Ice pick scars - they are like potholes on my face
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Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:31 pm

Every time I get a blemish, an ice pick scars shows up and never leaves. My mom has deep, large ice pick scars all over her nose and I can tell that mine is on the way. I already have 4-5 deep scars on my nose that looks like gigantic pores that caved in.

I have read other posts where people posted that tca (?) and copper peptides have helped. I am a total beginner here.... where do i buy these things, how often do i apply, etc.

Please help, I am desperate. The marks are so deep that when I use a foundation brush to apply my makeup, the makeup doesn't even go to the bottom of the "pits" on my face so the scars are even more noticable.... Sad

free skin care · Wed Jul 20, 2011 2:32 am

I would first consult with a good dermatologist to treat whatever issue is causing the blemishes to be severe enough that you get a scar. Secondly, I would discuss the option of laser therapy for icepick scars. If they were anywhere but on your nose, I would actually suggest a tiny bit of filler instead. I just had a very positve exerpience with the tiniest amount of filler used to fill an icepick scar that cut into the pigmentation line of my lip creating an unsightly dip the point where lipstick no longer worked out on me.

free skin care · Wed Jul 20, 2011 6:37 am

ITA about seeing a derm. You need to get it under control before you start any scar treatments.

free skin care · Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:11 am

I am very fond of Copper Peptides, but doubt they would be very effective on Ice Pick scarring.

TCA peels would be a better option but you should consult a dermatologist or cosmetic med spa for treatment options. In order for the peels to be effective, they would need to be pretty aggressive (deep peels) peels not the more mild or moderate peels one does at home.

I agree that fillers would be a optimal option and would give you the fastest results without any down time.

You really should seek a doctors advice in why your skin is reacting this way and some preventative steps to avoid further scarring.

free skin care · Wed Jul 20, 2011 5:31 pm

but.......doing light TCA peels at home could help with breaking out to begin with so you wouldn't have the scar issue.

I WISH TCA would have been available when I was younger, although I still break out. But now I'm doing TCA at home.

free skin care · Wed Jul 20, 2011 5:39 pm

copper peptides are VERY effective for ice pick scars. I've treated several of them w/ CPs myself and the last one is nearly gone while the others have disappeared completely.

I also used a single needle technique with CPs as the needle is needed to break up the scar tissue while the CPs are used to do the 'rebuilding'. CPs are called 'skin remodeling copper peptides' or SRCPs for short. CPs will help reduce inflammation, rebuild the skin and reduce or prevent the scar tissue from occurring during the remodeling process. This last step is an important one since skin has a memory and scar tissue likes to replace itself with more scar tissue if it's removed.

You can use CPs along w/ peels like the TCA - actually using any form of exfoliation w/ CPs is a good combination. The exfoliation removes the damaged skin and the CPs replace it w/ remodeled/repaired skin.

Remember to not pick at your blemishes. That's what usually leaves the scars (ice pick or others).

Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:56 am

But where do I buy CPs and TCA? Is it something that I need to buy from the derm? I have been to 2 difference derms about the gigantic pores and they say that there is nothing that they can do, it is part genes. Maybe I need to go to more of a cosmetic derm.

free skin care · Fri Jul 22, 2011 10:03 am

You can find copper peptides at Skin Biology - the company the inventor of CPs started. They are also found many other locations such as here at EDS, NCN Skincare, Dianna Yvonne and Platinum Skincare, all on-line though. Not a lot of derms have heard of CPs, but mine has and thought it was good I was using them.

Platinum Skincare also offers a wide range of peels and this a good place to get the TCA peels. The CPs they offer are found in the 'Anti-aging' category, but the 2 they have are actually the ones I would recommend for scar reduction for you - CP Serum and Super CP Serum. This might be a good place to get CPs and the peel and a gentle exfoliator in one spot.

You should also give the single needles a consideration. For your deepest icepick type or boxcar scars, the needle is the best at breaking down the scar tissue (and not removing healthy skin in the process like a peel would). You would break down the scar w/ the needle, let the oozing stop after a few minutes, and then apply the CPs. Do this for individual scars. The scars should not hurt when using the needle on them since the scar tissue is thick - this I found out from my own experience. You will feel the CPs going it - especially if your skin is not use to them (they're very strong). It should feel like a tingling or itchy sensation. That should subside after a little while.

I would do a very thorough needle of individual scars - needling the side walls, the bottom, and the surrounding skin outside of the hole. With this type of needling, do not do it more often than every 4 - 6 weeks.

Then, use the CPs and a gentle exfoliator like Skin Bio's exfol lotion on a daily basis between needlings. You can do a weekly peel (in lieu of the exfol) to help speed things along. But, daily use of the CPs is important.

If you have large pores over most of your face, you might want to try the dermarollers/skin rollers. That would cover a larger area for you. The problem with this on ice picks, though, is the depth of the scars. The rollers just can't get down deep enough like a single needle can. But, for a huge amount of ice picks or a large amount of large pores, this might be a time saver for you.

CPs are very strong and you should acclimate your skin to them first. To do this, start s-l-o-w-l-y with a diluted CP Serum, working your way up to full strength. The regular CP Serum can do a good job on scar reduction. If this works out for you, but you feel like you need a stronger CP - then move up to the Super CP, but do it diluted again. It's surprising just how strong these CPs are and it takes most people a while to get use to them. Some can go right into the stronger ones w/ no problems but alot of people see 'uglies' if they do that (which is a temporary loosening of the skin). It happened to me when I tried to sneak in the stronger ones before I was ready. Improvements kept coming with continued use, but I did have to back down a bit when I tried to go too-strong too-soon.

There is a lot to learn about all of this before you venture into it. You can read about CPs here, but another good place to get advice and read up on them is at the forum on SKin Bio. A lot of people there are actually working on the same problems as you, so you can get a LOT of good advice from them. I'm using CPs mostly for anti-aging purposes, with occasional treamtments of acne scars. They're very good for both.

free skin care · Fri Jul 22, 2011 10:05 am

For the single needles (and rollers if interested), look for them atwww.owndoc.com

There's a very long thread here on rollers, but a lot of that info pertains to rolling for anti-aging. Forum members on the Skin Bio forum using the rolling and single needles for acne, so that (again) would be where to go for advice.

free skin care · Sat Jul 23, 2011 9:22 am

Eww... That sounds really painful! Lol. I have gotten ice pick scars from not touching the zit at all to not getting them even though i squeezed the zit till its raw and bleeding and the surrounding skin damaged. Makes me wonder what exactly causes some zits to leave behind ice pick scars. In my case, i notice that the bigger ones which take longer to go away usually result in deep scars.

free skin care · Sun Sep 04, 2011 7:11 pm

huuuuurgh! Can anyone tell me where I can purchase a half ounce of 12% tca peel using paypal? I'm so fed up! MUAC doesn't have paypal and Platinum Skincare doesn't accept paypal from outside of the U.S. I almost went to e-bay!

Wed Sep 07, 2011 2:21 pm

Hi there. I see the comment from "chloes" regarding paypal. What country are you located in? Most of us do not accept out of country on paypal since it can not be guaranteed, but we can definitely accept on a credit card. Paypal does have an option for you to get a "Paypal" credit card that you COULD use to purchase an item from any site at all that accepts Visa/Mastercard. Or, if the reason you are using paypal is because you are worried about keeping your information safe you can opt to get a "Pre-paid" v/mc to use at any online retailer as well. I hope that this give you some alternatives (instead of having to go to ebay). Thanks,Jen

Wed Sep 07, 2011 2:34 pm

chloes wrote:

Eww... That sounds really painful! Lol. I have gotten ice pick scars from not touching the zit at all to not getting them even though i squeezed the zit till its raw and bleeding and the surrounding skin damaged. Makes me wonder what exactly causes some zits to leave behind ice pick scars. In my case, i notice that the bigger ones which take longer to go away usually result in deep scars.

The pitted formation is actually created when the pimple is inflamed. It is inflamed above (the visible bump) and below (not visible) the skin. When the tissues start healing below the skin they end up attaching to the inflamed portion (which is not up to skin's level) generally at the bottom of a follicle. The tissues grow too short and you end up with a nice little hole instead of a flat surface. The TCA CROSS method along with the SuperCop 2x from Dr. Pickart work WONDERFULLY in breaking down the scar tissues and allowing the collagen to plump up the pitted hole. I have used this method myself on a few icepick scars! It does take months - so be prepared. You can do a CROSS method only 1x every 5 weeks. *Where you saturate a wooden pick in a high percentage of TCA (like a 30% for a home user *higher at a surgeon's office) and then poke it into the pit. You will see frosting. A couple of days later you will get a "skin colored" scab (do NOT pick as tissue remodeling will be working as long as that scab is on there). You will want to apply the copper to this every day from now on. In a few months you will notice that instead of a "black hole" you will see a skin color under there. The collagen is plumping and will continue to do so as long as you keep with the system. Thanks!

Sun Sep 11, 2011 8:15 am

I am anxious to try out the tca cross method. Could someone please share a link to where I can buy the tca solution in the us? I have googled but I am so worried that I am going to purchase and use the wrong thing. I would feel much better purchasing from a site that one of you did and had positive results from the product. THANK YOU!!! MWah!

Sun Sep 11, 2011 5:07 pm

ggboston wrote:

I am anxious to try out the tca cross method. Could someone please share a link to where I can buy the tca solution in the us? I have googled but I am so worried that I am going to purchase and use the wrong thing. I would feel much better purchasing from a site that one of you did and had positive results from the product. THANK YOU!!! MWah!

Absolutely! The reason I know so much about it is because we manufacturer TCA. I always recommend the 30% for pitted acne. Never apply this strength to your whole face though. Thank you.

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