Hi everyone! This is my first post here but I've been lurking for a bit. I have had mild-moderate acne for as long as I can remember. I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to my acne, but I have some pretty deep scars only on the right side of my face somehow. I'm on epiduo right now to clear my acne but was thinking of asking my derm if I could switch to tretinoin now since I've heard it tends to address texture/scarring better. I'm also interested in treating my scarring with professional treatments. It seems like I have a mix of primarily ice pick and boxcar scars along with large pores, all of which amount to this pretty gnarly orange peel texture lol. Would love to hear about the experiences that any of you have had with treating acne scars that might be similar to mine. Thanks in advance!
20 hours ago, anacharacter222 said:Would love to hear about the experiences that any of you have had with treating acne scars that might be similar to mine. Thanks in advance!
I can see the boxcars, but I can't really tell how deep they are. Can you take another pic, this time considering the instruction outlined below?
Consider taking a picture using the angle-lighting approach as shown in the picture below. This will create a heavy shadow that will accentuate the scar for better evaluation. This can be done by pointing a bright light perpendicular (90-degree) to the angle of the lens. So if you're shooting the side of the face, you would point the light from either the front or the back of the face.
Also don't shoot so close that it only shows the cheek. Try to include other parts of the face (eg. nose, mouth and/or ear). This will give better perspective of the scar size.
9 hours ago, anacharacter222 said:Ah okay, thanks! I tried my best to capture the depth, hope these might provide more clarity?
Hi, you have mostly boxcar scars. What is so characteristic of the boxcaris that ithasa prominent edge. As such, a shadow is created around the scar whenever light reflects off the edge, thereby accentuatingthe scar. So the most effective way to treat boxcar is to fade out these edges. To this end, I suggest TCA cross. You'll need to use higher concentration, at least 50% to achieve the desired outcome.
Go find a qualified dermatologist.
4 hours ago, Sirius Lee said:Hi, you have mostly boxcar scars. What is so characteristic of the boxcaris that ithasa prominent edge. As such, a shadow is created around the scar whenever light reflects off the edge, thereby accentuatingthe scar. So the most effective way to treat boxcar is to fade out these edges. To this end, I suggest TCA cross. You'll need to use higher concentration, at least 50% to achieve the desired outcome.
Go find a qualified dermatologist.
Thank you so much, this is very helpful! I'm going to bring this up with my derm/look for derms who are more specialized in acne scar treatment in my area. I was also curious about microneedling and chemical peels just for general skin texture and hyperpigmentation. Do you think some of the shallower scarring could improve with those? Honestly, I have a few deeper scars but I'd be pretty happy if I could at least eliminate the overall appearance even if some of the deeper ones are still harder to diminish.
18 hours ago, anacharacter222 said:I was also curious about microneedling and chemical peels just for general skin texture and hyperpigmentation. Do you think some of the shallower scarring could improve with those?
From what I can tell, uneven skin texture is actually from the shallow boxcar scars. It's possible to see some improvement from microneedling and chemical peels (except TCA), but I wouldn't count on it too much.
I would imagine microneedling would work well. But keep in should you must apply vitamin A and C to get good results, as they're the building blocks to repairing skin and also producing new collagen. A study showed that doing so improved results fourfold.
Also, keep in mindthe types of vitamin A and C you use after needling should be the less irritating types. Avoid the acids as they're irritants.
