What’s the best procedure to treat acne scars, poor texture, lines and lifting: CO2, Scarlet RF and/or Opus Plasma? (photos)

Question

I have acne scars that are mostly hypo pigmented, Fine lines, the beginning of some sagging, light festoons & poor texture. There are so many treatments and I have had 1 or two for example the Scarlet RF. Please in your professional opinion what is the most effective and overall general best treatment for the aforementioned issues? Pros & cons? Also, do you recommend ADVATX or carbon laser peels in a series of 4 to 6 for acne and congested skin? Thank you

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

you have pigmentation and arent a good candidate for aggressive lasers like co2 or plasma, you need to prep your skin.  at home peels like cosmelan, enlighten and aerify along with dermarolling (Emerageskin roller with anteage MD AERIFY ampules weekly) should be started now (see link to emeragecosmetics). you also need to consult as you will need a very specific approach.

if you have post inflammatory hyperpigmentation/melasma/discoloration that needs cosmelan or enlighten peels at home which we can do virtually and send to your home along with aerify peels regularly, vivatia foam, restorsea 10x, faith essence serum, and cosmelan 2 cream.

Acne scar treatment needs a combination approach for improvement.  For the best results, one should target the acne scar type.  As everyone has a unique pattern of acne scarring, the best solution is a tailored one.  Typically you need fillers like bellafill and sculptra for atrophic indented type scars with or without subcision.  Subcision for depressed tethered scars.  Vascular lasers like yellow laser, aerolase, excel V or IPL for redness or thick scars. And lasers such as fraxel, halo, maxi, pro fractional laser/erbium, co2 or fractional radiofrequency like venus viva, skinfinity, intensif or fractora microneedling RF for textural issues and superficial scarring.  Deep ice pick scars and narrow box car scars are best treated with TCA CROSS and punch excision.  All lasers are combined with microneedling and PRP to get even better results and improve healing times.   The majority of patients will have a collection of different scar types, and hence a tailored treatment plan is needed by an expert physician.  It is never about the laser or product that gives the results, its about the expert behind the equipment that gets you the outcome.  Scars cannot be cured and will need life-long treatments to maintain and build on the results.  For those at high risk for hyperpigmentation (darker skin types or asian or hispanic or mixed ethnicities) we already pre-treat the skin with cosmelan or enlighten lightening peels to prevent complications from energy-based or chemical-based treatments.  Best, Dr. Emer.

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS · Answer

Fractional CO2 laser is an excellent tool for skin rejuvenation in our center in Santa Monica. We use the fractional multi-depth ablative approach to help resurface the skin, recontour acne scars, improve incisional plastic surgery scars, and reduce surface irregularities from skin tone to dark pigmentation. Our approach utilizes a multi-depth approach that targets melanocytes in the epidermis and collagen fibroblasts in the dermis. This approach can be combined with a TCA Peel in a process known as a sapphire peel. Fractional laser is excellent for acne scars and contour scars in the skin. Patients are advised to undergo skin protocols with Melarase creams before and after treatment to help reduce pigmentation. Melarase AM, Melarase PM, and Melapads can seriously improve surface sun damage and UV related pigmentation. After the laser, we expect redness for a few weeks as the skin improves. PRP and Hydrafacial enzyme facials can further improve skin quality after fractional co2.

Best, 
Dr. Karamanoukian 
Realself100 Surgeon

What’s the best procedure to treat acne scars, poor texture, lines and lifting: CO2, Scarlet RF and/or Opus Plasma? (photos)

Answers (2)

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Everything you need to know about CO2 Laser

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What’s the best procedure to treat acne scars, poor texture, lines and lifting: CO2, Scarlet RF and/or Opus Plasma? (photos)

Answers (2)

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Everything you need to know about CO2 Laser

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.