Dermarolling Stretchmarks Session 1

I dermarolled my stretchmarks today. It was a little bit scary since I didn't use numbing cream. I recommend using it because the belly is actually very sensitive. At least, mine is! If you use numbing cream, be sure to wash it off BEFORE you dermaroll. Believe me, you do not want to roll that stuff into your skin!

Prepare before you dermaroll

Before you dermaroll, prepare your area! I always sanitize my workspace and tools with 70% Isopropyl alcohol. I let the dermaroller sit in alcohol for 5 minutes then I let it dry off before I use it. I also clean my skin with an alcohol swab.

What I use. I use the retinol cream after I dermaroll.

How to dermaroll your stretchmarks

After I sanitized my work area and skin, I stretched my skin so the needles on my dermaroller can go in deep. You want to add some pressure as you roll. Lift the roller as you change directions. This is to prevent track marks and tearing! I rolled 4 times up and down, 4 times horizontal, and 4 times vertical.

Stretch your skin then roll

  I didn't bleed but my skin got very red. Once I was done, it looked like I had a rash and my skin felt windburned. I washed my skin with water then applied Skincare Cosmetics Retinol day cream. It's packed full of Vitamin A which helps with the healing process.

Don't dermaroll too soon. Give your skin time to form new collagen.

The hardest part is the wait. In order for this to work, you must wait 6-8 weeks to dermaroll again. This is to give your skin time to form new collagen. If you dermaroll roll too early, you risk breaking up the newly formed collagen. If you want, you can dermaroll weekly with a .5mm roller to help with product penetration. The needles are too short so they won't interfere with collagen production.

 Before you put away your tools, sanitize them! It's better to be safe than sorry!

Happy Rolling!

Dermarolling stretchmarks

I have been dermarolling acne scars since 2011. I have had amazing results! I won't lie. There are still a few anchored scars (more on that in another post) that remain but no amount of dermarolling or dermastamping will help them. I will continue to dermaroll my acne scars, just in case, but I am pretty sure I have gone as far as I can with the dermaroller and dermastamp (on my acne scars).

 Dermarolling stretchmarks: Will it Work?

I am moving on to dermarolling my stretchmarks. I had my first baby 18 years ago and was left with a stomach full of stretchmarks. They don't bother me at all and I don't plan on getting rid of them (because they were created out of love) BUT I am curious to see if dermarolling will help even them out. This will be a little experiment of mine. Please keep in mind that these are old stretchmarks so they have faded and match the color of my skin but they are indented and that is what I'd like to work on.

I plan on dermarolling ONE small section. I will take photos and post them for you to decide.  For those of you who are looking for a way to get rid of stretchmarks overnight, don't expect a miracle. Dermarolling takes time. It may take up to 6 months or longer to see results.

I will start dermarolling my stretchmarks this weekend. For now, take a look of a close up of what my stretchmarks look right now. 

Arrow is pointing to the stretchmark I plan on dermarolling. It's a big one!

Does Dermarolling and dermastamping get rid of wrinkles

The claim is if you dermaroll, the wrinkles will disappear. I can tell you from experience the dermaroller does not help with wrinkles. If it does, it's a VERY minor improvement. It is so minor that it's not even noticeable.  I have been dermarolling since 2011, but I haven't seen a difference in my wrinkles other than them getting deeper as I age.

The reason people claim dermarolling/dermastamping gets rid of wrinkles

I have read reviews from people claiming that dermarolling has help some people get rid of their wrinkles. What I have noticed from these reviews is that these people have only been dermarolling for a short period of time (less than 3 months). It takes up to 6 months or longer in most cases to see results. Are these people lying? I don't think so. I believe their wrinkles diminish in appearance but only for a short time.

Microswelling

What they are experiencing is micro swelling. This happens when the skin has been injured. The skin swells up. It's working hard to repair itself. What happens when the skin swells up? All the wrinkles fill in but this is only temporary. Microswelling lasts for up to a week but can last longer if you are dermarolling or dermastamping every single day. You don't want to dermastamp or roll everyday because you need to give your skin time to heal UNLESS you are using a short needle (.5mm) which is great for product penetration.

Have you been dermarolling or dermastamping once every 6-8 weeks for over 6 months? Have you seen results? I'd love to hear about your experiences!

Update #2: Apple Cider Vinegar Cystic Acne Results

In a previous post, I wrote about how Apple Cider Vinegar helped my cystic acne. It was definitely amazing. It zapped those baby's and kept them at bay. I was one happy camper!
Give it a try and tell me what you think. I can not guarantee that it will work for everybody but it doesn't hurt to give it a shot.

Good and Bad News

 The good news is that it worked. Here's the bad news... it only worked for awhile. After using it for a few months, it stopped working. It was like my cysts became immune to it. :( Even so, I had a great few months without cysts. I'll use anything that helps even if it's for a short time. I still recommend Apple Cider Vinegar to help control your cysts. It's a great short term "cure." Use that time to work on your scars. Dermaroll. Dermastamp. If anything, it gives your skin time to heal.

Read about my first experience with Apple Cider Vinegar(photos included)

25% Mandelic Acid

I applied the 25% Mandelic Acid last night and I am sooo Happy I purchased this stuff. It's too soon to tell so I don't want to get too excited but omg I'm excited about this stuff.

How I applied the 25% Mandelic Acid

What I did was I washed my face with face wash, dried it off  then cleaned it again with alcohol and rinsed it off. Patted my skin dry and applied the peel with a q-tip. The consistency was pretty watery so be careful not to let it drip all over you.
The peel came with very clear instructions. Start at the forehead and go back and forth with the q-tip until you've done your entire face. I also did my neck for the fun of it. :) I set my timer on and waited 4 minutes (I didn't have the timer set when I started applying the peel). Instructions say to wait 2-5 minutes then rinse.
I didn't feel any burning sensation but I hear that's normal since this peel is so gentle. I did, however, feel some itchiness towards the end of my wait. Once time was up, I rinsed my face off and then decided to hop into the shower so I soaped my face while I was in there. My package came with a free sample of Aloe vera jelly so I applied it to my skin after my shower.

Results

My skin was a little red afterward but not bad. A sunspot I have not been able to get rid of (even after spending a few hundred dollars on professional microdermabrasion) flaked off. Not all of it but a little section. The other parts of the sunspots were really flaky last night but when I woke up the flakiness was gone but sunspots are still there. :( I am pretty sure a few more peels will get rid of them. Super excited about that! Wrinkles and fine lines were still very visible.
I woke up and the first thing I did was look in the mirror . I noticed that the lines on my forehead have softened ALOT. They are really deep so I wasn't expecting much but I am actually happy with the way they are right now. 
What really amazed me was I have this scar near my mouth...a little lower actually that is in line with my smile line so everytime I smile I look like a puppet on one side. I HATE that so I rarely smile especially in pictures. Guess what? The sucker is gone! Totally gone! I keep smiling in the mirror because I can't believe it's not there anymore. I hope that it doesn't come back. I'll take the wrinkles and red marks back if it means that I won't get the scar back. This could be a fluke so I don't want to get anybody excited but I couldn't wait to update. I will take pictures in about a week or so to show results. Oh and my skin is super smooth...as smooth as a baby's butt. whoohoo. I am loving this stuff.

Does Dermarolling help erase fine lines?

I've been dermarolling for almost 1 1/2 years because I've been trying to get rid of my pitted acne scars. If you've been following my blog, then you know that I have had a tremendous amount of success with getting rid of old small pitted scars and had some success shrinking medium sized scars and almost no to very little success in getting rid of the brand new scars.
I'm still young..ish (35 years old) so I don't have major wrinkles except for some on my forehead (sorta deep due to my squinting problem) and very very fine lines near my eyes and I've got very faint smile lines. I've been rolling those smiles lines since I started dermarolling and they are still there. I honestly haven't seen much a of change which is disappointing. :( I've read the dermarolling works on fine lines so I'll keep working on those areas and keep you updated.
I haven't had the courage to roll the area around my eyes since the skin is so sensitive there but I rolled my forehead during session 6...If you want to read about that dermarolling experience check this post and this one). I haven't seen any change but it's only been a few weeks. I honestly don't think rolling gets rid of fine lines but maybe it takes time!?!
Has anybody had success with their fine lines? I've read Dr. Fernandez's studies and seen pictures of his patients who had wrinkles and I was amazed with the results. He uses a few other products (like Large doses of Vitamin A before the procedure is done) so maybe that is the difference.

Dermarolling #6 update

Just thought I'd give you all a quick update on my last dermarolling session.

Dermarolling progress

The holes that were left on my forehead have closed! YAY! I was so worried about that. I am going to see how things go these next 6 weeks and if I see even a teeny tiny change I may roll my forehead again. I would love to minimize the lines on my forehead but I can live with them if I have to. It's the acne scars I don't want to live with.

My nose is fine, Thankfully. It is flaking alot but I don't know if it's because I rolled that area or if it's because of the weather.  The area around my lips (on both sides) are also flaking (very minor flaking). I don't think that's happened before.

There's absolutely NO Microswelling going on around my nose area or forehead. :( But the area I normally roll (from below my nose to my chin)is nice and plump. My skin looks fabulous right now. I believe that if I didn't keep on getting new scars (Thanks to my cystic acne) that my skin would be scar free (or at least almost scar free since I know the dermaroller won't completely 100% get rid of the scars) but unfortunately I have new scars. New scars seem to be harder to get rid of. The old ones respond better to the dermaroller.

I will post pictures the next time I roll so that we can compare the changes. Happy Rolling! 

Dermarolling Session #6

I dermarolled for the 6th time yesterday (October 26,2012) but this time I added my nose and forehead. I am not recommending it because I can see little holes in my forehead now. I'm a little freaked out but there's nothing I can do about that except HOPE the holes close up. I'll keep you updated.

Why you shouldn't dermaroll your nose

I rolled my nose too but it's full of enlarged pores so I don't know if any extra holes were left behind like on my forehead. I really don't care...my nose looks horrible either way. I did, however, come across an article (didn't bookmark it so I don't have the link) that said NOT to dermaroll your nose because supposedly the skin on the nose doesn't heal well. Oops. I didn't read that until AFTER I rolled my nose but it doesn't look damaged. Microswelling doesn't seem to have worked on my nose either. The enlarged pores are still there...oh well. I'm more concerned about my scars. Looks like I have new ones and one of them is a line scar again. ugh. why does this happen to me? I hate this.
I worked really hard on the area around my lips and chin. I bled and the popping sound was horrendous. It was also very hard to roll the newly scarred areas...like I was rolling through mud. I know that's the scar tissue breaking up. I am looking forward to rolling these scars away. Most of the other ones I was working on before have filled it.
Can you all believe that it's been about 1 year 4 months since I started rolling! Amazing how time flies but I'm telling you, if you stick with it you won't regret it. Now if I can only figure out a way to prevent new zits from appearing....ugh

Interesting Study with pictures done on Dermarolling

I found this interesting study done on Dermarolling and thought I'd share it with you. The study shows that dermarolling does work but only on certain types of scars which could explain why dermarolling works for some people but not for others. Check out the pictures and tell me it doesn't work! I love it!
Here's the article:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2840919/

Dermarolling Session #5

My skin finally healed and I have not gotten another acne cyst lately so I was able to Dermaroll on Sunday, September 2nd, 2012.  I was so excited. It had been awhile since I last Dermarolled so there were quite a few new scars that needed to be worked on.
My scarred skin was really HARD so when I started rolling it started to pop. The popping sound always creeps me out but at the same time it feels good knowing I am breaking up the scar tissue. 
I ran out of my Vitamin A cream so I had to apply Vitamin E afterward. I prefer the Vitamin A cream better. I think it works better on the scars. I used Vitamin E when I started rolling but once I switched to Vitamin A I started to see (faster) results.
I took some pictures before I Dermarolled but I am going to wait to post them until 6 weeks so that I can post side by side before and after pictures to see if there are any changes in my new scars.
Right now, my skin looks amazing! I Love Microswelling!
I'll keep you all updated. Oh and I may have discovered what has been causing my cystic acne!!!!!! I am still doing some research but once I read more about the potential culprit, I'll share it with you.

How to prevent Track Marks when you Dermaroll

Before I started Dermarolling, I did a lot of research and one the of things I kept coming across was people talking about track marks that had been left on their face after they had Dermarolled. Some people claimed to have had the track marks for months and months and feared the track marks were permanent. Nobody knew what caused the marks and if they did, they didn't mention it.
My biggest fear was scarring my face with track marks. I mean, the reason I was going to Dermaroll was to get rid of scars so what was the point of Dermarolling if it was going to leave even uglier scars on my skin? It actually took me a while to take the plunge.
I know exactly what causes the track marks after Dermarolling and I'm going to share it with you. It's all in the roll.

How to prevent track marks when dermarolling

This is what you need to do to prevent track marks:
 As you come to the end of a roll, LIFT the roller before rolling in the opposite direction. So, you Dermaroll up and at the end of that roll lift the Dermaroller before you roll down. Keep lifting the Dermaroller after every roll. If you leave the Dermaroller on your skin and start to roll the opposite direction, the needle are going to drag. The dragging of the needles are going to leave the track marks and possibly even scar your skin.
So there you go. You now know how track marks are made and how to prevent them. 

Dermarolling: Before and After

I haven't been able to Dermaroll in quite some time thanks to my acne cysts. I was planning on Dermarolling this weekend but I woke up with a big fat cyst on my face so I may either roll the other side or wait until my skin has cleared up and roll both sides at the same time.

My new cyst. I hate this. I will not be able to dermaroll this side for at least another week or 2. If I'm lucky, another one won't pop up preventing me from rolling. It's been way too long

 I have a few new acne scars and one that is a big line scar that I haven't been able to work on. It's never been rolled so it looks bad but I know once I start dermarolling it will heal. Maybe not 100% but it will look better. Here's my pictures (the next time I take pictures, I'll try to recreate the same lighting. I had a hard time today but I'll work on it).

That line (not talking about Parenthesis line..that's just old age. haha I'm taking about the one below my smile line) is a new scar that I have not rolled. I'm sharing this as a Before picture so that I can measure the improvement once I start rolling.

Here are Before and After Pictures of the scars I have been working on

Taken before I started rolling

 Picture taken today. Sorry the lighting is different but this is the best I could do. As you can see, the dark red spot (indented scar) isn't as visible. That has healed about 50% or so. All the other holes are slowly closing too. You can barely even see them! 

 

Dermarolling updates will be more consistent

I am sorry I haven't been updating this blog as often as I should. I've been really bummed about my skin. No matter what I do, I can't seem to control my cystic acne. Just when my skin is starting to look normal (thanks to my dermaroller), I start breaking out.
I can live with normal acne...it's the cysts that are driving me crazy! Not only are they ugly and painful, but they scar. Like I've said in previous posts, dermarolling seems to work best on old scars but it has helped a little bit with the new ones. It just takes longer for it to work on them (new scars).
I will be more consistent with updates and pictures. It's kinda hard to show the improvement when I keep getting new scars but I am going to share it all with you.
I am still a big fan of the dermaroller. It has done wonders to my skin. I can only imagine how terrible my skin would have looked like if I hadn't taken a chance on the dermaroller. 

Dermarolling: Recent breakout has caused red marks

 I have had another bad breakout and now I've got red marks that are taking waaay too long to disappear. This past month I got 6 cysts. They aren't huge but they leave red marks and a couple look indented but the skin is fine. It's just red. Isn't it weird how sometimes redness makes the skin look indented?
As soon as these red marks clear up, I'll post more pictures of what my skin looks like now. I really love how the scarred areas are filling in. Like I said before, it works on the small scars the best and that's what I am full of.....A whole bunch of little clustered scars (on both sides of my lips). I've got a few med. sized ones too and those have healed a bit too but I am not expecting a miracle. I know scars can not vanish completely and that's fine with me.

Dermaroller Session #4 and What types of scars has it healed and what types of scars it did not work on

I finally rolled again on April 1st. Before I tell you how that went, I'd like to talk about my results from past rolls and what I've noticed.

Results

Dermarolling helps the small scars. I had a ton of tiny little ones on both side of my mouth. Yuck I know...when I stretch my skin it looked like cottage cheese. Most (but not all) of the little holes have filled in. I am happy with the results but I am going to continue rolling to see if more of the little holes fill in.

I've also noticed the older scars seems to react better to the rolling.

Bigger scars take longer to fill in. I have a big (kinda big but not huge) scar on one side of my mouth. It filled in halfway but there hasn't been any change in months. I don't know if it'll fill in more but I'll continue to roll to see if it does. You can't see it unless I stretch my skin. Before I started rolling, it was noticeable even without being stretched.

I have 2 icepick type scars that I got from squeezing a cyst. Those are the scars that create the line....well it's still there. :((( I really want that one gone but I don't think the roller works on those types of scars. 



April 1st 2012, I rolled. I rolled the whole area around my mouth and all the way down my chin. My skin was bleeding like it always does and it felt windburned for a few days but my skin looked awesome for the past two weeks. The microswelling has gone done and now it's time to wait to see what happens. I love rolling.

Dermarolling: Results! What do you think

I was finally able to roll yesterday. I was actually kinda nervous. It had been awhile (thanks to my breakouts) and I was hoping I wouldn't make a mistake and leave track marks.

Popping noises while dermarolling! 

The moment I started rolling, my skin started making this horrible popping noise. Worse than before. It was loud and it felt rough as I rolled the scarred area. It hurt too! Really badly. My eyes were watering but I kept on going. The area beside my lip was bleeding ALOT! Did I mention that it hurt? I must have pressed too hard. Fortunately, I am fine today and there's no butchered skin. It's fine, thank goodness.


I decided it do my chin area and my upper lip too and it HURT! OUCH! I didn't do a good job above my lip because it hurt so bad but I have next time to do better.
After it was done, I was as read a cherry! It was scary to look at. I took a shower and carefully washed off the blood. After my shower, I put on some vitamin E (cream form). It was soothing but I felt like I had a sunburn. I was happy though because I know this is working. The pain is totally worth it.
I woke up this morning and put on some Vitamin A. I will be putting on some Vitamin E, C and A before bed.

Update

My skin looks great. It's a bit red but it's all swelled up so I look like I have no scars. I love this. Microswelling is so awesome! I wish it could stay like this forever.


Here are some pictures:

1st pictures I took back in June.

Taken in June. Other side 

1 month after my first roll

Taken Nov. 4th, 2011 (most recent) Lighting is different because I could not recreate same lighting.

Dermaroller: Pictures of results

Here is the article I was talking about in a previous post: Skin needling for wrinkles and difficult scars

It's interesting and has some before and after pictures.

I rolled today! Yeahh! I bled ALOT! I don't know if that is a good thing or bad. We will see...my husband says I look like a clown right now. I don't care because I know the redness will fade and my skin will look better. I will blog tomorrow and post before, during and after pictures and will tell you a little more about what I did.

Dermarolling: Look at my results so far!

My skin has finally cleared up! I got microdermabrasion done this past Tuesday and will be ready to roll by tomorrow! I am so excited.

My skin is finally clear and ready to roll! Yeeahh!

Close up of my scars

Stretched skin on the side of my lip. The red mark was a deepish pitted scar. It has shrunk dramatically and is filling in nicely. The little red marks are all the icepick scars I had. Most (but not all) have filled in and now there's just red marks where there used to be holes. I am a HUGE believer in this because it IS working for me!

Dermarolling has changed my skin

I LOVE dermarolling! It has dramatically changed my skin for the better! I won't lie...there is still work to be done. Not all the holes have filled in but most of them have. It's amazing and I can't even believe it sometimes. I know if I continue I will be able to get my skin to looking decent! I know there's no way to get perfect skin. That is not what I am expecting and you shouldn't either. I've read reviews where people have said that they have completely gotten rid of their pitted scars. Don't believe it. That's not possible. If it were, all the movie stars would have flawless skin.  What is possible is that you can have beautiful skin again. It will take time. Don't expect a miracle. It has taken months for me to get to this point and I've still got a ways to go but I am optimistic that the time spent on this will be worth it. It's working and that's what matters! whoohoo!

I will ask my husband to take pictures of me in the same lighting and angle as the last time I dermarolled when I roll. Taking pictures myself (like these)come out blurry but I don't have a full time photographer (in other words, it's work to get my husband to take pics of me so I have to take them myself most of the time).

Dermarolling put on hold... :(

My face is still breaking out. I got another cyst on the side of my lip. Ugh. I hate this. I had 2 above my lip recently and they left little indented scars. I poked at them...couldn't help it.
The good news is I truly believe in the dermaroller and the studies I have read (done by Dr. Fernandez...the man who created the dermaroller) say (and show...amazing pics. I will have to look for articles and post links)that the dermaroller works best on the upper lip area! And that is where I got the 2 new small scars. Studies also show it works best on old scars but I have faith that mine will go away!


Here is a terrible pic of what my skin looks like now and why I haven't been able to roll.

 Those were all cysts that I squeezed out. I have another one that I haven't squeezed on the other side. What a nightmare. Stay away from Minocycline. I used to only get one a month before I took that damn medication.  now I get them all over my chin, above my lips and the sides of my lips and I got one in between my eyes. P.S. If you look closely, you can see my line scar...the one I hate. Yes, I always have to point that out. Can't wait to dermaroll it the hell away! :)

I really hate the waiting....

Dermarolling: Will I ever do it again???

I love dermarolling and I love the results I am getting. It's a slow process but I definitely see changes in my scars. Unfortunately, I have not been able to roll in at least 8 weeks (or a little longer) because my skin has been a mess! I got a canker sore which extended to the side of my lip and onto my skin. :( It is still healing and now I have broken out in the area I roll! :(((((( I will have to wait until my skin clears...I really hate this.
I was on minocycline for cysts awhile back but when I got off the meds I broke out even more. So I went back to my dermatologist and got another prescription of Minocycline. Unfortunately, it isn't working the second time around. I am still breaking out worse than before. ugh

Will keep you updated!