Ice pick acne scars

[rosesunny]

I have a question I have a couple of ice pick acne scars and I want to know how to get rid of them if anyone knows what to do about them that would be greatly appreciated.

[readysetrocket]

I’m trying out the Glow Cup facial cups right now. They mention benefits to acne scarring and fine lines. So far, I can say that daily use has diminished fine lines, which might help with texture scarring, but my hyperpigmentation acne scars are still there of course. Might be worth a try. They aren’t terribly expensive and it’s a fun ritual to add into your routine.

[cacf811]

You’ll need to consult with a dermatologist for laser treatments and/or chemical peels. There’s no miracle products for severe scarring such as ice pick scars, boxcar or rolling scars. Switch to clean skincare so there are no synthetic ingredients to irritate your skin more. I love & use Youth to the People & Biossance. Look for ingredients like rosehip seed oil, calendula, tea tree and any other plant oil and lemon or any citrus oils. Aloe, Green Tea, Hylaronic Acid, Safflower, squalane, any berries are all good ingredients for your skin. You could also try a Dermaroller to stimulate collagen. But rosehip seed oil will really really help along with vitamin C. Fresh & Herbivore have great clean rose products; personally I love Fresh. Ole Henriksen has Truth Serum packed with collagen & vitamin C & also has a 3 step power peel that is a must. The power peel has a sweet almond oil exfoliater, lemon peel &chamomile mask that works wonders. Drunk Elephant’s Baby Facial would be great for you too. I also love Biossance’s Glycolic Renewal Facial. Also, look into their Rose Vitamin C oil. Youth to the People’s Superberry Oil is phenomenal with scars. Their air whip moisturizer is also amazing. Good luck to you, I’ve been there!

[Anonymous]

Long post incoming:

I have hormonal acne from PCOS as well as some less noticeable scarring. My first tip is wear face sunscreen everyday - yes even on an overcast day. Sun exposure can darken scars.

1) Products with lactic acid and salicylic acid can help. Diluted apple cider vinegar contains lactic acid and can be used as a DIY toner or spot treatment. For salicylic acid I would suggest a face wash like Clean & Clear or Neutrogena. Also consider Cetaphil and Cerave which are slightly pricier.

2) When drugstore products didn't work, I went to my dermatologist. Topical retinoids are an option. They help with skin regeneration & improving texture along with reducing discoloration and fading scarring .See this article for reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5574737/ . They do increase sun sensitivity so again sunscreen is a must. Retinoids do dry out skin. I use .1% tazorac gel for my acne and it took some getting used to along with slowly raising the concentration. Differin gel can be purchased at drugstores now. The main challenge is dry skin & sensitivity.

3) Now we get into medical procedures AKA stuff that a dermatologist does.

- Dermabrasion is the most effective for lighter acne scars but can kind of help for deeper ones. It's similar to those microdermabrasion kits you can do at home. It's basically deep exfoliation.

-Chemical peels are strong acids that are used to remove the top layer of skin to reduce deeper scars. Some are mild enough for home but your doctor can use a stronger solution. My derm recommended this for me.

-Laser resurfacing also removes the top layer except it has a faster healing time than the other treatments. An inconvenience is you have to wear a bandage during the healing and it's not good for people still getting breakouts & less effective on darker skin tones.

- Microneedling uses a small, handheld, needle studded roller on the surface of the scars. Your skin is numbed first. Then your face is poked a bunch and collagen forms as it heals. It helps but results can take up to 9 months to see changes. See: https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/acne-and-rosacea/acne-scars

- Minor in-office surgery is our last one with the acne scars being removed and then replaced with a smaller scar which does heal albeit slowly.

tl;dr: Wear sunscreen everyday. You have a lot of options both over the counter and prescription so check with your doctor/dermatologist to see what they suggest.