getting stretchmarks on my face

[Rollin]

They're not actual stretchmarks, but they are somewhat like stretchmarks (without the "scarring"). It started with me getting neckfolds all of a sudden that looked a lot like stretchmarks; they appeared over the course of a few weeks. Now, much later, I'm starting to get some strange lines of "sunken skin" on my face.

These are not stretchmarks, but as I'm not english I have no better word to describe them. They are basically somewhat short lines of "sunken skin" but without the scarformation, though a couple of them look a bit "brownish/purpleish". They are almost all where my beard is, and they're definately not a very big deal yet, but I'm wondering why these do appear. Two of them are fairly noticable and the rest are very very minor, but those two are quite noticable.

The real question is this though: would it help to dermaroll these parts? I've only rolled my face once so I doubt it's the cause of these marks, in fact I think I rolled it as I saw them beginning to appear hoping it would stop the process, but I'm not sure now (I rolled over a week ago)...

Do you think it could hurt to roll these (with the methods you recommend)? Should I see a skindoctor?

Sincerely,

- David

[gmt2458]

Hello

 I had something similar happpen and that's why I quit rolling after just a few times.

  I am going to ask about my experience here. I thought perhaps I wasn't doing it right or did not have the correct length needl but there was a paucity of information/instruction where I got my roller.

   Anyway, after I did the dermaroller, not too hard or long because I did not numb up my face (though the .75 mm needle) did hurt a bit. I thought it made my pores look bigger, and I also thought my skin looked a little saggy so I stopped.

 After reading the instructions here and focus on two eight month old trauma scars. I would really appreciate if anyone could hazard a guess what might be going on?

 My skin care regimin is consistent: I have used Retin-A 1 percent for about 12 years now. I never go anywhere without at least 45 spf sunscreen. I also exfoliate with crystals myself so I would think I was a good candidate. I plan to buy the vitamin C ingrediance and also the copper peptide pack (I've been looking for a good copper peptide product for six months since I read it actually will help the skin.)

  Thanks in advance to anyone who might shed some light on this.

 gmt

[LaurieR]

Ok, this is strange that I found this because I have had this same problem for the past 5 months and I have been in contact with a few others who are experiencing this as well. Mine started after I took a vitamin a supplement for two weeks. It altered my skin somehow and now it gets these random scar type of lines out of nowhere. They are not wrinkles (I'm 30 and have taken good care of myself, no wrinkles prior to 5 months ago). They are all on my cheeks and about as deep as a fingernail indent maybe a bit less deep in some cases, and some lines have that reddish/purplish coloring that you have described. Some of these lines form shapes like triangles and circles, and some resemble pores that have connected together to form patterns. It is bizarre. Others I have spoken with have had this happen after taking the acne drug Accutane (years after in most cases), and others have had it happen while using retin-a or other retinoids. It seems to be connected to underlying dermal inflammation, and I can verify this as scars start popping up on my face within hours if I use anything that irritates it. I tried dermarolling some of the scars once and although the original scars were altered somewhat, new ones popped up, most likely due to the slight inflammation that dermarolling causes. The good news is that they are fairly shallow and one other person who has had this issue had good results individually needling the scars with needles, and also using a dermaroller once his face wasn't as sensitive. I just want you both to be aware that  retinoids seem to be connected to this problem, at least in many of the people I have spoken with, although I'm not sure about topical vitamin a, as it is slightly different in action than prescription retinoids. There have been some reports that fish oil causes it as well, which may be valid.

With that said, I am going to be ordering a shorter dermaroller through this site and also some needles to have handy once I feel it is safe to proceed again with the scar removal.  Apparently they can be removed very well this way once the underlying dermal inflammation is resolved. Hope this helps, if not, just disregard...

[SarahVaughter]

In order to identify exactly what marks we're talking about and how they came about, we ideally would need this information:

1. Sharp, hi-resolution closeup photo's of the marks, photo's of the entire cheek and of individual marks.

2. A comprehensive list of all treatments (mechanical and chemical) performed on the skin prior to the appearance of the marks, say in the preceding six months.

3. Accurate treatment schedules performed, as in how often you micro-needled with what needle-length device, what was your technique etc.

An aquaintance of mine is a dermarolling expert (plastic surgeon and co-inventor of the dermaroller who does little else but microeedling nowadays). I can forward the pictures to him and ask what he thinks of it.

[LaurieR]

SarahVaughter;610 wrote: In order to identify exactly what marks we're talking about and how they came about, we ideally would need this information:

1. Sharp, hi-resolution closeup photo's of the marks, photo's of the entire cheek and of individual marks.

2. A comprehensive list of all treatments (mechanical and chemical) performed on the skin prior to the appearance of the marks, say in the preceding six months.

3. Accurate treatment schedules performed, as in how often you micro-needled with what needle-length device, what was your technique etc.

An aquaintance of mine is a dermarolling expert (plastic surgeon and co-inventor of the dermaroller who does little else but microeedling nowadays). I can forward the pictures to him and ask what he thinks of it.

 

Right now I don't have the equipment to get high-resolution photos, but I would be interested to see if the others could. I can say that prior to the marks appearing 5 months ago I had not had any chemical or mechanical procedures performed on the skin whatsoever, I never have. I tried dermarolling a small patch 4 weeks ago however this was long after this scarring process was underway and I did it in an attempt to see if it had an impact on the scars. I used a 1mm dermaroller on a localized area. I used the directions supplied by the retailer (which weren't very detailed and I won't be ordering from them again). I went over the area several times in different rolling directions.

I am interested if the others are experiencing something similar or if my situation is completely different. Thanks for your interest in helping us!

[SarahVaughter]

To clarify: I meant by "chemical treatments" just plain old cosmetic/vitamin creams, sorry if I wasn't clear enough :-)

Have you used any such creams prior to the appearance of the marks?

[LaurieR]

SarahVaughter;612 wrote: To clarify: I meant by "chemical treatments" just plain old cosmetic/vitamin creams, sorry if I wasn't clear enough :-)

Have you used any such creams prior to the appearance of the marks?

 

No problem. Prior to this issue, I had not used any cosmetics. I was using the oil cleansing method to cleanse my skin as well as the occasional use of a non-chemical natural sunscreen, as needed. My skin looked great and was clear and radiant. It has been at least 4 years since I have used any type of commercial cream preparations.

[Rollin]

LaurieR;609 wrote: Ok, this is strange that I found this because I have had this same problem for the past 5 months and I have been in contact with a few others who are experiencing this as well. Mine started after I took a vitamin a supplement for two weeks. It altered my skin somehow and now it gets these random scar type of lines out of nowhere. They are not wrinkles (I'm 30 and have taken good care of myself, no wrinkles prior to 5 months ago). They are all on my cheeks and about as deep as a fingernail indent maybe a bit less deep in some cases, and some lines have that reddish/purplish coloring that you have described. Some of these lines form shapes like triangles and circles, and some resemble pores that have connected together to form patterns. It is bizarre. Others I have spoken with have had this happen after taking the acne drug Accutane (years after in most cases), and others have had it happen while using retin-a or other retinoids. It seems to be connected to underlying dermal inflammation, and I can verify this as scars start popping up on my face within hours if I use anything that irritates it. I tried dermarolling some of the scars once and although the original scars were altered somewhat, new ones popped up, most likely due to the slight inflammation that dermarolling causes. The good news is that they are fairly shallow and one other person who has had this issue had good results individually needling the scars with needles, and also using a dermaroller once his face wasn't as sensitive. I just want you both to be aware that  retinoids seem to be connected to this problem, at least in many of the people I have spoken with, although I'm not sure about topical vitamin a, as it is slightly different in action than prescription retinoids. There have been some reports that fish oil causes it as well, which may be valid.

With that said, I am going to be ordering a shorter dermaroller through this site and also some needles to have handy once I feel it is safe to proceed again with the scar removal.  Apparently they can be removed very well this way once the underlying dermal inflammation is resolved. Hope this helps, if not, just disregard...

 

Yes this all sounds very much like me. now the only thing I've done besides rolling my face once is taking a vitaminsuppplement, but I have taken that one in the past without a problem that I know of. I've stopped taking anything like that at the moment though. I used a 1.5mm dermaroller this time and it did draw a little blood but mostly on my forehead, not sure it drew any blood on my cheeks where it's all at. Well it's between cheeck and jawline mostly, where my beard is, so in worst case I'll just have to wear a beard I guess. And yes some of these have weird shapes and others are straight. I'm afraid that more will be forming because it seems they might if I look closeup.

I'm feeling quite down over this, not knowing why it happens and fearing I'll get more of the same stuff. at this point it's not looking great but it's not a big deal in reality although I'm quite selfconscious about these things... I think I'll try to do the individual needle thingy if this stops, cause I don't dare to dermaroll my entire face again, not knowing if this contributed (again I'm not sure if these weren't forming already when I rolled, I'm pretty sure I had one of them at least).

What I did was this:

I rolled my face per instructions here. I didn't use numbingcream but pressed down a fair bit, and drew a little blood (but very little). I might have rolled a few areas a little more than just 5 times each way, but not sure I rolled more on the area in question.

I then used infadolan immediately after, which I applied a couple of times a day on the most noticable "stretchmark". I stopped doing that after 3 days and used a fatfree moisturizer which ive used for about two years one night, I then continued with infadolan for about 4-5 more days (only infadolan), and now I've stopped with both for the time being.

Kinda annoying when you try to fix one thing then another problem appears.

I can take some highres photos in about a week. I'll give you all an update then.

Thanks -

David

[LaurieR]

I find it amazing that I have found so many others suffering from this very same mysterious scarring yet I have been to three dermatologists and not one of them could tell me what was going on. I have been tested for every autoimmune disease as well as some other rare diseases, all have come back negative. It must be more common than we think, yet doctors are in denial or people aren't reporting it. David, are you sensitive to the sun? I ask because some of my scars seem to show up after I've been exposed to light, even just visible light makes my skin feel like it's burning and then these scars show up for days afterward. I have become a prisoner in my house and have to cover my face with several layers if I am to go outside during the day. I purchased some red and yellow LED's which are supposed to help rejuvenate skin and build collagen yet just a couple of minutes with them made my skin burn like the worst sunburn of my life and scarring showed up within minutes. I have been tested for the photosensitive condition Porphyria and came back negative so I have no idea what is going on but I am losing my mind here. My face looks worse every day. I look forward to seeing your pictures to see if your scarring is similar to mine...

[Rollin]

LaurieR;618 wrote: I find it amazing that I have found so many others suffering from this very same mysterious scarring yet I have been to three dermatologists and not one of them could tell me what was going on. I have been tested for every autoimmune disease as well as some other rare diseases, all have come back negative. It must be more common than we think, yet doctors are in denial or people aren't reporting it. David, are you sensitive to the sun? I ask because some of my scars seem to show up after I've been exposed to light, even just visible light makes my skin feel like it's burning and then these scars show up for days afterward. I have become a prisoner in my house and have to cover my face with several layers if I am to go outside during the day. I purchased some red and yellow LED's which are supposed to help rejuvenate skin and build collagen yet just a couple of minutes with them made my skin burn like the worst sunburn of my life and scarring showed up within minutes. I have been tested for the photosensitive condition Porphyria and came back negative so I have no idea what is going on but I am losing my mind here. My face looks worse every day. I look forward to seeing your pictures to see if your scarring is similar to mine...

 

Gee. Is that supposed to make me feel better?  Lol. In all honesty it sounds like you have it much worse than I do, of course only time will tell (and I will certainly obsessivelly watch out for new formations). Perhaps you could share a pic too, might shed some more light.

by the way I'm 23 years old.

[Rollin]

oh and also, have you tried applying any topical antiinflammatory such as ibuprofen cream/gel? Assuming some sort of inflammation is causing this I figure that might help, but I'm not in the mood for "experimentatioN" at the moment lol.

My "marks" are still nothing to really worry about, but I'd hate to see more appear as they're annoying enough as it is (and I'm quite self-conscious about these things, not having the best self-confidence in the world).

- David

[LaurieR]

Rollin;622 wrote: oh and also, have you tried applying any topical antiinflammatory such as ibuprofen cream/gel? Assuming some sort of inflammation is causing this I figure that might help, but I'm not in the mood for "experimentatioN" at the moment lol.

My "marks" are still nothing to really worry about, but I'd hate to see more appear as they're annoying enough as it is (and I'm quite self-conscious about these things, not having the best self-confidence in the world).

- David

I didn't mean to scare you lol!

 

Yeah, I have tried all kinds of anti-inflammatory topicals but my skin is reactive to everything now so everything topically just makes it worse. I think your issue is minor compared to mine, but it's interesting to see that it can happen and isn't all that rare.  Doctors have treated me like I am insane because they haven't seen anything like it. Just keep on an eye on your skin. Try to keep it calm - that should keep any new marks from forming. If I can get ahold of a good camera I will try to post some pics...

[Rollin]

yeah I'm only using a normal moisturizer and some "bath-oil" so I hope to keep my skin moist and safe. No more dermarolling for now that's for sure, not sure that was the cause though.

That other guy you heard about, he had found success using the single-needle, yes? Was it after his "problem" seemed to have calmeddown or could he just use it on the marks that appeared?

I hope you see an end to your problem soon, doesn't sound very nice at all. Just remember there are much much worse things out there!

- David

[Rollin]

oh and also, have you tried taking an oral antiinflammatory instead? Perhaps taking ibuprofen or some other nsaid for 5-10 days would help, if this indeed is due to inflammation (which it probably isn't if topical nsaids made it worse)?

what about copper peptides?

- David

[LaurieR]

Rollin;625 wrote: yeah I'm only using a normal moisturizer and some "bath-oil" so I hope to keep my skin moist and safe. No more dermarolling for now that's for sure, not sure that was the cause though.

That other guy you heard about, he had found success using the single-needle, yes? Was it after his "problem" seemed to have calmeddown or could he just use it on the marks that appeared?

I hope you see an end to your problem soon, doesn't sound very nice at all. Just remember there are much much worse things out there!

- David

 

He actually dermarolled and single-needled after his inflammation calmed down. So unfortunately patience is key! I have trouble remembering that!