What single modality would be best for my acne scars (Fraxel or Morpheus/Fractora)? (Photo)

Morpheus 8 is a non-invasive skin and soft tissue tightening treatment that is consistently amazing in our patients. We use the Morpheus to exact fractional induced RF into the skin or tissue in order to tighten collagen and stimulate contraction of the tissue. For acne scars, it is quite useful to build collagen in patients who have atrophic scars but is not very productive for ice-pick scars which require TCA Cross. For tissue tightening, Morpheus is ideal for the face and neck and we often combine it with CO2 laser or Ultherapy to further enhance results. Chemical peels and skin resurfacing should be done at least 5 to 7 days after, but can be performed earlier, depending on treatment severity. Avoid exfoliating skin treatments before Morpheus and expect a period of 2-4 weeks for skin contraction to set in.

Best,
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

An in person or remote consultation is essential for good medical advice. I'd recommend that this be with a facial plastic surgeon or dermatologist with experience. Over the last 6 years, I have found that the best treatment for acne scarring is a series of microneedling with RF treatments. Most importantly, it can be performed on most skin types, including patients "of color". In the facial area, the depth required is not as deep as for the body. Recurrences of active acne may also be prevented, as the sebaceous elements are decreased.

there is no single treatment for you, you need a combination of lasers, fillers and subcision in the office.
at home peels like cosmelan, enlighten and aerify along with dermarolling (MTS roller with anteage MD ampules weekly) should be started now

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, 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. 

Hello there. Thank you for your question. The first thing to do is to make sure the skin is completely clear and free of blemishes before applying any heated modalities. Once the skin is clear, the Morpheus8 resurfacing option is a great option for acne scarring. The regular Morpheus 8 would not achieve the same results. Most patients get either a single treatment or a series of three monthly treatments.

Thanks for your question

Actually for optimal Results you actually want combine the two modalities.

If you have to take one to start with I would definitely recommend morpheus. Radio frequency microneedling is really becoming the gold standard in treating acne scarring

However even more important than itself is who’s performing it. There’s so much variability and operator variance. Do you wanna make sure you’re Cena board-certified Dermatologist.

Hi It’s amazing how there are so many different modalities to choose from, it can be confusing! Morpheus8 in my opinion is gold standard for acne scars. Morpheus8 collagen stimulation approach with Microneedling and radio frequency is potent and works well to correct most skin concerns such as acne scars! Mind you for full effect, you will need at least 3-4 sessions.