Significant Acne Scarred Man Tries the Derma Roller

I thought to load a few photos, following that represent a 'healed state'... meaning not still red from the roller. I'm not sure if I was as cruel with lighting or gravity as my first photo. I should have loaded more first up, to get a better contrast. Anyway, I do think there are benefits. I'm impressed with this little tool on the whole. The biggest controversy on RS around rollers, is not whether they work or not... people seem to agree that they do - which is great.
The debate is more about whether using 3mm is dangerous, or rolling on the nose is crazy (I'm guilty of throwing that line out), depth... and secondly, timing between rolls. Some insist 6 weeks, others insisting 21days is the magic number. Putting aside that its absurd that every human has identical optimal depth/timing/responses, to get a clear consensus on "general effectiveness", clinical trials would be SO useful to answer these questions. Acne scars are so devastating and this is SUCH a cheap and relatively option, its really one of those things we should have definitive information about. I'm a high intensity training guy, so I'll do 15 minutes of weights to failure once a week, because of studies showing the hormonal cascade effect to body composition this does... though they use bikes, 20 sec high intense, 40 sec recovery, repeat (usually - or a variation). The thing is these studies on HIT showed that people can get something close to 87% of the benefit from 4% of the time invested. The parallel is that both this protocol, and the exercise, is about delivering a measurable, deliberate and highly controlled pro-inflammatory crisis, and then our bodies, manufactures the healing response in each case... both improving the results. So perhaps 14 days is better. Perhaps 3mm is better than 1.5mm for a deep scar? What if 1.5mm is worse for a atrophic dent, because there is so little collagen there, that a deep puncture is worse then a more shallow one? I assume the opposite, by going extra hard on the deep areas? Anyway, this is a rant. I apologize if it sounds self-indulgent. I just want to highlight the point we're all experimenting, and dearly hoping on balance our risks are paying off. So far with the roller, I'm having success. Good luck everyone reading or trying it yourself!

This is just an update. I don't think that there's been significant change, after about four (4) rolls in three (3) months. I probably should compare at this point photos, but as I rolled last night, it would be premature. Due to flattering swelling, and unflattering redness - better to have a like with like images...
Derma rolling still feels intense/painful. I don't find it easier now then I first did.
My overall strategy remains to roll for perhaps 18 months, and then get an ablative laser, following with some fillers.
There's always risks. So far so good.
I included a picture of my range of skin care goodies below. Essentially, Tretinoin 0.05% for the heavy lifting (green labelled tube, and the greasy version - straight after the rolling (see red tube)).
I use Kiehl's C+ serum (seen below) immediately, and copper peptides within a day of the rolling to spur recovery.
The Aesop stuff is my go-to usual face wash, moisturizer, and sun protector (15+SPF usually, but I'm an office guy). If I'm hitting the sun seriously, then 30+ or more. I'd avoid sun soon after rolling given how vulnerable our skin is generally, and then when systematically punctured... Have a good 2015, guys and gals. x

Hi I'll contribute a review, because I think doing this pays it forward somehow. This website is my go-to for cosmetic research. Most people on this site have seen these little torture devices.
With a handle, these cylinders are covered in tiny needles that a few of us deliberately roll over our own faces 8-12 times up, then 8-12 times across, approximately every month.
It seems to deliver good results for the bold, provided that we keep our expectations relatively modest. I've got the full suite of acne scars from rolling scars, atrophic dents, and just general horror that I try not to think about. A timely newspaper article and some particularly horrific rosacea spider veins traveling across my once pristine nose finally inspired this cosmetic journey. My overall aim is around a 60-70% improvement the scarring. If the derma rolling in around 12 or 18 months, gives me a 20% improvement in scar depth, I will be THRILLED. I'm thinking laser, and a little targeted surgery for the balance of that 60-70% target, with a little judicial fillers. (At some point I'll do a separate post on the rosacea nose thing.) I am a white male, 41 years old. I use the 2mm needles on the derma roller, plus a 1.5mm stamp with 36 needles. The $60 includes both. I use Dr Numb for the pain (so I've included it in the price). I usually forget about the numbing cream until 2 rolls into each procedure... OUCH.
I really like the theory behind the derma roller... and of course the ridiculously low price. I do a little weight lifting (high intensity, very brief to failure only once a week), and it stuck me as working on precisely the same mechanism.
1. Apply strenuous, targeted trauma to site.
2. No. 1 initiates initiates the body's injury/inflammation/future proof biological response.
In the case of Derma Roller (or every laser) its too accelerate the generation of collagen... for the weights, its to trigger the strength, power and size of the muscle. I use OwnDoc. I enjoy her information and the take-no-prisoner opinions. Fun fact she states that she has Aspergers. I found this oddly comforting when sending money overseas and relying on advice that involved deliberate self injury., both due to the characteristic honesty of Aspies and their obsessive pursuit of logic, which I relate to a bit. (I'm a lawyer so offer your judgements about honesty... Welcome trolls!. Irrelevant commentary: I found it fascinating that the first guy that predicted the GFC via the collapse of the American housing market (who controlled a hedge fund) was an Aspie. The generalizations of obsessive logic, blunt analysis, and high focus served him well in reading twenty or thirty, two hundred page toxic loan legal instruments.
Anyway I've done three derma rollers which means that its too early to predict whether I'll get a result worth that is worth the pain. The balance of information suggests not to quit after a few times. People report turnarounds at eighteen months.
This makes sense to me. It took a long time to get an unhealthy facial dermis. Lots of neglect and self harm. Taking a year to get a 20% improvement using this process is a good target, at least from what I've read. I'll report back in.