatment. She mentioned the option of a PRP injection to help the healing process. Due to Covid-19 the company that made the PRP supplies was having some sort of issues however I was lucky enough that she able to find 1 more kit. So if you are planning to go the PRP route keep that in mind.
PROCEDURE
-Nurse Sandy applied Lidocaine on my face at around 10:15am and I waited an hour before entering the operating room at 11:15 am.
-11:15 am met Dr. Weiner (who was donning a Covid-19 space suit) and he began with the filler injections first (Restylane Refyne), using facial ultrasound technology as reference for the depth of my scaring.
-After the filler, he began with the cannula subcision. The subcision and filler probably took about close to an hour. Just wanted to mention that someone in a earlier post stated Dr. Weiner did fast subcisions, in my personal experience he spent a good bit of time de-tethering my scars and more time than I thought he would on the 'better' side of my face.
-I was then taken into another room and the Genius RF Micro-needling was performed. Needle Depths of 2.1 (36), 1.9(30) and 1.7(24) in that order. Cheeks, Temples, Chin (Most Intense Part of Treatment IMO But They Offer Nitrous Oxide For Any Pain If You Need)
-My blood was drawn and the PRP was injected into my scars. Afterwards I laid back and the PRP was applied to my face so it could seep into the rf micro-needling channels.
- Then I sat under a Healite LED lamp for about 17 minutes.
AFTER CARE
AM:
Cleanse Face: Cetaphil (Lukewarm Water + Pat Dry). Probably switch to a Glycolic cleanser in a few days just a little sore right now.
Moisturize: CeraVe Daily Moisturizer
ZO'SKIN- Accelerated Firming Serum 4 Drops
Sunscreen
Supplements: Mens One A Day Multivitamin, Collagen Supplement, Homemade Bone Broths (Fresh Cow Bones/Joints), Vitamin C Supplement, Skinade (Sample From Nurse Sandy).
PM:
Cyspera- Pigment Corrector (15 minutes on my face then washed off)
Moisturizer: CeraVe
ZO'SKIN- Accelerated Firming Serum 4 Drops
Tretinoin 0.1% Cream (Every Other Night)
FINAL THOUGHTS
Dr. Weiner, Nurse Sandy and the team at The Aesthetic Clinique really seemed dedicated through out my first treatment experience. The drive from Nashville, Tennessee to Destin, Florida was a little rough so if anyone is taking that route I would recommend bringing someone with you. I paid $3,400 for the treatment (Back in 2016 Dr. Rahimi quoted me $3,500 for a less advanced procedure.) I was advised to have at least 2 more treatments, Dr. Weiner wasn't to worried about me coming back a month later after the treatment citing that some of his patients choose to wait 2 months or more to see the outlook of the results before returning, however he recommended 6 Weeks. Also I asked him about his thoughts on suction and in his opinion he doesn't believe it would do much in terms of affecting the outcome of my results. (Have any of you had success with suction?)
I attached before pictures of the left side of my face that has Grade 4 scarring (deepest scars labelled), I didn't post pics of the right side of my face as it only has Grade 3 scarring. I also attached a photo 1 hour post treatment the swelling is crazy haha. I plan to keep yall updated with pics at the end of every week. Also I would like to shout out to BeautifulAmbition for the guidance and continued support! Thank you for reading. 
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Hi,
first of all I would like to thank you for creating such a detailed and well-structured post.
I am east african as well with a similar skin tone and somewhat similar scarring. It's definitely nice to see how these procedures work on darker skin and that doctors are able to treat darker/black skin.
I would like to mention that when taking picturesof your scarring its best not to use direct flashlight since it flattens the scars and does not show true depth of scars. I used to take pictures like that as well and realized it made my scars look better/different.
Also, since you take supplements I would suggest you taking Vitamin D3 since any dark person living in western countries has a Vitamin D3deficiency (I take it as well). If you have any questions about that I will gladly explain further on how important it is.
I think the choice of treatment is good but you might want to look into TCA/Phenol Cross. Maybe others can weigh into that or maybe Beautifulambition already ruled it out. What's the reason for you to go back a month later? Seems too quick.
Lastly, I hope you heal well and get satisfactoryresults. I will definitely follow your journey.
(English is not my native language. Excuse any errors)
4 hours ago, SaraTheGerman said:Hi,
first of all I would like to thank you for creating such a detailed and well-structured post.
I am east african as well with a similar skin tone and somewhat similar scarring. It's definitely nice to see how these procedures work on darker skin and that doctors are able to treat darker/black skin.
I would like to mention that when taking pictures of your scarring its best not to use direct flashlight since it flattens the scars and does not show true depth of scars. I used to take pictures like that as well and realized it made my scars look better/different.
Also, since you take supplements I would suggest you taking Vitamin D3 since any dark person living in western countries has a Vitamin D3 deficiency (I take it as well). If you have any questions about that I will gladly explain further on how important it is.
I think the choice of treatment is good but you might want to look into TCA/Phenol Cross. Maybe others can weigh into that or maybe Beautifulambition already ruled it out. What's the reason for you to go back a month later? Seems too quick.
Lastly, I hope you heal well and get satisfactory results. I will definitely follow your journey.
(English is not my native language. Excuse any errors)
Hi Sara,
I'm really happy you could find my post helpful. Yeah I realized after I posted the pics they weren't the best in representing my scarring. I have many more pics I just have to dig for them. I've attached some better angles to this reply in the meantime. Thanks for recommending Vitamin D3 I'm picking some supplements up from my local pharmacy today and adding it to the rotation (I also need to go pick up a topical antibiotic due to small white bumps forming on my skin known as milia, which is apparently common after Genius).
I plan to do a TCA peel I just want to see how this first treatment goes, I could use some TCA on my nose and on the sides my nostrils. I may see Rullan about the peels haven't quite decided yet. Actually, I advised Dr. Weiner that I may not be able to come back in 6 weeks due to personal reasons and he was understanding of that.
I really hope this endeavor is successful to not for myself but for others with my skin type and scarring.
Here are the pics (1st Pic = Left Side, 2nd Pic = Left Side, 3rd Pic = Right Side) and btw your english is great. 
6 hours ago, SaraTheGerman said:How was your CO2 Laser Experience? Most doctors would notperform that ondark skin...
I had Fraxel9 years ago. I remember my dermatologist dialed back the laser due to my skin tone. Overall I was unimpressed and didn't go back for a 2nd treatment after doing my research on C02 lasers. This was in 2011 after I graduated high school and didn't know much about acne scaring treatments.
6 hours ago, SaraTheGerman said:So, how are you doing 1 month post-op?
Hi @SaraTheGerman,
Its been 1 month and week since my treatment. My overall has improved 15-20% on both sides of my face. I feel like my skins softer and stronger than it was before my treatment. Its still a little too early to tell I'm gonna wait out a couple more weeks and post a before and after prior to my next treatment with Dr. Weiner.
19 minutes ago, sdps said:Hope this gets you the results you hope for!!!
Thank you for your kind words@sdpsI knew my scar revision journey would be a long process I'm just glad I finally got around to resolving it. I'm excited and looking forward to my next procedure in a few weeks!
16 hours ago, outkast93 said:Hi @SaraTheGerman,
Its been 1 month and week since my treatment. My overall has improved 15-20% on both sides of my face. I feel like my skins softer and stronger than it was before my treatment. Its still a little too early to tell I'm gonna wait out a couple more weeks and post a before and after prior to my next treatment with Dr. Weiner.
That is very good to hear. I am hoping for the best
On 9/14/2021 at 12:29 AM, PastTraveler said:Hey @OutKast93, did you ever endup going back for more treatments? How are your results now that its been over a year?
Imlooking into this same treatment with Dr. Weiner and would really appreciate your feedback.
Thanks!!
I would love to know as well.
Hope everything is well!