I believe fillers can easily address this and maybe spot subcision. The best way is to know about fillers, is to stretch the skin and see if it flattens or look normal skin. Fillers will solve the issue.

@getsmart121what do you mean flattens or look like normal skin? When i stretch it it almost disappears. I thought about subcision and fillers too,but the results are temporary aren't they?

yes, I mean normal skin.
Spot Subcision should start to give you long term results and fillers would start to give immediate results. Killing two birds with the same stone.

if it disappears than sub+filler will help. Start with temporary fillers first.

But IMO its so shallow that even if you dont do anything about it its fine. But I understand it effects you, so go for it. Btw you are pretty!

@Candy Saysit isn't 100% gone but under harsh lighting when i smile or stretch it it's like 80% disappeared. Would subcision give permanent results? Or when the filler dissolves it's pretty much the same?

@getsmart121 thank you so much! however,how do you tell it's shallow? I mean under harsh lighting the shadow is big and dark! Btw,if it is shallow,couldn't it respond to other treatments too?Or subcision+filler is the only thing?

Lighting always make it look worse than it actually is. You can go for microonedling or rf micro needling looks more like a rolling hence subcision. It doesnt have a huge atrophy hence it is shallow but I have seen people with subcision get excellent results for these scars and they are permanent.

You always can try other modalities but better to go with a proven track record. You just need spot subcision bythe way should be cheaper. You dont need fillers specifically but can give you instant confidence boost while it is repairing with sub

@getsmart121do you have any idea of how much improvement could I see? I mean, given the results you have seen and your knowledge,how much could this be "restored" ? Btw thank you a lot for responding,means a lot!

Since you have very shallow scarring you could expect excellent results. But again I cant guarantee. This whats known from the type of scarring you have and the improvement. Go in expecting nothing and you will always be happy. All we can in life is to give our best shot, outcome is not in our control.

You have a couple things going for you, youth and the fact that those are fresh scars (within 1 year). I would:

1. Get subcision, possibly fillers.find a good doctor that does this.

2. Get good nutrients that will aid and assist healing. Take in a very healthy diet. You want amino acids such as proline, glycine, lysine....meats, asparagus, mushrooms, cabbage to name a few. You want zinc, vitamin b, vitamin c (try taking vitamin c Ester supplements. You want Ester not regular vitamin C)

3. Get some hyaluronic acid and vitamin c serum. You can add a growth factor serum as well.

Be diligent with the diet and serums for a year and see if the scar improves.

also use sunscreen. you want to grow collagen, without the sunscreen, the rays from the sun will just hamper your abilities.

@GuyGaGahey thank you for answering! I already have a rich diet,and i am taking vitamin c supplements (not ester,but will definitely check it out!!) . I also use sunscreen. Will check out hyaluronic acid and vit C but i heard they do nothing for pitted scars,do u know anything about it?

So, is the scar considered deep? And will it look the same after fillers dissolve? I don't know many things sorry for asking a lot hahaha

45 minutes ago, JessicaOlivia said:

@GuyGaGahey thank you for answering! I already have a rich diet,and i am taking vitamin c supplements (not ester,but will definitely check it out!!) . I also use sunscreen. Will check out hyaluronic acid and vit C but i heard they do nothing for pitted scars,do u know anything about it?

 

So, is the scar considered deep? And will it look the same after fillers dissolve? I don't know many things sorry for asking a lot hahaha

It doesn't look deep to me but I think improving the redness would go a long ways to improving the appearance. That'll come with time but can be improved with vitamin c topicals, chemical peels. You might want to look into 20% glycolic pads. They sell some at Wal Mart. Maybe use those twice a week.

Now as far as the hyaluronic acid and vitamin c serums. That may be true to an extent. It might not work for older scars or ice pick scars but that's not the case with you. I wish I knew about all this stuff when I was around your age. I'm 40, I had a huge cyst that came out in September of last year. It look really bad after it went down. I used hyaluronic acid serum at night and vitamin c serum during the day. I have just recently incorporated growth factor serums and niacinamide (am sunscreen/moisturizer and pm moisturizer.). Right now the appearance is so much better. You have to really look to see any unevenness. Is the skin going to be 100% baby skin like before? Probably not but can you make it so it's superficial and imperceptible even within a few feet?(95%) I believe so. You're at that age where you're not losing collagen naturally and you heal much better than older people. If after a year you don't see improvement, then you can branch out and open up to other options like possibly RF microneedling. But if i were you, i'd try subcision along with the topicals and see where you're at a year from now. I mention subcision because ideally you want to hit the scars with serums when the pimple goes down and I believe you said 6 months have passed which is a long time.

If you're on the west coast, you might want to check out Dr. Rullan. he's a little pricey but he's aggressive enough with the subcision which is what is needed.

@GuyGaGamy acne started 6 months ago but the ones that left this scar went down 10 days ago! Sadly I am in Europe, and i went to three dermatologists that all suggested lasers.Hopefully(fingers crossed) I found a derm that not only performssubcision, but talks a lot about its benefits when the others don't.I booked an consultation and I wish she can help me. I know 100% can't happen but i just want this shadow to be much less visible under bad lighting etc. A 70% reduce in depth would make me SUPER happy.. Now,since my pimples are gone the last 10 days,should i start vit C serum etc?Or could it trigger breakouts?

Lasers are a bridge you might cross later but i always believe in starting with less invasive treatments. You have very nice skin and with full face laser you're bringing everything to bear against unscarred skin let alone scars.If you ever decide to go with a laser, spot treat an area first to see how you react. You have light skin so you have that in your favor when it comes to lasers.

Check out Don'tgiveupitsonlyscars...her threadis on page 1 and she has similar light skin to yours. She did laser and chronicles her treatments in her thread.

10 days...yeah i'd start applying a vitamin c serum like during the day. Just spot treat over the scars and clean it well at night. Some are thicker than others and the thicker ones may clog up the doors. I use naked vitamin c and renew vitamin c but there's true skin, celled (pricey). I'd check out some products online.

Now after 2 months, 3 or 4, you may not see any improvement...stick with it. Do it for a year then evaluate. It may work for you then again it may not, no guarantees. Everybody's different and responds to different things that's what makes acne scars tough. What works for one doesn't work for another. There's no cookie cutter templatewhere a doctor says, you 4 suffer from scarring?ok here's my plan, subcision, microneedling and lasers. If only it were that simple.

@beautifulambitioncould you please help me too? I know you are very knowledgeable and your advices have helped plenty!!

hey! any other recommendations would be really helpful guys!

Btw I visited an other derm and he said lasers will do nothing.He suggested subcision without filler (2 sessions spaced 1 month apart to break possible re-tethering) which would give possible a 10% improvement.He said that honestly i can aim for maximum 30-40% improvement with a combination of subcision,dermabrasion and phenol peel.He said that's the maximum and anything else is lies,photoshop and different angles in photos. I also asked about fillers but he said he doesn't prefer them because 1.they are temporary , and can last muchless than 6 months 2.they can easily cause doughnut effect or generally sit to an other place of the skin rather the scar..

I am feeling helpless... And even that 30-40% improvement (which is not satisfying enough,but better than nothing) is pretty risky! I am terrified after reading horror stories about dermabrasion and phenol peels.Please anyone!!! Help me!

First of all, I am not very knowledgeable on this subject. But I know that people here want more answers when they ask questions. We are all looking for a cure for our scars.

Your scars look very few and shallow. But I can understand it disturbs you in a bad light. I have been researching these issues for about a year. Subcision can be successful. You have to wait at least 1 month between sessions. You can then try RFM. I did both of these and did not experience any complications. But I also read that there are those who experience complications. Choosing a doctor is important.

I can say that the subcision results are permanent. It has been good for a scar and has been healing for months. Remember, collagen rebuilding takes up to 6 months. You will see improvement in the first days after subcision treatment. Over time, the scar tissue will begin to collapse again. But it will be better than before. (mine so happened)
In addition, a doctor I went to said that when there were red spots, a better response was obtained in acne scar treatment. Because the scar is just formed.
I hope you find a successful treatment. Good luck.

It's hard to trust doctors, especially when they recommend FIVE laser treatments off of the bat. I'm not saying he/she is money hungry and want to pay for future vacations and bigger houses, but FIVE is excessive. I'm not saying the treatments won't improve your skin, but maybe a skilled doctor could do the same in one or two.

Yes, some (but not all) on this forum would give you better advice. The best thing to do is speak with doctors and find out what they recommend and then see what people here say - then do additional research online. It's what you feel comfortable with after gathering as much information as you can. Doctors and people here will all have different perspectives on how to treat things.

So many people here wish they had your scars. They aren't that bad relative to what people here have.

First, try to reduce redness. Don't use harsh products (no scrubs!!!) and after cleansing, use something like Niacinamide (something like the Ordinary is inexpensive).

You can microneedle yourself instead of paying exorbitant prices. Alternate that with TCA peels (be careful!!!) monthly and see how that goes.

I've done lasers and have seen improvement but the majority of your improvement will be determined by the doctor/settings.

Sure, it's best to start slowly, especially since your scars aren't that deep.

@Amanda Hallthank you for replying!! I'm aware that my scarring is not the worst but that particular scar has made me extremely insecure.Sadly,we don't have scar experts in my countryyy! That's why I am so concerned.It is really hard for me to just go and trust any doctor here.I would travel If I could afford it but right now it is a little bit unlikely.Also,I am not sure if my problem is an "easy" fix or not.Because if it is something that can be greatly improved without having to travel overseas , meaning that I don't need a super amazing dermatologist (as dr.Davin Lim i guess) , I would be so happy! But yeah,i have visited 4 doctors and they didnmt even tell me what type of scar that is.. I will check out the methods you mentioned,I am just too afraid of doing more harm than good

@colorfulhey! thank you for your response! I know that my scars aren't many (i have other scars too that i just don't care a lot so i didn't take a photo of them). However , is that wide one shallow too? To me it seems deep but maybe i am overthinking it.I just feel like the shadow is too dark so the dent must be also deep.I would appreciate your thought on this! Also,how much improvement did u get from your treatments? And what type/severity of scars you had in the beggining?

8 hours ago, JessicaOlivia said:

@Amanda Hallthank you for replying!! I'm aware that my scarring is not the worst but that particular scar has made me extremely insecure.Sadly,we don't have scar experts in my countryyy! That's why I am so concerned.It is really hard for me to just go and trust any doctor here.I would travel If I could afford it but right now it is a little bit unlikely.Also,I am not sure if my problem is an "easy" fix or not.Because if it is something that can be greatly improved without having to travel overseas , meaning that I don't need a super amazing dermatologist (as dr.Davin Lim i guess) , I would be so happy! But yeah,i have visited 4 doctors and they didnmt even tell me what type of scar that is.. I will check out the methods you mentioned,I am just too afraid of doing more harm than good

@colorfulhey! thank you for your response! I know that my scars aren't many (i have other scars too that i just don't care a lot so i didn't take a photo of them). However , is that wide one shallow too? To me it seems deep but maybe i am overthinking it.I just feel like the shadow is too dark so the dent must be also deep.I would appreciate your thought on this! Also,how much improvement did u get from your treatments? And what type/severity of scars you had in the beggining?

You need to keep your acne under control first. Don't treat your scars if you still have active acne.

I'm not sure what country you are in. In the US, it's extremely common for a dermatologist to prescribe Retin-A and Tazorac for people with acne. Some dermatologists say that these products will "lift" the scar up somewhat if used regularly. Maybe it may make a different for you since your scars aren't that deep. I may have a different opinion than the doctors but that's just me. Topical prescriptions are very safe. I'm just not sure how much benefit you will see.

Microneedling can be safe as well. If you manually do it, it's easy and carries few risks (if you don't go too deep). BA on this forum said to alternate this with TCA peels - microneedle one month and then do a peel the next month. I had a bad experience with the DermaPen but other people may have different experiences. I did manual microneedling and didn't see results for my scars but I only did it a few times.

Some people here do not believe in lasers but I do (if you have a competent doctor and understand the risks). If you are scared of risks, then maybe you can do the lighter treatments and more of them. If your doctor doesn't charge much, then that might be a good idea. For me, I just want things done to the fullest extent that is still pretty safe because I don't want to spend time doing multiple treatments. Since you are young, you can afford to wait months and months for future treatments.

But consider the topical and microneedling treatments before lasers as other people always say.

Your condition resembles mine when I was young. Fortunately they don't look severe. My scars faded off after a few years once the acne problem was stabilized. The remaining minor marks could be easily concealed

@panpziheyy! did depth faded a bit too? or only redness?

22 hours ago, JessicaOlivia said:

 

@colorfulhey! thank you for your response! I know that my scars aren't many (i have other scars too that i just don't care a lot so i didn't take a photo of them). However , is that wide one shallow too? To me it seems deep but maybe i am overthinking it.I just feel like the shadow is too dark so the dent must be also deep.I would appreciate your thought on this! Also,how much improvement did u get from your treatments? And what type/severity of scars you had in the beggining?

I shared my images on my profile, you can check. My icepick and boxcar scars are more. The structure of my skin is also degraded, so I see a little rolling scar.
I had 4 sessions of RFM, 2 sessions of Icon fractional laser (nonablative), 3 subcision and 1 fractional nonablative erbium laser + plasma pen treatment.
60% of the red spots are gone. I see some of my scars getting better. I have one deep scar and it has not improved at all.
Since I have dark skin, I have to pay attention to the sun. That's why doctors always offered me nonablative options. But 6 months later I am thinking of taking Fractional CO2 laser, subcision and TCA Cross treatment. With my experience and help from the people here, I think I will go further with these treatments.
I can say that I have seen 25% improvement in my total scars right now.

@colorfulomg i saw your photos! your skin looks very nice! You are lucky because your scars aren't as wide as mine  I would probably do nothing if i had your skin , it looks very nice to me ¤ï¸ But i guess anyone wants to improve things so good luck! I hope we both have results that we'll make us accept our skin and what we see in the mirror..