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Wed Feb 03, 2010 11:53 am |
Hi! I have had horrible acne scars on my face for about 2 years now. I wonder if they have any potential of fading after a certain amount of time. I fear they are permanent and nothing I have tried (micro, peels, various products) has helped them go. I don't even pick at my acne and yet my acne inevitably becomes a scar.
Any info is much appreciated! |
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Wed Feb 03, 2010 12:34 pm |
Unfortunately they will not just fade (unless they are really post inflammatory pigmentation). If the scars are depressed acne scars or pits they will not fade. If it is just brown spots then it will fade because its not really a scar.
You can try going on tazorac to increase collagen production, sometimes it gives a subtle plumping effect which can improve the look of scars. In Dr Brandt's book on skincare, he mentions that he prefers Tazorac over Retin A for this. Also, you can try Fraxel or profractional. I have recently completed a series of photofacials. My skin looks nicer but I dont think it did anything for scarring, but there could be a subtle difference. I have had lots of microdermabrasions and it never did much for scarring either. Chemical peels will probably not do much either unless its a really deep one. You need serious collagen boosting and usually Fraxel or profractional are used for scarring. I would make sure you go to an experienced dermatologist and not some medspa offering a sale. Usually thats where people run into trouble. The treatments are expensive but the results can be good, like a 50% improvement, which, although not perfect, might make a very nice improvement. Sometimes people expect these treatments to completely get rid of all scarring. Unfortunately the technology is not there yet. I am sure that in the next few years it will be!
I would also make sure to wear sunscreen and take care of your skin by using a retinoid and an antioxidant because you want to keep the collagen you have. If it really does bother you save up for the treatments. You can waste thousands of dollars on topicals that will not do anything for scarring. |
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Wed Feb 03, 2010 12:50 pm |
Thank you for the much needed info. I am looking into the Fraxel right now and hoping it doesn't deplete my saving's acct. At this point, though, I feel I'll go for almost anything.
Thanks again,
Jen |
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Wed Feb 03, 2010 4:30 pm |
jbrooke wrote: |
Hi! I have had horrible acne scars on my face for about 2 years now. I wonder if they have any potential of fading after a certain amount of time. I fear they are permanent and nothing I have tried (micro, peels, various products) has helped them go. I don't even pick at my acne and yet my acne inevitably becomes a scar.
Any info is much appreciated! |
The coloration of the scars will fade over time, but if your skin is pitted because of them, you'll probably need something to help plump the skin.
I had really bad acne for about 25 years. The two things that made a HUGE difference for me were the original collagen injections (cow collagen), and Retin-A cream, 1%.
I had three sets of the collagen injections over a 2-year period, and then developed an allergy to it and had to stop. But, after the third set of injections, the scars didn't flatten out completely. (don't know why) I didn't begin Retin-A therapy until years later, but I think both products helped my skin a lot. (I used the Retin-A every night for a few years) I don't use either one of them anymore, but I can't notice where the scars used to be, which is great, because I was REALLY self-conscious about them for most of my life.
(I never used anything else on my face except those two products.)
A really good dermatologist will be able to help you.
Good luck. I really empathize, and hope you find something that works for you. |
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Wed Feb 03, 2010 4:55 pm |
brooke...sorry to hear that.....the acne started to damage my face when i was 20,,,,and right now i m 30...now the acne has subsided miraculously due to everyday intake of 500 mg niacin,,,so in the last 10 years the acne has caused quite deep and also some shallow scars on my face...everytime i developed acne,,,i was also left with brown and red marks,,,which very gradually fade away,,,but still have them ,,,but they do disappear with time,,,oe u can use obagi nuderm system...
As far as the deep and shallow scars are concerned,,,everyone is right,,,either go for fraxel,,,,or start using retin 1 0.1 %....i have started using obagi nuderm,,,which is taking care of my acne red and brown marks which have gotten lighter in the past 4 weeks of obagi system as well as the deep and shallow scars...
the deep and shallow scars will never go completely away with retin a but after continuous use over a period of months,,,they will get quite less prominent..i can already seen a difference in 4 weeks and thats great since i haee them...it makes my face look like a pita bread...A friend of mine got micropeel laser done for her severe scars and her face after 3 treaments become sooo smooth and all the scars gone...i think fraxel is more invasive and more expensive than micropeel...
Have u heard of micropeel before ? |
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Wed Feb 03, 2010 6:11 pm |
maheen1 wrote: |
the deep and shallow scars will never go completely away with retin a |
A good point, and may be true, but my shallow scars did go away completely. (That's the only reason I posted a response) The deep scars had some help from the collagen injections, but they're gone as well. I have to credit the Retin-A for that, because I wasn't using anything else on my face.
(Vitamin E might help as well. Not proven, but I know at least one person who said he got a rid of a facial scar by putting vitamin E on it every night.)
hth |
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Wed Feb 03, 2010 6:21 pm |
Thank you all for your input! Never considered a micropeel before- I've had chemical peels- but not sure if they are the same thing. I think I might try the Niacin- can't hurt, I assume. But I am definitely looking into the Fraxel and Retin-A.
I have also been reading about TCA peels. Wonder if they work? |
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Thu Feb 04, 2010 12:19 am |
plz dont waste ur money on tca peels...i got tca peel done 3 times with a gap of 1 to 2 months in between....it was a 35 percent tca and 15 percent jessners peel mix,,,which is considered a quite deep peel...the next days of the peel were very unreliable,,,the next day of the peel i would see a more even toned,,,vibrant complexion ,,free of any scars,,,it was always for the next day of tca peel and after words,,,everythng would come back....i wasted around 900 dollars on 3 peels and i wish i had never wasted my money on it instead gone for an obagi nuderm treatment and for micropeel...
micro peel laser is like fraxel,,,dont exactly know why is it different but i know a girl who had bad scars and the skingot like butter after 3 treatments of laser peel...but the only reason i m hesitant to do is that i m not sure how and if the results are going to last for more than a year or not cuz i dont know the girl anymore so cant ask her....after completion of obagi nuderm cycle,,,i will defintely go to the doctor who did micropeel for that girl and i m gonna ask him all the detais and all i should expect....
anyway Best of luck...it is hard ot live with acne scars for sure... |
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Thu Feb 04, 2010 1:08 am |
Just to let you know I have quite mild scarring that is only visible in certain lighting. Anyways, I have been on Obagi Nuderm and have been using retinoids (Retin A before, now Tazorac) and I am not sure that any of them have actually improved the scarring, but they have definately made my skin look better in other ways and increased the collagen in my skin. So maybe a 10-20% improvement over a couple years? Nothing too dramatic though. NuDerm made my scarring look better while I was using it. But after I discontinued it, it went back to where it was. I am thinking of trying profractional too. I have a good dermatologist. She says the results are really great, but the reviews online are mixed. I think a lot of it has to do with the experience of the person doing the treatment and the settings used. |
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Fri Feb 05, 2010 12:30 pm |
I think I can help with some info on this. I happened to be browsing over at the Skin Biology forum and found a users post on how to get rid of boxcar type scars using copper peptides and a 12% BHA. He had success in getting his deep scars to smooth out completely.
Basically - he would spot treat the scars w/ a corn remover (Dr Scholls) using a small object like a toothpick so he would not treat the surrounding skin.
Then he would let that heal for a few days using an antibacteria ointment. when it started to scab over, he would start to apply the CPs. It seemed to be a pretty fast program - his scars seemed to fill in in a few months time.
Read about it here:
http://healthyskin.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/7270023352/m/9150019263?r=1470038363 |
_________________ early 60's, fair skin, combo skin, very few fine lines, vertical lip lines, crows feet & 11's, fighting aging! Using Palancia HF, dermarollers, CPs, Retin A Micro, Safetox, AALS, Clairsonic |
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Fri Feb 05, 2010 5:02 pm |
A poster whose name I think is Stoney has been posting at skinbiology.com's forum about her two year acne scar routine. Gets pretty gruesome at times but seems to be working. |
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Fri Feb 05, 2010 5:34 pm |
Stoney has been working a long time on her problems. I think she has more buried types of scars - bumps per say - that she's 'digging' out. She's quite possessed with it all. I wish her continued success.
JW is the poster who is in the link above. He provides the most detailed, in-depth explanation of how he used CPs and acids to removed some deep chicken pox scars (and most ppl know how bad those can get). I think JW on the Skin Bio forum has some of the best responses to questions asked there. You can learn a lot from his posts.
His method can also be applied (perhaps not using the *strong* BHA of 12%, but a weaker one like a 2% one) for removal of post inflammatory hyperpigmentation scars - the redness/brown color that remains for months or longer after the blemish is gone. |
_________________ early 60's, fair skin, combo skin, very few fine lines, vertical lip lines, crows feet & 11's, fighting aging! Using Palancia HF, dermarollers, CPs, Retin A Micro, Safetox, AALS, Clairsonic |
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