Has any one totally healed up with Dr. Y Dermabrasion procedure. However, very striking demarkation of chin and face. Looks like I am wearing some kind of mask. Any one out there who happens to be Asian and with Type IV for Skin tone, who had this procedure done and totally healed up to a point where they are comfortable with their results. I included a snap shot to show you my dilema. Please feel free to add anything in. I plan to ask Dr. Y tomorrow if there is any worry for concern. I would say I had approximately 10% improvement on my scars (too bad it is not 100%). However, I had a bad break out on both side of my neck which left some dark scars. I just finished 4 treatment of fraxel seemed to me to lightened those up a little bit. If improvement is some what substatial, I will try a full face fraxel next year. Are'nt we all kinda fustrated that we spend so much money and time to make ourselves look somewhat normal. Why don't our health providers pay for these procedures, totally bogus. Just a note I was running on a beach this morning and I stumble onto a person who seemed to me they got burned (and the face to be somewhat disfigured) and he is just walking his dog not being bothered. He is permenately disfigured and our personal quest seemed to little comparison to his. [attachmentid=2883]
Hey Kip,
Good luck with your visit. Let us know how NOLA and Dr. Y is.
To your question. I can't address it specifically but it seems to me (from your pic) that the derm took any sun damage you may have had on your face but it remains on your neck area? That's the first thing that came to mind anyways.
Your face is looking a ton better with respect to the demarcation lines and such. I remember your posts from a few months back when I first started coming onto the site. I would say u have no pigment problems and just need to wait a little longer for the skin to even out again.
Hey Kipster,
I'm wondering the same thing... although I'm behind in terms of healing compared to you.
Your skin in terms of scarring looks good. I know what you mean about the demarcation line. I have exactly the same skin color as you, and am Asian, with my neck darker than my face.
Have you tried getting a bit of sun here and there? that's all I can think of to offset this situation.
Oh, another thing, I'll be experimenting with whitening/bleaching creams on my neck to make it lighter. Hope that this helps somewhat.
Please keep us posted with your progress.
-Hopeful
Kip,
I am 10 months post dermabrasion by Dr. Y . The demarcation can be seen from many feet away, as opposed to my original skin whose scars can only be seen up close. You won't believe the humiliation I get from coworkers and strangers, even to this day.
Dr. Y said he dermabraded many asians, and the only people who ever had any problem after dermabrasion were a lady who put on make up a few days to fly home a few days after dermabrasion, and another lady who got sun burnt 6 months after dermabrasion. I guess that makes you, hopefulskin and I problematic patients #3, #4 and #5 in his 30+ years of career. I talked to a #6 who have similar problem but does not want to post yet. I wonder if Dr. Y comprehends how our lives are forever changed by the aftermath of dermabrasion.
Dr. Y did mention hypopigmentation but he gave me the impression that it won't happen if I protect the new skin from the sun and cold which I did.
The problem is our natural skin is much darker and yellower than the whitish, redish new skin. Face it man, your tan took so many years to form, what are the chances that the new skin will match that?? It is a known fact that dermabrasion destroys melanocytes.
My guess is Dr. Y will tell you to either put on make up or sunless tan lotion, or call the pigmentation specialist Pearl Grime who praticses in Los Angelos. I believe the demarcation could look less obvious if there is an effective way to lighten the whole neck (Triluma doesn't do it for me).
How do you compare fraxel to dermabrasion? I thought dermabrasion would improve scars more than just 10%.
I would like to say everyone results is a little bit different and When you talk to Dr. Y first thing he tells you keep your expectation real. I think improvement and smoothness is 10-15% better, However like everyone who had procedure have somewhat of orange peel like skin. Dr. Y opinion on the type of scars I have is moderate acne scars on most part of my face and He said 1 treatement would probably be somewhat satisfactoral, However I don't feel quite normal yet. I was talking to my Doctor who is performing My Fraxel he said improvement might be 50% or more. I think Doctors in general well tell you a lot of things some true some not. I would hope that if things work out with Fraxel concerning improvement on my neck region, If it does I'll get the full face Fraxel, and hopefully improvment would be a minimal of 50% plus Dermabrasion (I had this year) 10% that equal 60% and maybe a year later, I'll get a second treatment of Fraxel that might put me up to 90% and if that is the case; I suppose I would be satisfy with that. That is just hopeful thinking (hopefully in a year or two they well develop something that will be better than the year before). Best wishes to everyone and have a great new year.
Kip
Kip,
I am 10 months post dermabrasion by Dr. Y . The demarcation can be seen from many feet away, as opposed to my original skin whose scars can only be seen up close. You won't believe the humiliation I get from coworkers and strangers, even to this day.
Maybe its just the camera, but I can't see your demarc lines at all. Your skin looks pretty good. Have you tried sunless tanning creams or even makeup?
Kip,
I am 10 months post dermabrasion by Dr. Y . The demarcation can be seen from many feet away, as opposed to my original skin whose scars can only be seen up close. You won't believe the humiliation I get from coworkers and strangers, even to this day.
Dr. Y said he dermabraded many asians, and the only people who ever had any problem after dermabrasion were a lady who put on make up a few days to fly home a few days after dermabrasion, and another lady who got sun burnt 6 months after dermabrasion. I guess that makes you, hopefulskin and I problematic patients #3, #4 and #5 in his 30+ years of career. I talked to a #6 who have similar problem but does not want to post yet. I wonder if Dr. Y comprehends how our lives are forever changed by the aftermath of dermabrasion.
Dr. Y did mention hypopigmentation but he gave me the impression that it won't happen if I protect the new skin from the sun and cold which I did.
The problem is our natural skin is much darker and yellower than the whitish, redish new skin. Face it man, your tan took so many years to form, what are the chances that the new skin will match that?? It is a known fact that dermabrasion destroys melanocytes.
My guess is Dr. Y will tell you to either put on make up or sunless tan lotion, or call the pigmentation specialist Pearl Grime who praticses in Los Angelos. I believe the demarcation could look less obvious if there is an effective way to lighten the whole neck (Triluma doesn't do it for me).
your skin looks fantastic in this picture. cant see any pigmentation differences 
Hey sword and Kip,
Both of your skin looks great....smooth and hard to see much acne scarring whatsoever. your demarcation line isn't too bad sword, it's hardly noticeable. And kip, I notice yours but I would wait a full year and it will likely get better. I've probably gotten about 95% of my color back. It's difficult to see any demarcation, even up close in the mirror now. And it's been more than a year now since the dermabrasion for me. I can PM you some pics if you'd like.
Hi kooky.
I'm happy that you come out looking normal from ther dermabrasion, that (for a darker skinned asian) requires a lot of luck.
On two occasions, two of my hair dresser's assistants noticed the dark pigment on the non dermabraded side along the hair line. One bursted in laughter and had to leave the room. The other asked what caused the "stain" mark in my hairline.
Here is another one taken under day light. Notice the dermarcation at the jaw and under the chin. In person you can easily see them.
The redness that Dr. Y says "always goes away" simply won't go away. It also takes very little to trigger my face to blush like a tomato. I am trying a vBeam program for Rosacea patients, so far I don't see any result yet.
The face is much lighter than the neck. It is hard to see in this picture because the persistent redness gets in the way. Look harder, you will see it. Under certain lighting where the redness is less noticeable, e.g. in the gym locker room, my face look very pale compare to the skin on my neck.
That would be great, I would like to see how sucessful the treatment is after a year.
Hey sword and Kip,
Both of your skin looks great....smooth and hard to see much acne scarring whatsoever. your demarcation line isn't too bad sword, it's hardly noticeable. And kip, I notice yours but I would wait a full year and it will likely get better. I've probably gotten about 95% of my color back. It's difficult to see any demarcation, even up close in the mirror now. And it's been more than a year now since the dermabrasion for me. I can PM you some pics if you'd like.
Probably is just the pictures but the lines are really hard to notice. One would think that dermabrasion is like any scrape or rugburn u get. Some rugburn scars stay looking red or just off color for a long time but always end up turning back to the same color even if it may take a year or two.
man.. i feel for you sword and kipster.. I also have hypopigmented areas in my face from scrubbing with a harsh cloth when I was younger.. 23 years later I still have the pale areas.. it just makes the overall look of my face less organized and thus less attractive.. I think hypopigmentation is worse than having scars..
While it sucks to be hypopigmented, it is the redness that bothers me the most.
Essentially I have contracted Rosacea through dermabrasion, except "natural" Rosacea patients' redness fade into their natural skin tones, but mine stops adruptly at the dermacation line. My face easily turns and stays dark red for a long time when I'm under heat, cold, working out or undergo emotions.
People's humiliating and belittling reaction to the unusual redness, especially Chinese people but other races included, is unreal and overwhelming. It doesn't stop me from doing my business but it makes my public life much less enjoyable, which I could not have imagined before the dermabrasion. My pre-dermabrasion skin was scarred and disgusted some people, but I did not get this kind of treatments I get now.
Dolmal I know you are still suffering from redness and pigmentation issue, so are Kip and Hopefulskin to certain degree. Now that I am 10 months+ post dermabrasion, I feel seriously misled about the duration of redness and the chance of hypopigmentation. Earlier this year I asked Dr. Y why he did not turn me down for my type IV asian skin, he insisted my hypopigmentation is an isolated case even for my skin type. He said he never had anyone who stayed red, and wished that I would not become his first.
Perhaps we should send him a formal joint-letter with good quality pictures to set the record straight: dermabrasion can easily cause persistent or permenant rosacea like symptoms (certaily not the 3 months average he casually said at the consultation) and hypopigmentation (certanly not only 5% to 6%, unless what he meant was 5% to 6% of his patients are asians).
Sounds like a good idea, It really does not appear to be a isolated incidence. Many patients who are Asians, seem to suffer from this. However, People with olive skin, which is quite darker than Type IV skin tone seem to heel fully. What is the reason behind this. Sword add me in to your list of people to have a letter drafted for Dr. Y, or have atleast him in the future show clients who are Asian with our type of skin, of patients who have fully recovered within the 3 months period (Not Many I believe). I really have not heard of anyone recovering during that period. It seems that a lot of us patients has been mislead. Was this because of Money or just that Dr. Y did not know the long term effects of this procedure.
While it sucks to be hypopigmented, it is the redness that bothers me the most.
Essentially I have contracted Rosacea through dermabrasion, except "natural" Rosacea patients' redness fade into their natural skin tones, but mine stops adruptly at the dermacation line. My face easily turns and stays dark red for a long time when I'm under heat, cold, working out or undergo emotions.
People's humiliating and belittling reaction to the unusual redness, especially Chinese people but other races included, is unreal and overwhelming. It doesn't stop me from doing my business but it makes my public life much less enjoyable, which I could not have imagined before the dermabrasion. My pre-dermabrasion skin was scarred and disgusted some people, but I did not get this kind of treatments I get now.
Dolmal I know you are still suffering from redness and pigmentation issue, so are Kip and Hopefulskin to certain degree. Now that I am 10 months+ post dermabrasion, I feel seriously misled about the duration of redness and the chance of hypopigmentation. Earlier this year I asked Dr. Y why he did not turn me down for my type IV asian skin, he insisted my hypopigmentation is an isolated case even for my skin type. He said he never had anyone who stayed red, and wished that I would not become his first.
Perhaps we should send him a formal joint-letter with good quality pictures to set the record straight: dermabrasion can easily cause persistent or permenant rosacea like symptoms (certaily not the 3 months average he casually said at the consultation) and hypopigmentation (certanly not only 5% to 6%, unless what he meant was 5% to 6% of his patients are asians).
Lunar,
Why wait 18 months, is that the time period suggested by this medical journal, before assessing final result / damage? By the way is this the same Dr. Harmon (the nephew of Dr. Y) who gave you vBeam? If so it would be ironic because I asked Dr. Y if he ever read medical journals that mentions high risk for permanant discoloration for our skin type and he said no.
I hope you can at least see the redness in the 2nd pic above. From reading this thread, I believe you and hopefulskin suffer from different kind of redness then Kipster and I. I believe from a glance you may appear to only have a red slash on your jaw, which is not too odd IMO.
I don't have bright red patches, from Kip's picture I cannot see any either. What I suffer from is overall even redness in the dermabraded area. If you take a 360% view of my head, you can clearly see I wear a red mask. It is this unnaturally shaped redness that attracts the unwanted attention now.
Trust me I act natural and don't avoid being seen from any angle, so it has nothing to do with my attitude. Sometimes when people react (like laugh at) or comment on the redness, I would carry on business or conversation as usual, but the whole face would flare up and that I cannot help. It is quite easy for me to go from "normal" redness to dark red during a meal, hot drink or food or just chewing flares me up too.
My laser doc and my derm verified the overall redness and the flaring condition, which are Rosacea like symptoms. They can also see my hypopigmentation especially in the forehead area. My laser doc thinks 3 vBeam treatments ** may ** help the overall redness and flushing, but left it up to me to decide as she has never treated redness resulted from skin resurfacing before.
It is hard to capture my hypopigmentation on my camera under daylight and yellowish lighting at home. The redness distracts attiontion from it too. Maginify the (2nd) picture if you have to, there is a definite line that devides the two color at the jaw and under the chin. I shall definitely upload pics that better reveal the color difference.
Kip (and others who wants to participate in the letter),
I don't know why Dr. Y did not screen us out, or at least warn us about long term condition we are suffering from, and I don't want to implicate at this point. People like Dolmal, Hopefulskin, you and me had dermabrasion thinking everything will return to normal in a few months. Dr. Y did not advise us otherwise, in fact he suggested the redness goes away in a few months and that it always goes away, and most people regain their original color. Only 5% - 6% of his patients became a shade or two lighter then before. Many months later we are still suffering from redness / hypopgimentation or both.
I'll send you the first draft after the holidays. It is important to take pictures that shows the redness and the much lighter skin tone. You did a pretty good job with the pic at the begining of this thread. The pics that you sent me couple months ago did a good job of telling the nake truth.
LowFreq,
Yes, I admit I was so desparate to get rid of my scars, I jumped on the dermabrasion band wagon that started on this board in 2004 without fully considering the consequences.
Hmmm its obvious without asking a doctor if Asian skin types experience [pigmentation problems. I dont know why Dr Yarborough would have said no since I have read that any skin type other than I II and III are risky or at least are the skin types that experience the majority of the problems. Look at this message board and notice that EVERY person talking about pigmentation problems were Asian. I dont really think any of u have significant pigmentation problems though and would think that as time goes by the skin will regain its normal skin color. Best of luck.
First, I really feel for you guys with pigment problems. I hope it gets better with more time. Second, I'm thinking about derm with Dr. Y. My biggest fear is pigment problems, especially hypo. I think I am Type II. I have a deep tan (but my face is naturally more red than body), my hair bleaches platinum blond and I have blue eyes. So, I have features that are associated with I, II and III.
Anyway, I gather you guys would tell me don't do it. Any input would be appreciated, especially as to pigment risk.
Hey Sword.. you don't have rosacea.. I looked at pictures of people who have that and urs doesn't even come close to it -- you look healthy! I know the redness bothers you but keep in mind our bodies are intelligent and has the ability to heal and renew itself over time but it will require alot of your patience and importantly a trust between you and your body. Therefore take this opportunity to do things that will help with your overall skin health (healthy diet, excersise, etc.) and you may be surprised to find that your skin will resolve.
Hey, Fellow sufferers
Like SWORD mention there is a distinct color difference between the face and neck. It seems like a never ending journey, I would love to be "lets say one or two shades lighter" that probably would not bother me as much. But somehow my skin seems to me pale. I have just surprise that Dr. Y did not tell the real story before performing such a procedure. I know there is risk in any kind of procedure, However a good doctor needs to explain all the risk factors. I remember asking him the down time and the time frame when my skin tone would come back they mention from 3-6 months, Like many who are recovering it's been longer than that. I also added couple of photo's to prove my point I think my left side is much more pronounce than my right side. There is not really not much that we can do now, but like fellow sufferers of scars we need to put this out there so that other people might have all the information before partaking into dermabrasion.
Look at this message board and notice that EVERY person talking about pigmentation problems were Asian.
I am not Asian and i have a slight hyperpigmentation after Exoderm. I am almost 5 months post Exoderm. My skin is Fitzpatrick III.
Hey, Fellow sufferers
Like SWORD mention there is a distinct color difference between the face and neck. It seems like a never ending journey, I would love to be "lets say one or two shades lighter" that probably would not bother me as much. But somehow my skin seems to me pale. I have just surprise that Dr. Y did not tell the real story before performing such a procedure. I know there is risk in any kind of procedure, However a good doctor needs to explain all the risk factors. I remember asking him the down time and the time frame when my skin tone would come back they mention from 3-6 months, Like many who are recovering it's been longer than that. I also added couple of photo's to prove my point I think my left side is much more pronounce than my right side. There is not really not much that we can do now, but like fellow sufferers of scars we need to put this out there so that other people might have all the information before partaking into dermabrasion.
I can see the hypopigmentation in your pics. Subtle pigmentation issues may be not seen at all in a standard pic, and serious pigmentation problems may appear as subtle. I see a subtle hypopigmentation in your pics so maybe it is very hypopigmented.