Large Pores and Ice Pick Scars :(
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Thu Apr 29, 2010 3:16 pm

I have very large pores and 3 icepick scars along the t-zone of my face, and it appears to be getting worse.

I would try a pore concealer, but I don't want to clog them up and make them worse in the end.

I have tried using toner, facepacks, exfoliation, drinking lots of water... I'm at a loss at this point and have been considering skin graft out of desperation.

Is there any suggestion out there that could minimize the appearance of pores and ice pick scars without clogging them up? Neutral

free skin care · Thu Apr 29, 2010 5:09 pm

Sheggy wrote:

I have very large pores and 3 icepick scars along the t-zone of my face, and it appears to be getting worse.

I would try a pore concealer, but I don't want to clog them up and make them worse in the end.

I have tried using toner, facepacks, exfoliation, drinking lots of water... I'm at a loss at this point and have been considering skin graft out of desperation.

Is there any suggestion out there that could minimize the appearance of pores and ice pick scars without clogging them up? Neutral

Removing ice pick scars takes a lot of constant work for a long time.

For sure you should incorporate Retin-A (or any other brand of tretinoin) on your skin care regime. You should also use AHA.

For the icepicks themselves...
a. TCA Cross
b. Needling

HTH!

free skin care · Thu Apr 29, 2010 6:10 pm

Well, I had that type of scar at the tip of my nose due to acne.
I started using Obagi Nuderm and Retin-A for hyper-pigmentation purposes only. Well, since I've given up on that scar I never really check on it on a daily basis, that was not my concern and I was so used to see it on the mirror anyway. But, one day I was examining my face and to my surprise saw that it has gotten smaller, way smaller and I think it is due to the Retin-A and the Exfoderm in Obagi products.

free skin care · Thu Apr 29, 2010 6:17 pm

Josee wrote:

Sheggy wrote:

I have very large pores and 3 icepick scars along the t-zone of my face, and it appears to be getting worse.

I would try a pore concealer, but I don't want to clog them up and make them worse in the end.

I have tried using toner, facepacks, exfoliation, drinking lots of water... I'm at a loss at this point and have been considering skin graft out of desperation.

Is there any suggestion out there that could minimize the appearance of pores and ice pick scars without clogging them up? Neutral

Removing ice pick scars takes a lot of constant work for a long time.

For sure you should incorporate Retin-A (or any other brand of tretinoin) on your skin care regime. You should also use AHA.

For the icepicks themselves...
a. TCA Cross
b. Needling

HTH!

Hi do you think using a lower % of tca peel will help? Im a little worried about using a high %. Thanks!

free skin care · Fri Apr 30, 2010 6:36 am

[quote="faeriedust
Hi do you think using a lower % of tca peel will help? Im a little worried about using a high %. Thanks![/quote]

You really need to use the TCA CROSS method using a higher % of TCA. You will want to be confident and well informed if you do this.

I have not done TCA CROSS but regular TCA peels (2 layers of 12%) did not help my ice pick scars at all. I think I did 4 or 5 of these over a year.

free skin care · Fri Apr 30, 2010 7:15 am

Retin A really will help with scaring.

free skin care · Fri Apr 30, 2010 8:29 am

GirlieGirl wrote:

[quote="faeriedust
Hi do you think using a lower % of tca peel will help? Im a little worried about using a high %. Thanks!

You really need to use the TCA CROSS method using a higher % of TCA. You will want to be confident and well informed if you do this.

I have not done TCA CROSS but regular TCA peels (2 layers of 12%) did not help my ice pick scars at all. I think I did 4 or 5 of these over a year.[/quote]

Hi thanks for replying! I dont think I dare to use tca cross myself. Guess i'll skip this idea.
Have you noticed other improvements from regular tca peels? I want to do chemical peels on a regular basis. But Im not sure which peel is better. glycolic or tca? I've done glycolic peel before but i didnt do it frequently to notice any difference to my skin

free skin care · Fri Apr 30, 2010 9:07 am

The only 'sure-fire' way to get rid of an ice pick scar is to have a plastic surgeon or a dermatologist excise it with a small skin punch device and then suture the wound closed. You'll never know it was there after it heals.

free skin care · Fri Apr 30, 2010 9:09 am

Also, I've been using the Wonderbar for over 10 weeks now and one of the first benefits that I noticed is that it really cleaned out my pores so they are hardly noticeable now. You might want to check into it atwww.wonderbarusa.com

free skin care · Fri Apr 30, 2010 9:32 am

faeriedust wrote:

Hi thanks for replying! I dont think I dare to use tca cross myself. Guess i'll skip this idea.
Have you noticed other improvements from regular tca peels? I want to do chemical peels on a regular basis. But Im not sure which peel is better. glycolic or tca? I've done glycolic peel before but i didnt do it frequently to notice any difference to my skin

No peels, not glycolic, salicylic acid, or tca, helped my ice pick type scars, neither did using tazorac for many many years.

I had some excised by PS.

Fri Apr 30, 2010 9:31 pm

My girlfriend had some ice pick scars from acne, she got fillers from a dermatologist. Maybe look into some type of advanced clinical solutions. Good luck. Wink

free skin care · Sat May 01, 2010 4:38 am

With three ice pick scars, it is safer to go to a plastic surgeon. If you try and DIY with strong acids, you could even do greater harm. There is a risk of post-inflammatory pigmentation (the scars might become DARKER which would make them even more obvious). Nobody can predict how your skin would react. You would probably need retin A or a similar product for the long term but I think you should have the scars dealt with by professionals.

free skin care · Thu May 20, 2010 6:17 pm

Deep scars are almost impossible to get rid of except from a Dermatologist. I too have a few "icepick" scars from past acne. I find that too strong of exfoliating products actually make the scar deeper!! The last few years I have been using algae based products to help regenerate the skin, and lessen the scarring. This seems to have helped the lighter scars, but not the deep ones. I will eventually go for fillers at the Dermatologists..

free skin care · Thu May 20, 2010 6:43 pm

Sheggy wrote:

I have very large pores and 3 icepick scars along the t-zone of my face, and it appears to be getting worse.

I would try a pore concealer, but I don't want to clog them up and make them worse in the end.

I have tried using toner, facepacks, exfoliation, drinking lots of water... I'm at a loss at this point and have been considering skin graft out of desperation.

Is there any suggestion out there that could minimize the appearance of pores and ice pick scars without clogging them up? Neutral

AMAZING progress and detailed reports about progress in both areas by users of Copper Peptides on the skinbiology.com chat forum. I highly recommend for you to check out.

Fri Aug 27, 2010 3:57 am

Ok. this posting is in response to sheggy's post on april 29, 2010:

I have very large pores and 3 icepick scars along the t-zone of my face, and it appears to be getting worse.

I would try a pore concealer, but I don't want to clog them up and make them worse in the end.

I have tried using toner, facepacks, exfoliation, drinking lots of water... I'm at a loss at this point and have been considering skin graft out of desperation.

Is there any suggestion out there that could minimize the appearance of pores and ice pick scars without clogging them up?

My reply:
i've been reading the postings and i don't know if i'm too late or if this is redundant or if this should be posted elsewhere because i'm new to the forum. but sheggy, there are a lot of things you can do to not only make your pores look smaller but actually minimize their size.

i've been to so many dermatologists and for such a long time, and nothing that i've ever done in the past have had such promising results. before you take any drastic measures, such as skin graft! please, i suggest you read up on postings on the tca cross method and read my personal story.

i too, like you are, were at a lost and desperate. i had large pores all over my face, especially at my nose (they were bad!), ice pick scarring at my check and temple area (i suffered from moderate acne as a teen into my adulthood) Confused

and some dermatologists even told me that there was nothing i could do about my pores--i tried laser (affirm and active fx), it didn't help much. however, i never became a skeptic and boards like this one kept me hopeful.

just research tca cross method on the net; look at postings, there are so many boards on this method, personal stories, and decide if it's right for you. after contemplating and thorough research, i'm on my fourth tca cross treatment and i've never expected the result to be this good! i'm so thankful for everyone who's shared their stories which has helped me to become more confident.

for me, i use 100% tca (please research where you are getting your tca from--make sure it's quality tca and the purest you can find!) and after the 3rd tca cross treatment, i've discovered that if i can break the toothpick in half (vertically), the results seemed better because i was inducing smaller holes b/c the toothpick point was smaller. i do my treatments about 6 to 8 weeks apart, sometimes longer to give my skin proper time to heal. i wash my face with cetaphil because it's very mild and then use neosporin afterwards, once i'm done with the treatment. during the process, you'll see the treated scars frost, but then it'll disappear so try to keep track of what you've been treating because you don't want to treat the area (pore/scar) twice. also, be careful to go inside the pore/ice pick/scar itself because if the tca goes outside of the scaring, once it heals, the area can appear larger, though flatter. so keep the tca inside so that the only part that goes under tissue regeneration is the scar itself and not your good tissue.

i really hope this helps you! this method has truly helped me. please please, be patient. i've learned that with acne and scarring, it takes time and A LOT of patience, nothing ever magically happens overnight. and if you don't want to go with 100% tca, use 50% or whatever you feel comfortable with. just read up on the treatment please. and do a trial test on one pore or icepick scaring and see how that goes before you do the full treatment, to check for sensitivity. my skin can handle harsh chemicals because i've been on so many over the years to treat my acne, that's why i'm ok with the 100% tca and the scabs that i induce are tiny so i'm not too worry about creating new scars. i hope this helps! Very Happy

and please DO NOT PICK on the scabs. mine takes about a full week to fall off! so if you have places to go, people to see, just do scattered areas on the face so its less noticeable. also, my pores clog up like crazy! but i've found that 2.5% benzoperoxide works miracle to keep them clear! i've tried retin A and tazorac, nothing has worked for me like the benzo to keep my blackheads astray!

i hope this helps you and anyone who reads this posting. i'm taking my time to post this because i just want you to realize that there are things out there that does help. keep your mind positive, possibilities are endless! Very Happy

Thu May 26, 2011 1:39 pm

Hi thinkpositive, what percentage improvement did you end up getting?

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