Ice Pick Scars

November 19, 2018

Ice Pick Scars – What They Are and How To Get Rid of Them

We recently got this email about ice pick scars below:

Help! Your products (thankfully!) have stopped me from breaking out but I still have so much scarring from my long years of dealing with terrible cystic acne on my cheeks and sides of my chin.  The brown scars are starting to fade (I love the bleach you just sent me!) but I have a feeling the deeper holes in my cheeks won’t go away. Am I right? Is there anything I can do to get rid of them? I am so self-conscious about it.

Thank you for all your help as always!

N.

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Our response:

Dear N…

The “holes” you are referring to are commonly known as “ice pick” scars and are deep in the dermal layer of the skin.  It is not uncommon for people who’ve suffered from continuous cystic acne breakouts to experience these types of scars. Unfortunately, they are permanent and topical treatments, even with consistent epidermal exfoliation, will not have much effect. Topical treatments cannot work into the dermal skin layers and repair these damaged cells. 

Thankfully, there are some surgical methods for reducing the severity of these indentations. These include: scar revision, either punch excision (cutting out the scar) or punch grafting (filling the scar with other tissue), which are procedures performed by a plastic surgeon. Alternatively, some dermatologists offer less invasive procedures such as laser resurfacing, microneedling, microdermabrasion, dermabrasion or chemical peels. It is our opinion these procedures are not as effective as scar revision surgery. 

Our goal at Ninja Skincare is to use proven and effective topical medications to prevent breakouts from forming. Thus avoiding permanent scars and having to consider the more serious procedures I mentioned above. 

Please continue to send us questions. We are here to help!

Sincerely,

Pamela