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.

Oxygen Facials and cystic acne

Recently, I met a lady who gives Oxygen Facials. Having never heard of an oxygen facial, I Googled it to see what it could do for my skin. Basically, from what I understand, pressurized oxygen is used to spray atomized moisturizers into your skin which will in turn hydrate your skin smoothing it out and plumping it up.
There is no evidence indicating that this truly works but I did a ton of research and people claim it helps to smooth out wrinkles, get rid of small scars, and (this next part is what caught my eye) helps with cystic acne!
Treatment is very expensive and can cost anywhere from $175 per session up to $500 per session. The lady who does it here charges $175 which is  too steep for me but I'm going to save up for a package. Supposedly, you need to have at least 3 treatments to see a difference. If I do it, I will post updates with pictures on my progress and hopefully it won't be a waste of money.Wish me luck!
If it helps with the cystic acne, then it will have been worth every cent!

*Update

I never got the oxygen facial. I had a few friends who tried a few sessions but there was no difference in acne scars. Wrinkles disappeared but for a very short time-a few days. Total waste of money, IMO

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!