First Post - Starting my Dermaroll routine

[rolo]

First of all, thank you Sarah for all of your time and personal attention that you provide on this board.  It really is an amazing service and you should sleep well at night knowing how many people you are helping and how important of a problem it is.  This is my first post but I have read these boards and your documents extensively. 

I am a 32 year sri lankan male that had cystic acne as a teen and only one bad breakout in 2007 and I picked at some scars but now I'm left with boxcar and icepick scarring mostly on my forehead temple area and a little on my cheek (jawline looks fine) and I have large pores on the left and right side of nose. 

That being said, I have tried to do as much searching and have been able to figure out most of the info I need but wanted to confirm my routine and verify a few things with you before I begin this journey.  I recently purchased the following items from your store: 1.5MM Dermaroller, 2MM Dermastamp, single needle package, Suction device, Vitamin C Powder, Chloramine T, Infadolan, Copper Peptide Mask, Vit C Bottle and ordered from Amazon the following: Betadine, Ice Packs, Cleansing Mask.  I know there is no perfect routine but this post serves to confirm the general efficacy of my routine (including any suggested modifications please) and answer some questions that I have.  I will take before pics and provide after pics if it is successful.  My skin is very similar to cesamaddict and I am very encouraged by his results.  Please note that although I only get the occasional zit now but still use Proactiv cleanser to maintain that.  Based on your instructions and other posts, I plan to do the following:

Nights 1-3: Dry brush face and splash Vitamin C homemade mix on face before sleeping.  Continue use of Proactiv cleanser and start using sunscreen daily from here on out. 

Night 3: Use 3rd party cleansing mask to unclog blackheads and reduce pore size near nose and t-zone. Stop use of Proactiv Cleanser and begin use of Cetaphil gentle cleanser on night 3.   (will unclogging pores generally help the healing/rolling process? - it intuitively made sense to me).  I will pause use of Vitamin C in order to effectively use the Copper peptide mask on Night 4 (2 questions - 1) is this enough time to stop the vit c to make the CP effective and 2) would it be better to keep using CP rather than Vit C after rolling or is just one night of CP enough?).  I read that you confirmed on the board not to use Vit C and CP at the same time. 

Night 4 - Ice and Disinfect face with Benadine just prior to rolling and roll entire face once horizontally and once vertically using motion described in instructions with 1.5MM.  Stamp scarred areas with 2MM stamp and single needle individual scars (is this too much at one time for the first time?).  Also thinking of just rolling OR stamping then single needling.  After needling, apply CP and then Infadolan (do I wash off the Infadolan after a period of time or leave it on until I shower the next morning and then reapply?)  Clean needles with soap and water and disinfect with Chloramine T in glass jar with needle point facing down on jar (hoping this won't dull needles as you mentioned). 

Morning 5 - Remove needles from jar and air dry.  Wash off Infadolan using Cetaphil gentle cleanser. 
Night 5 - suction the scarred areas (drag suction along all scars and make 8-12 passes for each scar right?) [/b]apply Vitamin C (or should I keep applying CP?) and then reapply infadolin for the last time since i'm afraid it might break me out beyond 2 days.  How long do the bruises/hematoma generally last from the rolling/suction last? (as in can I go to work the next morning without people noticing?)

Morning 6 - resume use of Proactiv twice a day, Vit C once a night (will BP counteract Vit C like CP does?), and suncreen in the morning.  Would a proactiv toner or any addition of Alpha Hydroxy moisturizer help this routine?

LAST QUESTION: When needling, did I read correctly that we can pinch the areas around the scar with thinner skin (would forehead be considered thin skin) and stretch areas of thicker skin (like cheeks and temples) when single needling?

I will repeat this every four weeks. 

I will also be changing my diet to include a superfood shake and resume working out and eating better. 

FINAL STEP: Post hopefully amazing results to this forum after 6-12 months (willing to give it two years to work).

Thanks again Sarah and to all of the other posters and best of luck out there!

[SarahVaughter]

Thank you for your kind words!
It would be great if can document your experience.

I do not think you need the suction pump because it helps release the tethering of the rolling type of acne scars (they are usually tethered). It is worth trying in really stubborn boxcar acne scars, just in case that some of them are also tethered (boxcar scars are usually not tethered).

You should use vit. C for at least 3 consecutive days prior to your microneedling session to achieve maximum concentration for the session day.

Use copper peptides afterwards. On the days after, you can do turns. One day vit, C, the next day copper peptides and so on.

During the same session, first stamp the scars and then roll the entire area. You can first roll and then stamp but rolling makes the skin red and you will not be able to see and precisely target the scars with the dermastamp.

Do not treat your entire face in one go. It is better to do for example half of the face. When it heals, do the other.

Avoid treating the pores next to your nose. Treat just your scars.

You do not have to use Infadolan for more than right after the treatment but keep the treated area moisturized with a product that you know does not break you out. You can shower Infadolan off in the morning and apply your cream.

You should do a small test patch to find out how long your skin remains red. Stamping with a 2 mm dermastamp is quite aggressive and it will likely stay red for at least two days and it will form scabs. Try it on Friday evening (if you do not work at the weekends).

On the face, it is better to always stretch the skin while needling.