Before & After Pictures – AcneScar.org

How to Get Rid of Red Acne Scars: Vitamin C For Skin Healing

Stacy — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 19:28:37 +0000

How to Get Rid of Red Acne Scars

There are many different types of acne scarring.

Types of Acne Scars:

Here are the different types of acne scars:

Ice-pick scars – These scars are deep, narrow and pitted.
Rolling scars – These are broad depressions with sloping edges.
Boxcar scars – These are broad depressions with sharp edges.
Atrophic scars – These are flat, thin or depressed scars.
Hypertrophic or keloid scars – These scars are thick, lumpy and raised on the skin.
If your scars aren’t indented, as in the examples above, you may simply have leftover red marks from acne.

Many people have leftover skin discoloration in the form of red, white or other color variations on their skin leftover as acne scarring. Many people also get skin discoloration from sun exposure and other exposure to oxidants and pollutants in the air and from daily life.

Some people recommend covering your red acne scarring and skin discolorations using makeup such as concealer or other temporary skin color correcting methods. Sure, you can do this, but I personally prefer to correct at the root of the problem and brighten and heal acne scarred skin for a color-correcting glow that comes from having healthy skin as opposed to trying to fake it through make-up, which never ends up looking quite real.

Ascorbic acid—also known as L-ascorbic acid—has the most skin-related research of any form of vitamin C. This is the most pure form of Vitamin C, and the form that oxidizes most quickly meaning it turns from its natural clear color to a light yellow or orange color in a few weeks or months depending on the amount of preservatives used, which is more quickly than other forms of more processed Vitamin C.

You want to use Vitamin C serum before it changes color to get the most benefit when it is at its freshest.

When properly formulated at a pH of less than 4 (2.6-3.2 is the ideal range), Vitamin C is an ingredient that helps create younger-looking, firmer-feeling skin while fading signs of uneven skin tone and spots. L-ascorbic acid also helps skin’s surface defend itself from free radicals and external stressors, which decreases the negative effects of exposure to the elements including the sun and other pollutants.

The best Vitamin C for acne scars is made with the most potent, fresh ingredients, including L-ascorbic acid as purest form of Vitamin C, and is not filled with chemicals or pre-colored with yellow chemicals and packaged to last for years sitting on store shelves.

Healthy skin contains high levels of Vitamin C, and this acts as a barrier between the skin and harmful outside elements, making it a great protectant from getting skin discoloration and aging.

Vitamin C for Red Acne Scars

In addition to protecting the skin from exposure, Vitamin C can treat discoloration on the skin to brighten and firm skin that already has acne red marks and discoloration.

Topical application of Vitamin C has been found in numerous studies to promote collagen production, skin healing, and reduce redness and other discoloration of the skin.

The Pumori study specifically found that, “Vitamin C is a naturally occurring drug with multiple desirable effects. With an excellent safety profile, it finds increasing use in photoageing, hyperpigmentation, tissue inflammation and promotion of tissue healing.”

Vitamin C has been studied extensively in the dermatology and skincare realm, and there are many studies including this one by Pumori Saokar Telang that found Vitamin to help fight photoageing and to help treat hyperpigmentation.

Pumori’s study specifically explains that Vitamin C is an active antioxidant found in nature, and that L-ascorbic acid (LAA) is the chemically active form of Vitamin C, which is also why it works so well and has been so extensively studied by dermatologists and skincare experts.

It is unstable when exposed to light, which is why it should be used within a few months of opening, and stored in a dark place in a dark container, and the fridge or a lower temperature when possible to keep it in its most stable form.

The study points out that Vitamin C is more effective when used in conjunction with ingredients such as Vitamin E and Ferulic Acid:

“Although Vit. C alone can provide photoprotection, it works best in conjunction with Vitamin E, which potentiates the action of Vitamin C four-fold. Hydrophilic Vitamin C helps regenerate Vitamin E, a liphophilic antioxidant. Thus, Vitamin C and Vitamin E together protect the hydrophilic and lipophilic compartments of the cell, respectively. Vitamin C and Vitamin E synergistically limit chronic UV damage by significantly reducing both cell apoptosis and thymine dimer formation.

A combination of 0.5% Ferulic acid (a potent antioxidant of plant origin) with 15% Vitamin C and 1% Vitamin E can increase the efficacy of Vitamin C eight-fold.”

The Pumori study goes into how Vitamin C also directly activates the transcription of collagen synthesis and stabilizes procollagen mRNA, thereby regulating collagen synthesis.

This means that Vitamin C regulates and helps promote the skin’s collagen building process, which helps the skin build new healthy collagen in the process of healing all types of skin discoloration and scarring, including acne scarring.

How much Vitamin C is needed to heal acne red marks?

The answer is that you want to look for a serum with the maximum 20% Vitamin C for maximum effectiveness.

The Pumori study explains that, “Having a higher concentration of Vitamin From a clinical point of view, it is important to note that the efficacy of the Vitamin C serum is proportional to the concentration, but only up to 20%.”

The study explains that Vitamin C is half gone from your skin after 4 days of its application, meaning it does stay in the skin for a few days after you put it on. This does not mean you need to apply it every 4 days however, as maximum photoprotection and positive effects can be achieved by applying every 8 hours as the study explains:

“The half-life in the skin after achieving maximum concentration is 4 days. A persistent reservoir of Vitamin C is important for adequate photo-protection, and can be achieved by regular 8-hourly applications.”

To summarize, you’ll want to get Vitamin C with the maximum effective concentration of 20%, and apply every 8 hours for maximum efficacy in helping heal skin and red acne marks as well as protect the skin from future environment and oxidant damage.

My personal experience with Vitamin C and red Acne Marks

I started with very deep, indented acne scarring, and used a combination of 1.5 mm derma-rolling and a light application ofcopper peptides for acne scars each night to help lessen the indentations of my scarring.

My skin’s discoloration, redness and lighter areas of acne scarring were still very visible even when my indentation had improved, so I started using a Derma-Pen in combination with a potent L-ascorbic acid Vitamin C serum on my red acne scarred areas.

The Derma-Pen helps the Vitamin C absorb more fully into the skin and into the deeper layers of skin, while stimulating the skin’s healing process on its own. Together, the Derma-Pen and Vitamin C helped the red acne scarred layers of my face and the lighter side of my face acne scars boost their collagen production and become smooth, healthy, level skin again.

I currently use the Vitamin C serum in my everyday protectant and healing skincare routine, and I love having bright, smooth skin again without the red acne mark scars that used to be present on my cheeks and other areas of my face.

Vitamin C was the only thing that helped brighten my skin and reduce its redness, as well as help heal the lighter indentations on the site of my face, and I love using it now in my everyday skincare routine.

Here is my face before and after using the Derma-Pen and Vitamin C on the lighter rolling scars and red scars on the side of my face:

I have found the Vitamin C to help the most with skin redness and discoloration. I also had many deep, rolling and pitted scars, and found using a derma-roller and copper peptides specifically helped me get rid of my deeper acne scarring.

Acne Scars Before and After: Acne Scar Treatment & Pictures

Stacy — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 17:18:45 +0000

Acne Scars Before and After

Acne scarring can be a hard pill to swallow. First you’re trying to deal with your acne as it appears, not even thinking about the future or what will happen when your acne clears up.

Next, when you’re finally happy to see your acne clear up, now you have pits or rolling scars indenting and disfiguring your face.

For me, the scarring was worse mentally than the acne.

Here is a picture journey of my acne scar before and after acne scar treatment and healing.

Let me know if this resonates with you, and feel free to share your own journey and images in the comments below!

Treat Acne Scars: How to Remove Acne Scars at the Root

Stacy — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 19:07:00 +0000

Acne Scar Treatment

There are many ways to go about trying to temporarily hide or fix acne scarring, but what I have found most effective is using a research backed, scientifically proven method to remove damaged acne scarring at its root, and work with the body’s natural healing processes to fully heal skin as opposed to trying to cover up scars with lotions and makeup.

At-Home Treatments, Products & Microneedling, you can use at home acne scar creams, acne scar serums, or acne scar microneedling devices. At home creams and serums can give skin healing nutrients it needs for the most effective healing. At home procedures such as microneedling can target deeper damage and encourage the skin to come off as well as new healthy skin to come up underneath.
Microneedling, microneedling with a Derma Roller or Derma Pen can be done at home or in a professional setting and it works by taking off the top layer of damaged skin while encouraging new collagen and healthy skin growth underneath.
Fillers, a filler is where a dermatologist injects your skin with collagen to lift indented skin, however the effects are only cosmetic and temporary.
Subcision, subcision is where a trained punctures your skin with a needle to release the tether in your scarred skin for an attempt to heal it at the root.
Lasers, including Fraxel and others, are where a professional uses a laser to remove the top layer of your scarred skin which can removed damaged scarring as well as encourage new tissue growth in the days to come.
Chemical Peels, chemical peels work similarly to lasers in that they remove the top layer of damaged skin which also encourages new healthier skin growth underneath

Lasers, professional micro-needling, chemical peels and more can all get at the damaged skin and help remove it at the root. There are also at-home methods you can use. You can also use a combination of at-home and professional methods, such as going in to have professional micro-needling done and then using at home peptide serums and moisturizing serums to make sure your healing process goes as smoothly as possible and is as effective as possible.

All of these treatments take time, and work with your body’s natural healing process. You can apply ingredients in all cases to help the healing process and help nurture your skin for the best results possible.

When I first discovered my acne scarring, I started to pile on creams and lotions including coconut oil and MSM cream, to the point people would ask me if I had just showered or been in the rain hours after application, and the worse part is they could still see my scarring as well as my dripping oily cream covered face. I have found that it is much more satisfying and effective to treat the cause of my scarring at its root to reveal new healthy skin underneath so I don’t have to hide under layers of oil and makeup in order to feel ok going in public, and even then knowing my scarring is visible for everyone to see.

Once I realized I wanted to heal my scarring at its root and completely remove my acne scars, I started to research and went to a professional dermatologist to get a consultation. After learning about microneedling and copper peptides from the dermatologist, I kept researching and discovered scientific journals, before and after photos, and learned everything I could about the skin’s healing process and how to heal scarring so I could apply it specifically to my own situation and learn how to heal acne scarring.

My research led me to the efficacy of at home microneedling and copper peptides to get rid of old acne scars as well as learning more about the body’s natural healing process at the same time.

Acne Scar Healing Process Explained with Science-Backed Research

When I first started researching how to heal my acne-scarred skin, I wanted to know not only what would work to heal my skin, but also why and how it worked.

It wasn’t enough for me to read one line on a salesy site or see one semi-ok before and after picture.

I wanted to know the full process. I wanted process pics.

I wanted to see medical research and chemical breakdowns of how the lotions and serums interacted with your skin to produce results.

I wanted to know not only that the process I was reading about would work, but also why it worked and how it worked.

It was important to me to know the healing hadn’t been a fluke wasted on one person, or that it wasn’t some elaborate photoshop. Most importantly, I wanted to know how the treatment process worked so I could replicate it, and so I would have confidence knowing it would be able to work on me and heal my scarred skin.

My scars were deep so I knew I needed something that actually worked and healed skin on a deep level, not simply something that would “cover up” the damage.

Here is the acne scar healing treatment process I used to heal my scars. This page is exactly what I was looking and hoping for a few years ago but could not find laid out anywhere.

Here I break down how copper peptide cream, amicro-needling roller and exfoliation cream can work together to heal your damaged skin and the best part is it’s scientifically and medically research-backed.

How and why do acne scars form?

The science Journal Nature explains that the body doesn’t like to leave open wounds for a long time because they are susceptible to getting infected, which is why the human body sends collagen to repair wounds quickly, which leaves the appearance of bulky scar tissue, especially as you get older.

“In healthy skin, collagen fibres form a lattice. But during wound healing, fibroblasts lay down collagen fibres parallel to each other, which creates tissue that is stiff and weak.”

Essentially, your body quickly sends collagen to repair wounded skin, which makes the scar look bulky and scar-like, and the scar’s skin was built quickly to cover the wound, meaning it is not as structurally sound as the surrounding healthy skin.

Vitamin C & Acne Scar Healing

Vitamin C is also found naturally in skin, similar to copper peptides, and it assists in collagen synthesis and antioxidant protection against UV damage.

During the day, applying Vitamin C topically to the skin is a great way to help your skin reduce light acne scarring and skin discoloration caused by acne scarring.

I found that Vitamin C worked better to heal my discolored, red and off-color skin, and help with lighter areas of indentation alongside a Derma-Pen to help near the end of my acne scar healing journey while I was able to use copper peptides and a deeper 1.5 mm microneedler on my deep acne scar indentations.

This is why I like to use copper peptide cream each night, since it is bright blue and would be very noticeable walking around outside with, and Vitamin C serum each morning since it helps protect skin from oxidants in the air as well as is clear and gives skin a nice glow while helping it repair at the same time.

Note, you can’t layer Vitamin C and Copper Peptides at the same time, this is why you can use copper peptides at night and Vitamin C in the morning like I have, but when you use them together layered on top of one anotherthey cancel each other out as the copper peptides oxidize the ascorbic acid.

Anyone starting their acne scar healing journey will want to check out the acne scar treatment kit here which has everything you need to see results and kickstart your acne scar healing in one place.

Copper Peptides & Skin-Healing

How Do Copper Peptides Heal Skin? The Science Broken-Down:

Copper Peptides are skin building blocks, and proven to assist in the skin and wound healing process. They are similar to collagen in the sense the amount your body has decreases as you get older, and incidentally they also support the body’s production of both collagen and elastin, both other essential skin repair elements.

The Pickhart Margolina study found Copper Peptides have the following healing properties:

Tighten loose skin and reverse thinning of aged skin
Repair protective skin barrier proteins
Improve skin firmness, elasticity, and clarity
Reduce fine lines, depth of wrinkles, and improve structure of aged skin
Smooth rough skin
Reduce photodamage, mottled hyperpigmentation, skin spots and lesions
Improve overall skin appearance
Stimulate wound healing
Protect skin cells from UV radiation
Reduce inflammation and free radical damage
Increase hair growth and thickness, enlarge hair follicle size

Copper Peptides are able to stimulate skin reparation in a variety of cases, even helping wrinkles and aged skin structure, but more importantly in our case it can stimulate wound healing, and improve skin appearance and hair growth.

In the words of the study abstract, “The human peptide GHK (glycyl-l-histidyl-l-lysine) has multiple biological actions, all of which, according to our current knowledge, appear to be health positive. It stimulates blood vessel and nerve outgrowth, increases collagen, elastin, and glycosaminoglycan synthesis, as well as supports the function of dermal fibroblasts. GHK’s ability to improve tissue repair has been demonstrated for skin, lung connective tissue, boney tissue, liver, and stomach lining.”

The human peptide GHK AKA Copper Peptides is able to increase nerve growth, collagen growth, elastin, and has been shown to improve tissue repair. This means you can use Copper Peptides to stimulate your own skin’s repair to improve your acne scarring at the deepest level, not just throwing gobs of makeup over it and trying to pretend like everything’s ok.

The Skin Biology site talks about how Copper peptides work to promote healing:

“As skin molecules are broken down, certain peptides are liberated that constitute new signals for the surrounding skin cells. An actual regulation loop exists in connective tissue, constituted by peptides generated by ECM degradation and connective tissue cells. They propose the term of “matrikine” to designate such ECM-derived copper-binding peptides are created and these serve as signals for skin rebuilding.”

How Do Micro-Needling & Copper Peptides Work Together to Heal Your Skin?

Copper Peptides work best in combination with micro-needling and exfoliation agents as explained here:

“[Copper Peptide] creams can be used in combination with (1) exfoliating agents such as alpha hydroxy acids, beta-hydroxy acids, and retinoic acid or by (2) methods that mildly damage skin such as by laser re-surfacing or chemical peels.”

This means you can use other treatment methods that also stimulate healing and take off layers of skin including exfoliation creams, chemical peels, or microneedling in conjunction with Copper Peptides to get maximum healing and skin regeneration in the case of acne scarring.

WebMD explains how Copper Peptides promote the creation of collagen and elastin and contribute to firming your skin and can remove damaged collagen and elastin, such as those present in acne scarring, from your skin:

“Studies have shown that copper peptide promotes the production of collagen and elastin in your skin. It also acts as an antioxidant and promotes production of glycosaminoglycans (such as hyaluronic acid).

Studies have also shown that copper-dependent enzymes help firm, smooth, and soften the skin quicker than most other anti-aging skin care products. In addition, copper peptides have been shown to remove damaged collagen and elastin from the skin and scar tissue.”

The Regene Pure site talks about how Copper Peptides are found in many skin and hair treatments because of their ability to increase skin and hair growth and repair:

“GHK-Cu or Copper Tripeptide-1 can be found in the human body. However, as we age the level drops from around 200ng/ml to 80 nl/ml. This protein compound is made up of 3 amino acids and can be found in various cosmetic products. Some of these include shampoos and conditioners as well as antiaging treatments. The reason copper peptides are so popular among many topical treatments, is because of the multitude of benefits it provides for the skin and hair.”

The site explains how Copper Peptides are found naturally in the human body but this level decreases with age, similar to how collagen production stops after puberty. Many anti-aging products contain Copper Peptides, and the ingredient is very effective at healing skin in acne scars as well.

“Copper peptides assist in this increase of oxygen with their ability to produce new blood vessels from previous vessels. This process is known as angiogenesis and is often associated with certain forms of exercise. Similarly to our bodies when we perform aerobic and endurance exercises, when copper peptides increase the amount of blood vessels in our hair follicles, the amount of nutrients and oxygen is also increased, ultimately leading to healthier circulation and hair growth.”

Copper Peptides increase blood vessels and circulation meaning hair and skin are able to more freely grow, all good news for anyone looking to grow healthier skin to replace their damaged acne scar skin.

“Copper peptides are also popularly known for repairing skin. Not only are copper peptides supposed to assist with hair growth and microcirculation, but they have also been shown to encourage the production of collagen and elastin. Collagen and elastin are both structural proteins that can be found in connective tissue. As we age, we start to lose both of these which results in saggy skin and wrinkles. This is probably one of the main reasons why you will be able to find copper peptides on the ingredient list on many anti-aging products.”

Copper Peptides help promote collagen and elastin, both structural proteins that are found in the skin and connective tissue that help repair skin including skin affected by acne scar damage.

One of the coolest parts about Copper Peptide healing is that it promotes hair follicle and hair growth.

The scientific Nature journal explains that when a hair follicle grows in the middle of a wound, the skin around that follicle becomes normal and no longer scarred:

“Even more strangely, skin around hair follicles seemed to be normal, and a layer of fat formed beneath — something that doesn’t usually occur under scar tissue. In 2017, a team led by Cotsarelis showed in mice that new hair follicles secrete growth factors called bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) that can transform fibroblasts into fat cells4. “The really cool part,” Costarelis says, is that “once you get a hair follicle, it kind of normalizes the skin”.”

I have seen the effects of Copper Peptides promoting new hair growth in the form of tiny see-through baby hairs in the areas my skin has the damaged acne scarring, and in these areas, my skin looks healthy and new almost like the skin of a baby, and is no longer scarred.

I love seeing the new tiny clear white hair growth in small patches of my skin because I can see how the skin in those areas looks baby-smooth and brand new even when it used to have deep acne scarring.

Micro-needling & Skin-Healing

Micro-needling, as explained by the Derma Health Institute, works by needling the skin to penetrate the top layer. The needles remove the top layer of skin and allow “allowing healing, collagen production and new skin cell development to reveal healthy, glowing skin.”

The Health Institute explains the benefits of micro-needling and how your skin keeps healing and improving even weeks or months after the treatment:

“Benefits and results are seen over time as the skin heals and collagen is begins to build. Given proper sun protection and home care exfoliation, results can be seen for months. Touch up treatments are recommended every year.”

Micro-needling gives your skin micro-damages that kickstarts it into healing while stimulating your skin’s production of collagen and continuing to improve skin healing and texture for months after each treatment.

Micro-needling has been shown to stimulate skin healing in virtually everyone who uses it when done correctly, and works especially well for those looking to heal their acne scars.

The Phuong Pham Thi Minh et al study found that derma-rolling microneedling improved the atrophic acne-scarring of every single one of the 31 patients in the study, who micro-rolled every week for a three month period.

I’ve seen the benefits of at home micro-needling in my own experience and I’ve found it to be the most important part of my three part scar healing routine that includes micro-needling, Copper Peptide application, and an Exfoliation cream & spray.

I was hesitant and scared to use the micro-needling device at first when treating my scars at home because I didn’t want to use an invasive device to make everything worse than it already was. Once I was able to work up the courage to combine the Copper Peptide cream with the micro-needling treatment, I saw my damaged skin layers come off much more quickly and visible healing started happening in days as opposed to months.

When I started combining the micro-needling with the Copper Peptide treatment cream, the micro-needling took off the top layer of damaged skin much more quickly and the healing Copper Peptide ingredients were able to penetrate to a deeper level to work to heal the bottom of my skin’s scar damage so the results were much more visible and immediate.

Here is a photo that shows the process of my skin healing using the micro-needling and copper peptide process.

The scar-damaged skin is easy to see in the photos on the left.

The photos on the top are when I put the bright blue Copper Peptide cream on my face after micro-needling. The after photos show the healing that has taken place after damaged skin layers have come off and new, healthier skin has started to emerge in place of my acne scars.

Exfoliation & Healing Your Scarred Skin

Exfoliation is one way to shed off damaged layers of skin, such as skin affected by acne scarring, to reveal healthy new skin underneath.

The Skin Biology site explains how exfoliation creams can help to remove skin damage and bring about new healthy skin:

“Hydroxy acids, such as salicylic acid and glycolic acid, are widely used as exfoliating agents and for skin peels. They remove dead skin cells and also loosen and slowly dissolve skin lesions such as acne scars, keloid scars, surgical scars, burn scars, moles, skin tags, stretch marks, age spots, and sun damage marks.”

I’ve seen the exfoliation Lac Sal cream help soften my damaged skin layers so they come off much more quickly to take off damaged skin and reveal healthier skin underneath.

The Nature Science journal explains why damaged skin has a weaker structure as compared to healthy skin:

“Scar tissue “doesn’t have the stretch and the mobility and the range of motion that normal skin does,” says Angela Gibson, a burn surgeon who studies wound healing at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.”

You can take advantage of the fact scarred and damaged skin is weaker than healthy skin by using exfoliation creams and sprays to help break down damaged skin that has a weaker structure than its healthy counterpart, healthy skin, so it can come off while the healthy skin stays intact.

This is why exfoliation creams work so well in making any type of skin look healthy and new, including skin damaged with any scars.

Conclusion: How Micro-Needling + Copper Peptides + Exfoliation Products work together over time to heal skin & acne scarring

The Skin Biology site explains how these methods can work together to reduce areas that have skin damage:

“Copper peptides, in combination with the use of exfoliating hydroxy acids, appear to be an excellent method for the reduction of scars and other skin lesions (keratoses, skin tags, some types of moles). 2% salicylic acid works well other hydroxy acids also work. Newer breakdown-resistant copper peptides and hydroxy acids may berubbed into the scar once or twice daily. A reduction in scar appearance should be evident in a month but 6 to 8 months of such applications may be necessary to reach a satisfactory appearance in very old scars (30 to 50 year old scars or stretch marks).”

In conclusion, micro-needling, Copper Peptides, and exfoliation are a great skin regeneration combination that are able to work with your skin’s natural healing processes to heal your acne scar tissue layer by layer and unearth new healthy skin. The micro-needling is able to break down the structure of damaged scar tissue and remove the top layer of damaged skin as well as give the Copper Peptides an easy way to penetrate into the skin to give the skin the healing proteins it needs to repair. The exfoliation creams help damaged skin come off so the process to unearthing new, repaired skin is able to move along.

Using the micro-needling, Copper Peptides and exfoliation together is a way to solve the acne scar issue from its root instead of trying to put creams and lotions on your skin to try to “cover up” the damage. We all want our acne scars to “look” normal, but at the core we’d rather have healthy normal skin again instead of trying to use lotions or makeup to hide what’s going on with our skin.

Micro-needling and Copper Peptides are a great way to work with your skin’s natural processes to heal. It does take patience since you have to heal on your skin’s timeline, which means a full new layer of skin is generated every 27 days and not at the snap of a finger, however it is worth the wait, and the best part is, even though fully healing your scars is a longer process, you can see the results start to take place right away.

Here is are two images that illustrate how micro-needling works together with copper peptides and exfoliation to remove damaged skin and stimulate the healing process so damaged scarring is over time replaced with new, healthy skin.

Here are some before and after pictures that illustrate my own skin’s experience healing using this process:

Here

I have found using a combination of clinically proven, researched backed at-home micro-needling, copper peptide cream and exfoliation creams to be extremely effective in healing my skin’s deep acne scarring.

I am very grateful I found this combination of at-home treatment that has been so effective at helping my skin heal.

You can get the same micro-needling, copper Peptide and exfoliation products I have used to get my acne scar healing results here.

To see more acne scar before and after pictures, you can look here as well.

7 Best Products for Acne Scars – How to Heal Acne Scars (Pics)

Stacy — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 17:30:31 +0000

How to Heal Acne Scars with the Best Products for Acne Scars

The past 4 years I’ve completely hated myself due to my acne scarring.

I’ve always been good at making friends. But I’ve literally made no new friends since my scarring. People go out of their way to reject and avoid me.

12 months ago I wanted to do something more than the creams I had been trying that only made my face white and oily, not changing the indentation amounts or actual scar appearances.

So I went to a professional clinic for a $300 micro-needling session still skeptical but at this point willing to do (& at this point spend) whatever it would take.

After the session I saw my red skin start to heal and I realized there was actually hope for my skin to heal before I thought maybe there was no hope.

How to Heal Acne Scars: At-Home Microneedling

After seeing my skin’s immediate improvement from my professional micro-needling session, I decided to do more research so I could capitalize on my skin’s healing by ordering the best topical healing ingredients to pair with the micro-needling sessions.

I used the professional clinic’s list of recommended healing topicals which included copper peptides, among a few other ingredients, as what I should look for in products to support the healing process & skin regeneration. I started doing research on all the products on the list, and ran into home acne scar remedy, micro-needling, during the research.

I’ve been using the best of the best acne scar removal products and home micro-needling for the past 12 months and my skin is finally healing and where I’ve wanted it to be for the longest time.

I’ve found my home micro-needling to be more effective than professional sessions when used slightly more aggressively in combo with the copper peptides – I can target areas more specifically and be a bit more aggressive than a professional clinic is able to.

How does Micro-Needling Work to Reduce Acne Scars?

Micro-needling can be done at home using a microneedling roller or a Derma Pen, and I’ve found success with both on different areas of my face, some have been more responsive to a roller, and some more so to a pen.

When my scars were incredibly deep, from a combination of huge inflammation and picking at them when new, the 1.5 mm microneedling roller and copper peptides at night and using Vitamin C during the day, to help brighten my skin and smooth out the lighter indents and redness on my face.

Here is how Vitamin C Serum specifically works:

Vitamin C aids wound healing, protects against sun damage, evens skin tone, reduces wrinkles as well as lines and indents in the face and works to boost skin’s healing capabilities through collagen and other natural skin healing functions.

This is why it is so helpful for use on discolored areas of the face and areas of the face that have indentations.

I have personally seen great results on areas of my acne scarring that were discolored on my face and had light indentations when using a concentrated, L-ascorbic acid based, Vitamin C serum in combination with a Derma pen in my at-home treatment.

Here is how copper peptides work specifically:

Copper peptides’ effects on skin and healing have also been researched in-depth scientifically and have been found to, in a study by Pickhart and Margolino “stimulate blood vessel and nerve outgrowth, increases collagen, elastin, and glycosaminoglycan synthesis, as well as supports the function of dermal fibroblasts. GHK’s ability to improve tissue repair has been demonstrated for skin, lung connective tissue, boney tissue, liver, and stomach lining”

This means Copper Peptides are able to assist with tissue repair and are great to pair with micro-needling, because the micro-needling gives your skin micro-damages it is able to easily repair in a controlled way that promotes healthy skin healing. The copper peptides give your skin the proteins it needs to repair its skin in an effective manner and most aesthetic way possible.

Here is how microneedling rollers and Derma-Pens work:

Microneedling in the form of Derma-Rolling and Derma-Penning has been shown in scientific studies to reduce acne scarring and I have seen incredible results in my own personal experience as well.

The micro-needling works so well because it takes off the top layer of your damaged skin, allowing your newer, healthy skin a chance to be revealed underneath.

The micro-needling also allows the copper peptides to penetrate into the deeper layers of your skin to deliver its healing ingredients more effectively.

After 12 months of intensive micro-needling with copper peptides I’m finally loving and accepting my skin again, and it’s nice to be able to confidently look at and interact with people again, something I never knew if I was going to ever be able to do during the 4 years I had my deep acne scarring.

Here I’m sharing the exact process I’ve used to heal my scarred skin and how you can do the same. This is simply the process that has worked for me and is not medical advice or advice of any kind. You can consult a doctor to get official advice etc.

Best Products for Acne Scars

Here are the 9 best products for healing acne scars. These are the products I use in my routine and are the reason my acne scarring has healed.

Here are the best acne scar products along with explanations of how they work and why they are the best products for healing acne scars:

Vitamin C Serum For Acne Scars: Vitamin C boosts collagen production and is great for lightening red acne scarring and removing discolorations from skin. It is great to use as a daily skin protectant that also draws out negative oxidants in the skin, and you can use it alongside a derma pen or derma roller for deeper results or on its own in your daily skin routine.
Copper Peptide Cream:Note: You can’t use copper peptides and Vitamin C at the same time, you need to alternate days or use one at night and one in the morning, because their ingredients cancel each other out. I personally used copper peptides on my deeper scarred areas at night and then switched to Vitamin C in the morning as well as on more lightly scarred areas of my face and areas that needed color correction.
Copper peptides are skin building blocks and decrease in number in our skin as we age. Copper peptides have been clinically shown to increase skin healing, and I have found them to help my scarred, damaged skin both heal and peel off, as well as heal more effectively after microneedling either at home or at a dermatologist’s office.
Derma E Gel: Derma E gel is a clear, thick gel that is formulated to help scars heal. I have found it to be great at keeping skin moisturized during the healing process post-microneedling, whether you micro-needle at a dermatologist’s or at-home.:
Rosehip Oil: Rosehip Oil contains Vitamin A and is known for helping sun damaged and otherwise damaged skin heal. I love using rosehip oil in my daily moisturizing routine as well as to help keep skin moisturized during the micro-needling healing process
Coconut Oil: I use coconut oil similarly to rosehip oil, for moisture during the microneedling healing process.
Exfoliating Creams & Serums: Exfoliating creams like the Lac Sal acne scar cream help loosen damaged skin on the top layer and help the scarred skin slough off more easily. I like to use this cream when my skin is not in the micro-needling or microneedling healing process, but during the days during days or weeks I am not microneedling to help smooth and soften my acne scarring.
Exfoliating Sprays: The ORG Mineral exfoliating spray helps peel off damaged skin layers to reveal healthier skin underneath. A week or so after fully healing from micro-needling, I like to use this spray to take off the extra damaged skin on my face to reveal much more smooth and beautiful skin underneath.
Derma-roller and Derma-Pen for Microneedling: At homedermarollers for acne scars are the most effective at-home acne scar healing tool I use, alongside the copper peptide serum. My scars were very deep, so I needed the 1.5 mm derma-roller to break up the damaged scar tissue and help remove the damaged layers of skin so healthier skin could emerge underneath.

The Acne Scar Treatment Kit: combines a Derma Pen, the Derma Pen cleaning ingredients, Vitamin C Serum specifically for acne scars, and a Derma E scar healing gel to give you everything you need to heal and improve acne scarring in one kit. It’s great for anyone who wants to make one purchase without having to worry about buying a ton of separate ingredients and time testing, and start to see improvement in their skin.

Combined, these are the most effective products for treating acne scars, and you can use them fully at-home or with a combination of in-person micro-needling appointments to help keep your skin moisturized and give it the nutrients it needs for the most effective skin healing.

I explain my full routine and how to use the products below.

How to use a Derma-Roller

Here’s what my micro-needling copper peptide process looks like.

You can see how bright blue the copper peptides are, and you can see the progress my skin’s scars have made from where they started (which the pictures are not even of their worse points) to where my skin is so much more healed and healthy today, with so many damaged layers gone and new skin healed thanks to this routine.

I had no hope for my acne scars before I started doing this and now people tell me all the time how good my skin looks and I finally feel confident again.

At night, start with a 1mm roller if it’s your first time. Once your skin gets used to it and you know it’s working, you can move up to the 1.5mm, which is the deepest you’re supposed to use for at-home sessions. Roll the micro-needling derma roller device over the skin areas you wish to improve in all directions, from the side, top, bottom, diagonally, keeping the pressure steady and rolling back and forth around 5 times in each direction. Your face will be a little red at this point. Remember not to overdo it.
After rolling the device your skin now has micro-tears and is starting to heal itself. It is also more receptive to topical ingredients at this point. Now you can put a thin layer of copper peptide cream onto the areas you derma-rolled. Don’t put too much, less is more at this point. It may sting a little, so be patient if it does. It will also be bright blue so this is best done while you are alone and before bed. Copper peptides are able to break down damaged collagen and help it come off to reveal healthy skin underneath, and it also has the skin building block ingredients that give your skin the boost it needs to repair itself by growing new skin and hair follicles. I see new white baby hairs on the areas of my face I use copper peptides on because my skin starts growing new skin and hair cells in these areas.
Put your derma-roller into a 70% or more isopropyl alcohol cleaning solution overnight so you can use it again, up to 4 or 5 times before you need to unwrap a new one
The morning after I wash my face and put Vitamin C serum and Derma E Gel on the areas that are healing so they stay moist and are able to continue healing at their optimal level. While my skin is healing I make sure to take extra good care of it so it has the optimal chance of healing as perfectly as possible.
Every night I then put a thin layer of the copper peptide cream onto the healing areas to help the healing process as well, and put a Vitamin C serum on each morning.
Depending on the size of the needle you used, how much pressure you applied and how deep you went, your skin may be red for a few days or more. Wait until your skin redness heals before doing any derma-rolling again. You should see improvement right away, even while your skin is still red, and while it starts to heal. It may take up to a month to start seeing real, marked improvements. After a few months you will start to see even more improved skin and positive changes. Be patient because you are working real-time with your skin’s healing schedule and trying to rush it will only make it harder for your skin to be able to fully heal in the long-run. The skin takes 27 days to turn over a full cycle of new skin cells, meaning you need to work on your skin’s timeline and not against it.
Once my skin is no longer red, I put Lac Sal cream or serum depending on how thick I want the cream to be on it during the day and night for a few days to encourage damaged skin to slough off and exfoliate. Damaged skin is made up of a weaker structure than healthy skin, meaning when Lactic acid cream, like Lac Sal cream is placed over your entire face, the damaged skin is more affected and starts to come off, while the strong healthy skin stays put, which is what makes exfoliation so effective.
Then I use O.R.G. exfoliating spray to literally take off layers of the dead, damaged skin, and you can see it coming off of your face.
Finally you have a fresh new layer of skin, one layer closer to taking off all your damaged scar tissue and revealing your healthy face underneath. The skin heals in layers so each time a damaged layer peels off, you’re one layer closer to revealing your new healthy skin underneath as it continues to grow and regenerate.
Then I repeat the derma-rolling copper peptide process outlined above to keep taking the damaged layers off my skin and giving it the nutrients it needs to heal the scarred areas on my face

Note: It is important you don’t have active acne on your face when you derma-roll, and don’t derma-roll on areas that are open wounds.

Final acne scar healing pic

Here is another healing pic, using just this derma-rolling and copper peptide / exfoliation treatment.

The picture is a side view of the healing from the rolling acne scars on my cheek, the side of my face, and my chin. This healing took ~ 2 months, the side of my face started out way worse but at that point I was trying to avoid taking pictures of it because I didn’t think it would ever heal and having pictures just made the scarring that much more real.

Crazy to see the progress from how bad it was in the first mirror selfie to how much better in just a few months.

How to Get Rid of Old Acne Scars: Home Acne Scar Treatment

Stacy — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 19:40:57 +0000

How to Get Rid of Old Acne Scars

You can follow my journey to get rid of my old acne scars here.

To get the step by step healing process I used to heal my acne-scarred skin feel free to sign up below:

I had my acne scars for 4 years before I decided to finally do something to get at the root of the problem with them, as opposed to just “trying” to cover them up with layers of lotions and makeup.

While starting this process to heal my skin at its root, I wanted to create a space where people with acne scars could see the progress of an acne scarred face actually healing.

Not the perfectly “photoshopped” or “after” healed pics next to the horrible before pics. But a space where people could follow along as I continue to finish healing and see skin actually healing, along with me, real-time, real close up photos, commentary, videos, back and forth, everything.

That’s why I created my 2 month challenge Facebook group where I showed everyone my healing journey and teaching others how to remove acne scars in real-time, alongside me. This page is a documentation of how I healed my skin during this time period and the few months before.

You can follow along after the fact by reading this page, and feel free to comment to ask any questions.

I think it is important to show real-time progress and not only perfect “after pics” when you finally feel your skin is “good enough” to show people. This page details my journey from when my acne scars were still very here and very real.

Also, you can email me stacy@acnescar.org for info how to get in the private Facebook group I’m updating daily with even more detailed and raw progress pics.

You can also join the 2 month challenge Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1313211658865461/

Face Acne Scars: Acne Scar Depression

These past 4 years I have deeply hated myself.

Because of my deeply pockmarked face.

Acne scars deeply embedded on my forehead, on the sides of my face, a deep pocket scar on chin, a cluster of deep to medium to light scars on my right cheekbone, behind my ears. Every section of my once-smooth, even if it had the occasional pimple, face was scarred and pockmarked.

I didn’t think there was anything I could do to fix it. I tried different DIY acne scar treatments, creams, MSM, retinols, derma e, coconut oil, but all they did was make my face look like it had too much lotion or oil on it, and when I took it off at the end of the day you could still see the deep indents as they were, not healed or changed in any way.

Sometimes if I got engrossed enough in an activity or work or going on a run I would momentarily forget how indescribably ugly my face had become.

The disfiguration of my face made it hard for me to even have a chance to try to love or accept myself. The scarring was partially due to factors outside of my control – acne, hormones, but it was also partially or even mostly due to my incessant picking and not realizing I was causing damage that would or could actually become permanent scars on my face.

The second I looked in a mirror I would be brought back to reality and remember how disgusting my face had become, due to many factors that were entirely my fault, making it almost impossible to even try to feel ok about myself.

Adding to that, before my acne scars, I had always been an introvert and enjoyed alone time, but had also always been really good at making friends and connecting with people.

After my scars, I couldn’t look people in the eye anymore. And when I tried to be brave and make friends these past 4 years I literally have not been able to. When I have to go in to the doctor, they all remark on my face and ask what my skin condition is.

I actively tried to reach out to people and make new connections but with my disfigured face, my acne scars, people have not wanted to be around me.

I have hated myself, and hated looking in the mirror, remembering the days I could step out of the shower, put on some face lotion and look good enough to go out in public or do whatever I wanted.

Acne Scar Remedies: At Home Microneedling / trying to heal my acne scars

After living with my disfigured face and scars for 3 years, 12 months ago I finally got fed up with the life I was living trying to avoid people and hating my skin and myself because of it and did a ton of research online before deciding to go into a professional for a $300 microneedling session.

After seeing how the needles induced redness and healing in my skin, and researching the list of healing ingredients they gave me, which included copper peptides and Vitamin C, I kept reading to figure out what ingredients I could buy in combination with microneedling to continue to heal my skin.

Home Acne Scar Remedy

I started my at home acne scar treatment after my first professional session when I realized professional microneedling was super expensive, but that the at-home microneedling allowed me to target the problem areas even better since I know which parts of my skin look the worst to me. It also allowed me to be slightly more aggressive along in terms of frequency of needling and application of product to speed up skin turnover and healing.

I love how this home remedy for acne scars works overnight, and I wake up each morning, use coconut oil to take the copper peptides off my face, and see my scarring improved each time.

The microneedling works in layers, peeling off skin layers in combination with exfoliation lotions & techniques, and damages the scar area.

Once the needle gets to the bottom of the damaged tissue, it is able to re-damage it again, but in a way your skin is able to heal fully this time as long as you take care of it during the healing process, your skin is able to re-heal fully but without producing the excess scar collagen it did the first time. Once the damaged layers of your skin peel off and the new skin comes up underneath, your skin starts to look smoother and layer by layer show the new healed skin and no longer the damaged outer layers.

Allowing your damaged skin to fully come off in thick layers allows you to get rid of old acne scars that have stubbornly stayed put on your face for years, as was the case with my entire face.

Doing it at home’s also way cheaper with $20 microneedlers you can use ~5 times each and $100 worth of pure, high-quality Vitamin C Serum and , as opposed to the professional clinic’s overpriced, water-downed / not highest quality healing ingredient bottles and $300 professional sessions.

I always clean my needle overnight in 70% hydrogen peroxide, and at the start I would use each needle up to 5 times with cleanings in between. However I did find that as kept going with my at-home acne scar treatment I started using a fresh needle for every new home microneedling session, because I saw that it seemed to be much more effective due to the fresher blade.

It’s only an extra $20 or so expense every 30 days during the healing process, and for me at least, it allowed every session to be that much more effective.

Since the microneedling works with your skin’s natural healing process which includes the (longg) 27 days it takes your skin to turn-over and grow a full new layer each month, it takes time to start seeing results because you have to work with (not against) your skin’s natural healing functions.

You can see in the picture below how the micro-needling worked with the copper peptides to help layers of my damaged and scarred skin peel off to reveal healthy new skin underneath.

This process happened every time I did the at-home micro-needling and copper peptide application, and each time a damaged layer came off I saw my skin look less scarred and more healthy. My scars were very deep so it took a year of doing this consistently to see parts of my skin become completely smooth again.

The copper peptides, Vitamin C, Lac Sal exfoliating cream, and at home derma-rolling device are the best products for acne scars I have found, and I am so grateful to have found them, because they have really changed my life.

The Vitamin C & Derma Pen acne scar kit is what I’ve found to be the most helpful for the areas of stubborn scarring discoloration on my face, and I’ve incorporated it into my regular skincare routine even as my skin has become healthy again.

My healing goals and how you can follow along the journey

12 months ago when I realized my acne scar treatment was working I set a goal to keep going, doing my best to heal each month until my skin got so good I could take my rebranding headshots and start acting again.

My real motivation was to have smooth skin that I feel happy in right when I step out of the shower (AKA before applying gobs of covering and smoothing products), and going out in public and talking to people again, having them want to be around me and be my friend, something I haven’t had in 4 years and has only starting to come back these past few months as my skin has started to heal.

These past 12 months, I’ve seen layers come off and new skin coming up looking beautifully healed and smooth in many areas and the damage keeps coming off. This has been my focus and I keep reminding myself how I am doing it for my future self.

12 months ago I barely took any pictures that showed the full damage (it was always with some type of covering lotion or makeup on), because it messed me up mentally to see the damage in full in a picture because it made it 100X more real. Almost like the photo capturing the damage in full made the scarring seem somehow more permanent.

Even not doing so, you can how bad it was in this candid photo from 4 years ago:

The selfie I took on the way back from a friend’s birthday, I still have Derma-e gel “trying” to cover some of it up, I had scars and acne still here, it was really bad, and it was actually even worse because the Derma-e gel was actually covering some of the indents up:

Here’s a photo of my forehead after the acne shown above cleared but the scars are still clearly there:

Finally, here’s where my forehead is at right now. It still has smaller indents and is healing but layers and layers of damaged scarred skin have come off and it is so much better right now:

This was after an all-day Salesforce conference – this was how bad my chin had gotten – so disgusting I couldn’t believe what had happened to my face and how disfigured it was:

Each month I see a few layers come off, new skin and hair follicles growing in ever so slowly, and the results are insane, especially as the months compound on each other and I give my face the time and ingredients to heal inbetween sessions.

Here are some recent pictures of my skin in the healing process so you can get an idea of how much better sections have gotten since I started treating it this way 12 months ago:

People, including my family, have commented on how good my skin looks and my aunt even said, “Wow your skin looks really great. Keep doing whatever you’ve been doing Stac.”

The other day I walked into a coffee shop and someone held the door for me. Honestly people didn’t even give me normal social courtesies when my skin looked like it had some sort of acne scar disease, so having small normal social interactions where the other person isn’t looking at you with disgust or pity is like living in an alternate reality for me.

My past 12 months I’ve gone from completely disfigured, deeply indented pockmarked face to a relatively smooth, almost completely scar-free face.

If you want to get my step by step at-home micro-needling and copper peptide process laid out in an email feel free to sign up here or view the complete process in this post: