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Facial Scars

1K views 13 replies 11 participants last post by  Saddlebag 
#1 ·
When I was in high school, my mom took me to the dermatologist for my "acne." Turns out it was actually rosacea, but anyway. The doctor prescribed me Accutane. I don't remember exactly what dose he prescribed, but I do know that it was too high. Within a few days of starting the medicine, my face, especially my chin and mouth area, dried out horribly. My lips were so dry that it made playing my trombone impossible. It got to the point within a week or two that the corners of my mouth started cracking and bleeding, even though I was using Carmex at a rate of a pot of it every other day. The cracking at the corners of my mouth continued to get worse until it had extended midway down my chin on either side. It got to the point where I could barely talk because I couldn't move my lips or chin without them cracking and bleeding. Finally, I couldn't take it any longer and stopped taking the Ac****ane on my own. Less than a week after stopping it, my face stopped being so dry and started healing.

Fast forward to now. It's been...gosh...15 years, I think? I've always had scars from the corners of my mouth down about halfway to my chin. They've never been terribly noticeable, but I've known they were there. I gained a whole bunch of weight a couple of years ago (80+lbs) and am just now starting to lose it. I've lost 30lbs since the end of January. However, I've noticed now that the scars on my face are REALLY showing more. Before, you could see that something was there, but you couldn't really tell it was scarring. Now, it's obvious that they are scars.

What can I do to help them appear less obvious? I don't really wear makeup unless it's a special occasion. However, when I do wear makeup, it tends to settle in the scars and make them more noticeable. Going to a dermatologist isn't really an option, either, as I don't have insurance.

I've attached two pics so you can see the scarring. I literally just took these right now (forgive their crappiness). One smiling and one resting. The scarring extends from the corners of my mouth almost vertically downward to about 2/3 of the way to the bottom of my jaw.

Smiling:


Resting:
 
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#2 ·
I really don't notice them until you point them out. I would use an exfoliating cream and moisturizer. I use Clinique 7 day scrub cream as an exfoliate. I use Nutragina moistureizer w/ sunscreen and it has a tint to it. I don't wear makeup but I like the tint in the moisturizer. SPF 30.
 
#3 ·
I have always heard that Accutane is a monster of an acne medication. I've looked into it a couple of times, but the side effects definitely outweigh the positives, in my eyes anyway.

I honestly didn't notice the scarring either, but I agree with a moisturizer. I think facial scarring takes a lot longer to go away than other parts of the body... I have cat scratch scars on my face still from Christmas time.
 
#6 ·
Congrats on the weight loss! How are you doing it?
Stress and barely eating. I got promoted after barely a year to assistant manager of the hotel I work at. I basically run our 55-room hotel. Looooong hours (50+ hours a week, usually) and stress of dealing with employee drama, my owner calling and emailing me ten times a day (on a slow day) and still having to work the front desk. I haven't had a real day off, where I didn't have to think about work, since January.
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#5 ·
I didn't really have a choice on the Accutane, unfortunately. I was basically told "This is what you're going to be taking" and my mom made sure I took it.

Maybe I'm just seeing it more because I'm so hyper-critical of myself.
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#7 ·
I hardly notice the scars. But...I feel your pain. As a teenager I was put on Accutane twice! Horrible stuff. I can't believe my parents went for it. I have some scarring from acne and Mederma is a pretty good topical cream for scars. It won't fade them completely, but it kind of blends them in better. Also- drinking lots and lots of water helps too. But, you have to drink so much that you are literally running to the bathroom every 10 minutes. But hey, it will help with the weight loss too :)

Try not to be too hard on yourself...
 
#10 ·
I don't think that if we met I would even notice them.

I had a young girl turn up for an interview. As she walked in so I saw that half her face was a port wine birthmark. It was bad, as if someone had covered half her face and sprayed the rest with red.
My immediate thought was, "She will have issues."

How totally wrong I was. She never let it be an issue nor did she try and hide it with makeup. She was as she was, a bubbly person who didn't care what others thought of her birthmark.

Within a very short time I never gave the mark a thought. I asked if she had ever been teased/bullied over it and she admitted that one boy in High School was tormenting her about it as they stood in line. She swung round and slapped him across the face. The teacher seeing this called her out and all she said was, "Well now he knows what it is like to have a red face!"

New laser treatment was tried and proved to be somewhat successful. Very painful as each zap, the size of a pin head, brought about black bruising. I would take her to treatments. My niece asked her after one treatment, of her red mark would go. She said she hoped so. With that my niece said, "Well you had better let me know who you are, I might not recognise you!"

I give her full marks for her attitude. I was looking through some old photos and realised that many I have of her are all taken with her red side showing - that's how much we noticed it.
 
#11 ·
try some vit e cream . at night. Taking vit e is good for the skin.. and drinking a lot of water.
Good skin comes from the inside out. wash your face really well in the morn and night with soap and water, use a wash cloth. Do not take too much vit E , try to find water soluble.
Congrats on the weight loss, when i stress i over eat.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the kind comments, everyone. I know I can be really hard on myself, so I think that's part of why I see them so much more now.

As for the stress eating, stevenson...I don't have time to eat, usually. Plus, I'm usually running so hard from the time I get up until I crash after work that I just don't get hungry.
 
#14 ·
I'm all for zinc oxide. It's healing properties are why it was used for diaper rash plus it has natural sunscreen protection. It's worth a try, applying several times daily. I have a small rough patch beside my mouth and this treatment causes it to seemingly disappear. When I don't use it for about a week, it's more visible again.
 
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