Fractional CO2 laser, Traditional CO2 laser, or dermabrasion would be your best choices

Don Mehrabi, MD answers: Best treatment for box car and ice pick acne scars?

I saw a dermatologist yesterday and she classified my acne scars as "minor, box car, and ice pick." I am wondering what the best treatment would be for these types of scarring? I am considering beginning with Microdermabrasion and also Fraxel Laser, but Fraxel may be out of my price range. Any suggestions? I am not looking for a miracle, any improvement is better than none. Thanks!


Don Mehrabi, MD
7 months ago

Thank you for your question.

For ice pick and box car scarring, you will need something more aggressive than Fraxel. In your case, I would consider microdermabrasion worthless as it does nothing to remodel the dermal collagen.

I would strongly consider doing fractional CO2 laser as it is the newest technology for resurfacing, with minimal downtime, that would be the best at resurfacing your type of acne scarring. In addition, you can consider the traditional CO2 laser, but there is up to 2 weeks of downtime associated with any treatment. Other options include traditional dermabrasion where the skin is sanded down manually or mechanically, however, there is also significant downtime. The last options include TCA 90% spot treatments, subcision, or excision of acne scars.

Hope this helps!

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