Hi Dr Seckel, I have deep acne scars as well as acne on my neck.I have been doing micro dermabrasion but what can I do about the scars. I don’t need total perfection just need to feel good about my face again? Kyla Ball, Gloucester, Ontario.
Dear Kyla,
You are not alone. Millions of people have acne and acne scars and just want to have normal skin.
There is no one cure that can create perfect skin.
However there is a great deal we can do today to help especially with the new non-surgical facial rejuvenation and laser skin rejuvenation techniques.
On the face I use Microlaserpeel® or activefx laser skin peels to create deep skin exfoliation to help with the acne scars. The neck needs to be treated more carefully with laser skin peels as the neck does not heal as well as the face.
A high intensity blue light treatment called Clearlight® by Lumenis® and a laser called Smoothbeam® by Candella® can be very helpful for acne and acne scars and I would be less worried about treating neck skin with these treatments. LaserGenesis® is another treatment that may help the scars, but the other 2 are better if you have active acne.
Recently the non-ablative laser skin rejuvenation treatments with LuxIR and Fraxel have had excellent results treating acne scars. These new therapies plump the acne scars by stimulating new collagen production deep in the dermis where collagen has been destroyed by the acne process.
Check out the Palomar, Lumenis®, Cutera® and Candella® websites to learn more about these treatments.
Be sure to consult a board certified plastic surgeon who is very experienced in Laser and light therapy and acne treatment.
In my opinion it is important to do deep skin exfoliation with laser skin peels first and then do deep collagen stimulation with the LuxIR or Fraxel after a few months healing from the laser skin exfoliating peel.
for further information on acne, acne scars, and laser skin rejuvenation, read Save Your Face or contact me.
Dr Seckel
Boston, Massachusetts