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35 minutes ago, Danny562 said:Thanks for the reply. Do you think if I lost some weight around my face, the scars would improve in appearance. I noticed everytime I stretch my cheeks the scars are less noticeable.
Au contraire. If you read all the posts here, everyone is busy getting treatment in the hopes of increasing their collagen. To fill the hole, more collagen is better than less.
19 hours ago, Sirius Lee said:A few of them appear pretty deep, but it's hard to tell whether they're actually tethered from the picture. It might not be a bad idea to start with subcision. Then follow up with TCA cross to soften the edges.
I would suggest TCA Cross as well for the small crater scars. Multiple treatments are almost always needed for satisfactory improvement. Please talk to your doctor about the risks of this.
2 hours ago, Danny562 said:Ok, thanks. I am in the process of seeing a dermatologist and wanted to hear other people's opinions before visiting one.
I have one more question if you don't mind me asking. Could these scars be removed or at least improved? I am starting to become really self-conscious and depressed about how I look. Having to weara mask in public has been a blessing in disguise.
Scars can be improved but there's no guarantee. You also need to be prepared for risks (redness andscar widening).
Scars will not be completely removed, unfortunately. However, sometimes they can be improved to the point where people are happy. If your scars can be removed, they must be really superficial - something like a papercut or scrape. Most of the scars people talk about on the forum will never completely disappear.
4 hours ago, Danny562 said:I have one more question if you don't mind me asking. Could these scars be removed or at least improved? I am starting to become really self-conscious and depressed about how I look. Having to weara mask in public has been a blessing in disguise.
You might not get 100%, but it's still possible. I wouldn't write it off completely. This is a marathon and not a sprint that will be done with one treatment, so it's important to maintain a positive attitude. That's the most important thing that will keep you going.
9 hours ago, can i get a new life please said:No if you loose weight your scars looks worse because fats on your are dissolving when you loose weight. Your scars not that bad actually.
Agreed with scars not too bad. I see a few box car scars and that's it. The rest are just normal pores to be honest.
IMO scars not that bad, can undoubtly be improved
I would recommend subcision first, they might be tethered might not. If they are (probably are at least minorly)this will help.After this, several rounds of TCA till its basically fully filled in, then fully ablative erbium laser. After this you probably will need a microscope to discern these scars.
Also use a retinoid
6 hours ago, Danny562 said:I movedmy appointment to Thursday and will be going to the Torrance Skypark location instead. I decided to keep you guys updated. Maybe, I could get a second opinion from the community before deciding to drop some cash at this place. I am going in just for a consultation.
Don't be afraid to ask the doctor lots of questions. If you consider TCA Cross, ask the doctor how many s/he has done and what the risks (scar widening, erythema, etc.) are.
On 12/3/2020 at 5:45 PM, Danny562 said:*Clindamycin Phosphate Topical Solution, USP 1% is the correct name for the morning spot treatment
If this doesn't work, dont hesitate to try accutane. I saw a doctor several times for my acne, getting prescribed antibiotics, topical antibiotics and then retin-a, each time being told accutane was too extreme and I shouldn't do it. None of these worked, I got scars but was scared to try accutane after what my GP told me.Finally went on accutane and it was certainly not terrible and hasn't (so far) shown any long term damage to me.
2 hours ago, Danny562 said:I already started to see results. A lot of redness and dark spots are starting to fade away. I have an appointment next month with the dermatologist. We will talk about how to treat the scarring
Have you received a treatment. In this pic, your boxcars are hardly visible.
1 hour ago, Danny562 said:I forgot to mention to you that Clindamycin makes my skin tighten up which is why you probably can't see my boxcar scars.They are still there though
Well, that's new. As you might already know, anything that ends with "mycin" means antibiotic (anti-bacterial) so I'm having hard time connecting the dots. But, geez, your scars are barely visible in the picture.
Hi there. Be VERY CAREFUL with Clindamycin. I wouldnt recommend this topical gel prescription bc it ruined my skin in the areas applied. I used it for almost 8 months so please use it wisely and not long term. Doctors will not tell you this but this medication absorbs into the skin and buries itself deep into the skin and will create worse acne later on. Its also known to burn the skin layers off if used multiple times a week.Trust me since i am still healing from Clindamycin. Just a heads up, good sir.
This is what my dermatologist told me about Clindamycin: You apply it on spots that already are already "grown." So if there's pus, and overgrown pimple, etc., then you apply it. Retin-A/Tretinoin/Retinoids are to prevent future breakouts.
I used Clindamycin on a few times and it seemed that the pimples came to a head where I could squeeze them easily. If you can avoid it, it's best notto squeeze pimples but I'm stubborn.
I had no side effects from Clindamycin. Please keep in mind that I did not use this product extensively.
I wish 3 dermatologists would have informed me to do that, but they all told me that clindamycin shouldbe applied to any infected areas to keep acne at bay. I used 1% clindamycin along with BP,as instructed. It makes sense to only apply to the head of the pimple, but thats sort of pointless if theres a head already bc then it will pop on its own. I just really like to share with people the danger of this topical bc i wouldnt want others to experience any future issues that doctors wont tell you. It is 6 months later from last using it, and all the areas i applied clindamycin, the skin is burnt and still breaks out in the exact same spots where the gel was applied.
2 hours ago, thekingisdead said:I wish 3 dermatologists would have informed me to do that, but they all told me that clindamycin shouldbe applied to any infected areas to keep acne at bay. I used 1% clindamycin along with BP,as instructed. It makes sense to only apply to the head of the pimple, but thats sort of pointless if theres a head already bc then it will pop on its own. I just really like to share with people the danger of this topical bc i wouldnt want others to experience any future issues that doctors wont tell you. It is 6 months later from last using it, and all the areas i applied clindamycin, the skin is burnt and still breaks out in the exact same spots where the gel was applied.
I applied Clindamycin to areas that I felt were going to get bigger but can't be popped yet. I can tell when areas are a little inflamed because they feel like a little bruise and have redness. It's like the spot won't go away and I know it's going to get a little bigger so I preemptively put Clindamycin on it.
If the pimple already has the obvious white pus, you don't need Clindamycin - you can pop it or shower and the skin will "relax" and make it easier for the pus to escape. It's always best not to touch your skin but you know that people do.
Always ask the doctor how long you should use a product for. For example, steroids should not be used on skin for 10-14 days, I think, because it will thin the skin.
12 hours ago, Danny562 said:I went to the dermatologist a couple of days ago and got a TCA cross. It left my face looking like a potatoe. What do you guys think? I was told to come back in 3 weeks to discuss future treatment. My skin needs time to recuperate in the meantime.
Do you know what the concentration was? Was it 100%?
1 hour ago, Danny562 said:I notice after the treatment some of the scars opened upbut closed after scabbing. The large pitted scar has not scabbed up completely. It still has frosting in the center. Is this normal? I am washing my face once a day instead of twice (trying to avoid irritation). I have been applying aloe from a plant instead of a bottle to the treated areas. Let me know if you guys have any suggestions.
First of all, don't wash your face for the first 7 days. This can lead to infection and it will definitely dry out your (raw) skin. On the contrary, you want to keep the treated area moist AT ALL TIMES. Do this by applying Vaseline or Aquaphorday and night. Aloe, while good for treating burns, tends to dry out the skin. I definitely wouldn't use it, especially now that it has crusted.
With 100%, it usually takes about 3 days to scab. Until then it's super raw, light pink in color (this is probably what you're seeing as "frosting", which could make it worse if you keep washing your face). It will roughly take another 7-10 days for the scabs to shed.
1 hour ago, Sirius Lee said:First of all, don't wash your face for the first 7 days. This can lead to infection and it will definitely dry out your (raw) skin. On the contrary, you want to keep the treated area moist AT ALL TIMES. Do this by applying Vaseline or Aquaphorday and night. Aloe, while good for treating burns, tends to dry out the skin. I definitely wouldn't use it, especially now that it has crusted.
With 100%, it usually takes about 3 days to scab. Until then it's super raw, light pink in color (this is probably what you're seeing as "frosting", which could make it worse if you keep washing your face). It will roughly take another 7-10 days for the scabs to shed.
My doctor told me to let it scab up first and then put something on it. That something could be.....I don't recall exactly but I think Aquaphor, Vaseline, Neosporin would be fine. Neosporin is more expensive but it's unnecessary as Vaseline and Aquaphor will do fine.
2 hours ago, Danny562 said:Here is another picture with different lighting. Hopefully you guys could get at better look.
I notice after the treatment some of the scars opened upbut closed after scabbing. The large pitted scar has not scabbed up completely. It still has frosting in the center. Is this normal? I am washing my face once a day instead of twice (trying to avoid irritation). I have been applying aloe from a plant instead of a bottle to the treated areas. Let me know if you guys have any suggestions.
Do what Serius said. Use Vaseline or Aquaphor instead.
Don't pick at the scabs. Let them fall off by themselves. Be gentle when you wash your face. Maybe just put water on your hands and lightly splash it on your face. It's probably safer not to wash those areas though.
12 minutes ago, Amanda Hall said:My doctor told me to let it scab up first and then put something on it.
Well, scab is the mother nature's way of shielding our body from outside intruders. But until the scabs form, we're left exposed to the risk of infection, further injury, etc. So it makes sense to treat the injury (or burn in our case) immediately. Just my 2 cents.
Idk why you doctor has told you to let it scab first, then apply Aquaphor after. You should apply Aquaphor at the very beginning and you need to try your best to avoid the scabbing. If you use Aquaphor every 1-2 hours at the first 3 days, and you should see minimal scabbing.
The scabbing will most likely introduce you a larger scar. This is from my personal experience.
I had similar experience, one of my scars got way bigger. I think my skin is just not a good responder with TCA. My skin responded better to laser.Anyone know of better alternatives to TCAfor deep box scars/ice pic scars, I'm considering excision for the one scar that made it worse.
Btw from my perspective I reckon your scaring is quite minor, so I wouldn't stress about it. You're skin looks good to me :).
9 hours ago, Danny562 said:My results were far from great. It looks like it's going to take a couple ofmonths for it to completely heal up. I'm due for another visit next week.New scabs are forming were the old ones where. How often are these treatments applied?
Usually high % TCA is applied every 3 months.
On 1/25/2021 at 9:41 PM, Danny562 said:It'salmost been 3 weeks since my treatment and my face has not completley healed or improved.The TCA cross looks like it made things worse instead of better. I am having second thoughts about having another treatment. I understand things take time to heal and nothing can be fixed with first try but I might look into something else. The results are not worth the money. What do you guys think?
Look,you can't expect to see a miracle with just one treatment.I see too many people simply give up after their first treatment and miss out on their golden opportunity. I've been doing this for nearly 3 years. This is by far the most effective and least expensive treatment out there.
If you want to reach a conclusion about the treatment, you should wait at least 3 months, not 3 weeks. It usually looks pretty crappy for the first 4weeks. After that, it slowly gets better with time. I will tell you this much though. It's a slow process in the beginning but it will pick up in speed. You won't likely see a big breakthrough until after 4 or 5 treatments. That's when you will start noticingthe scar edge is less prominent than before and, consequently, the scar itself is less noticeable.
You know people think you haveto fill the potholes before re-paving the road. I used to think that way as well. But I've since realized that analogy is backward.
this is what you want with the tca cross, expand and eliminate the edges, but patience and resistance are needed.
It expands, but at the same time it rises in level so reaching a considerable level you can perform a filling or other more superficial treatments, excuse me for my English I am from Mexico
I somehow disagree with the statement that "Things will look worse before it gets better." even though it is true sometimes.
I was in a very similar situation as @Danny562. I have had my first TCA Cross treatments and it has worsened some of my scars and two of my tiny icepick scars has joined together and formed a 1cm linear scar. Not only my derm but also some folks from this forum have told me it would get better after several months and you would definitely see some improvements.
I've waited 3 months, but unfortunately nothing was changed and the damage couldn't be reversed. I have had to perform other treatments in order to fix the wound caused by TCA Cross. Think about it in this way, how many people is wiling to repeat a treatment which has caused them lots of issue at the very first place. How much trust you are willing to put into that treatment when you don't even know if the outcomes is good or bad.