Old Non-Acne Scars, Acne Nose Scars

[TheDude]

Hi, I have some uniquely shaped scars on my face and I was wondering what your opinion on how to best needle them would be. I've ordered two 1.5mm rollers, two 0.5mm rollers, two 1.5mm dermastamps, and two 1.5mm one-line rollers.

On my cheek, I have a scar approximately the size of a nickel, that's been there since I was a toddler (25 years.). I also have several thinner, line-shaped scars scattered across my cheeks that have been there for many years. I have mild acne scarring in some spots on my cheeks, as well as some hyperpigmentation in some places. Would it be better if I used the one-line roller in the long scars on my cheeks, or would I be better off doing individual needling on them? What size would be best for the hyperpigmentation? My skin on my cheeks aside from the scars is quite uneven in both color and skin texture, would I benefit from using a 1.5mm roller all over my cheeks?

Also, On my nose, I have moderate acne scarring. The largest scar is on the tip of my nose, and is approximately 3mm across. I also have several scars scattered around the sides of my nose. Because the scars on the side of my nose are numerous, could I use a dermaroller on them, or should I do individual needling? I'm trying to even out the texture of the skin on the sides of my nose, would using a multi-line roller be useful for this? Also, what depth would you recommend I needle the scar on the tip of my nose?

Also, I have a still-red stretch mark on my thigh, but I couldn't get any kind of Retin-A type cream due to budget... Would Infadolan be sufficient in place of Retin-A, or should I go to my doctor and get a prescription for Retin-A?

Pictures of my scars are attached, scars are circled in one picture.

                     

Attached files

   

[SarahVaughter]

You have actually very good looking skin with really minor imperfections.

   

  Once in 3-4 weeks, use a dermastamp on your round-shaped scars and needle the long scar with the single needle. Then roll all over your cheeks with the 1.5 mm roller. For the pigmentation, use the 0.5 mm roller twice a week.

   

  A one-liner dermaroller is not suitable for your type of scars, except for the stretch mark. The A-Ret cannot be truly replaced by Infadolan as they contain different type of vit. A.  Nonetheless, needling is effective for stretch marks even without the A-Ret. If you bought Infadolan, apply it after needling your stretch mark.

   

  Concerning your nose, I paste here my answer to another customer with the same problem:

   

  Whenever I receive a question about scars on the nose, I get nervous.. The problem is, that the skin on the nose reacts very unpredictably comparing to the rest of the skin. Nasal skin can heal worse than you started with. There is no fat layer under that skin, there is only cartilage and that might be the reason.

   

  I can only suggest this: Use the single needle on it but do not do any aggressive needling. Concerning the nose, ignore the guidelines for needling that are on our website. Make just three pricks into your scar (to the bottom of the scar not to the edges).

   

  If it heals well, make four pricks the next time. If it heals well, make five pricks the next time. Continue like this but never do aggressive, dense needling. Just a few, very gentle pricks.

   

  Do not needle deeply on the nose.

   

  You can replace the single needle with a dermastamp but the same rule applies. Start slowly and never dermastamp aggressively.

   

  A customer of ours reported good experience with needling her nose (answer #5):

   

  https://http://forums.owndoc.com/dermarolling-microneedling/Needling-and-dermastamp

[TheDude]

Thanks for the reply. Wise advice. I'll follow it closely.

Just to clarify, you mean I should do individual needling and the dermastamp on my cheeks, and use the 1.5mm roller immediately after, including over the places I had just individually needled and used the dermastamp on?

Also, I have Keratotis Pilaris on my upper arms, and have for a while. I've popped a lot of the bumps, and have scars on my arms because of it. I've tried using a loofah and salicylic acid on them and it didn't remedy the bumps. My question is, if I use my fingernails and pop all of the existing bumps (which seem to be essentially zits), could I use the dermaroller immediately after on my arms? I ask because I know I am not supposed to dermaroll active acne. Would this be acceptable, or would I need to wait for the popped areas to heal first? Or would there be a better action to take than to actively pop all of the active Keratosis Pilaris 'zits' on my arms so I could dermaroll them and get rid of the scars?

[SarahVaughter]

You can dermaroll the whole area immediately after needling or stamping or do it later, it depends what is easier for you. It can be painful to roll over the needled scars so rolling some days later is perhaps easier.

I have written about Keratosis Pilaris here. My answer is #3:

  https://http://forums.owndoc.com/dermarolling-microneedling/Keratosis-Pilarism/a>

  Loofah is not strong enough to unclog/unplug the pores, you should use pumice and experiment with frequency of using it and pressure applied on it. Your skin has to get used to it, do not give up if the initial reaction of your skin is irritation.

  I think you should first try to get the "zits" under control by constantly unplugging them by the pumice to prevent their clogging and only then use a dermaroller.

[TheDude]

I'm a little confused, wouldn't it be harmful to use a 1.5mm stamp and then use a 1.5mm roller on the same area a couple of days later? Wouldn't that disrupt collegen production?

I picked up some 2% salicylic acid (highest concentration I could find) and a pumice stone, and started using the pumice today on my dry skin. I've heard copper peptides could hep with Ketatosis Pilaris, do you have any experience with that?

Also, I was informed today that I have scars on my back, some of them going across my spine... Could I use my 1.5mm dermaroller on these area? Would it be unsafe to use a 1.5mm dermaroller on the skin on your spine?

What about on scars on the fronts of the shins where the bone is directly behind the skin? Would that be okay with a 1.5mm dermaroller, or is the skin not thick enough there?

[SarahVaughter]

It would be best doing it both in one go but that approach is not the easiest.

 If you first stamp and then dermaroll, it is too painful to roll over freshly stamped areas and if you first roll and then stamp, the redness from dermarolling may prevent you from seeing the individual scars and target them with a dermastamp or the single needle.  

  Copper peptides became somewhat of a hype claiming to help with everything from baldness to psoriasis just like several websites claim that a dermaroller reverses graying hair, completely removes stretch marks and make breasts bigger (which is complete nonsense).

  Keratosis Pilaris is caused by skin pores being plugged by keratin. These plugs are quite strongly anchored, you can almost say they are "glued in" and quite some force is needed to remove them. You can remove the plugs either mechanically, for example with a pumice stone or dissolve the keratin with chemicals (keratolytics). Keratolytics soften keratin.  I do not know whether copper peptides have a keratolytic effect but even if they do, it would be a very expensive way to soften keratin. Salicylic acid is much cheaper and a very effective keratolytic. Removing the plugs mechanically is the cheapest and also a very effective way if you find the right frequency and pressure applied when you use the pumice stone.

  The skin on the back is one of the thickest in the whole body (apart from the soles of the feet) and using a 1.5 mm dermaroller should be OK but we have never had a customer using it on that area of the back.

Are your scars post-acne?

  You can use a dermaroller on the shins but it is quite painful because there is no fat to cushion the skin.

[TheDude]

The scars on my back are not post-acne, they are mostly in the form of scratches/gashes I have gotten on my back from not being careful around farm machinery. The largest one is actually a raised scar - I shouldn't be dermarolling this type of scar, correct?

Thanks for the advice on everything else, I will be sure to use EMLA cream so I don't have to worry about the pain too much.

[SarahVaughter]

You can use a dermaroller on raised scars. Dermarolling improves raised scars. It should not be used on keloid scars though.

  The difference between a keloid and a raised scar is that a raised scar is raised but it is more or less within the boundaries of the original injury. Keoloid scars totally outgrow the original boundaries of the injury and they grow in all directions. A person prone to keloids can get a huge scar merely due to a bug bite or vaccination..