13 replies to this topic

[Puppeteer]

Hey there. This'll be brief as I'm not thoroughly learned on the topic yet and am about to head off but figured it'd be great if I could dip into the knowledge of any Longecity users who have already familiarised themselves with the topic.

I've got a lot of facial acne scars and the occasional breakout that concern me and I'm hoping to accelerate their fading through various topicals. I'm aware the following are regarded widely as effective non-prescription skin-lightening/scar-fading agents:

Kojic Acid
Arbutin
Lemon Juice
Epsom Salts(?)

And the following as good acne/skincare products generally:

Tea Tree Oil
Lavender Oil
Bergamot Oil
Cedarwood Oil
Patchouli Oil
Jojoba Oil
Aloe Vera Gel

I was hoping to make something of a moisturising cream with a jojoba/aloe-vera base with appropriate quantities of the other agents mixed in it that I could apply then just go about my day without being too concerned about rinsing etc. (naturally I'd avoid excessive sun exposure). Is there any reason this wouldn't be advisable? Will any of the ingredients react with one another to lose efficacy or cause harm? Would it be overkill to include all of the above? Anything I should add, anything I should remove?

Thanks so much for any input!

[Deckah]

I would look into something like this:
20% MSM (use optimsm)
Carrot Seed oil
Frankincense oil
Helichrysum oil
Rose Hip seed oil
Argan oil

Seems more like a serum. Can add some coconut oil as a base to give it more of a cream texture.

Have you looked into the CE+F serum?

[Heyman]

Yes, CE Ferulic boosts collagen production and reduces wrinkles / fine lines, so might help with acne scars... But who knows. I'd look into dermarolling, this might eventually work good.

[Deckah]

Yeah. Something like a .5mm roller 1-2x a week and then a 1.5mm dermastamp 1x every 3-4 weeks for targeting only specific scar/wrinkle areas.

Under the assumption that you have hyper-pigmentation since you mentioned lightening. The .5mm roller will help in that case.

Just make sure you apply a good serum/cream after you roll/stamp.

There is also a B5+HA serum out there that seems to work for acne.
Can make all the serums above for fairly cheap.

You might try a AHA cream @ night. Reviva has them @ 5 & 10%.

You might look into a night mask as well. Bentonite seems to get a bit of praise (1-2x a week w/ ACV) as well as aspirin/honey.

[Luminosity]

To get the most help on this site, pick a less questionable name.

[Dabble_In_The_Arts]

With a name like that who needs friends? hahahaha

[Puppeteer]

I hardly think a pseudonym used in jest ought to cause any forward-thinking person, as you'd expect members of Longecity's community to be, to withdraw their willingness to answer an honest and benign inquiry. Come on man, clearly there's no intention to be excessively crude or upsetting; unless you live under a rock you're exposed to a multitude of things with many times the potential to shock and offend on a daily basis. If you're close-minded to the point that you think my choice of username devalues my right to participate here and the content of my contributions, then so be it; minds less prone to such prudish nitpicking are more likely to foster the kind of insight and interaction I want anyhow. Perhaps with a username like "Luminosity" you might want to think about whether your posts illuminate anything before making them. I'm sure the Longecity community wouldn't appreciate you presuming you speak for all of them on such matters.

As for the other posts made, thanks guys, I'll definitely look into the various options you've suggested. Indeed I've got hyperpigmentation but plenty of indented scars as well; from research I've done in the past however I've gotten the impression that at-home options for skin-resurfacing are dubious at best, including microdermabrasion. I'll have to have another look, though I'm pretty sure my best options as far as cost/efficacy go are to do my best to lessen hyperpigmentation through topicals and look into the more promising options i.e. CO2-laser resurfacing when I stop breaking out and finances are more permitting.

Would highly appreciate comments on any of the products I actually mentioned though, haha.

[Deckah]

I didn't comment on any of the products you mentioned because I don't know much about them.

Tea tree seems to work for some acne types.
If your acne is hormonal, then you could be up shits creek as far as topicals go. I would def look into getting some type of blood work done (thyroid panel, prolactin, fsh/lh, estr/test, ETC panels).

Lavender I heard works for some types of scars.
The rest I don't know much about, other than jojoba and aloe vera.

A heard of a lot of people trying lemon juice for red marks(post acne) and I never heard of any miracles, only that it's a slow process w/ it.
Most of this stuff just targets melanin and probably not the actual pigmentation 'damage'(not related to melanin) that you may have. Unless you have some type of dark markings.
Again, if you're very light skinned, then it could take that much longer to rid yourself of these types of markings.S
Some people take lycopene, astaxanthin, and other types of carotenoids to develop a somewhat darker skin tone (but not orange). This also may even skin tone as well.
Others might do a lightly tanning approach. Heard of some people taking tyrosine or melanotan for dealing w/ age related marks as well.

The problem comes w/ product penetration. You might look into formulations that also involve DMSO or some type of good carrier.
I would at least look into dermarolling. You might also venture into peels as well. Some are better for acne and some for wrinkles/varying types of scarring.

I don't know much about scarring.
Except I'm just under the impression that your body doesn't see the scar as damage, since it's probably not under a continual healing process. Hence, why it doesn't heal itself through some type of skin homeostasis.
Which would lead to one having to use external elements. Like some type of skin manipulation that 'damages' the skin to a small extent in order to fool the body into regenerating to certain areas where the manipulation occurred.

For instance, the process of needling. Probing/poking(w/ damage involved) an area over a period of time, to the point where an indented object becomes un-indented through some type of compensation, but no overcompensation to the point where scar tissue forms.

Another is suctioning, which is a Chinese method I believe. Which just speeds up the healing process via increased blood(and the goodies that come w/ blood) to the area of damage.

Maybe someone w/ knowledge on this can chime in.

[mrd1]

I use taurine, phenylalanine, l tyrosine, panax ginseng, soy isolate, vitamin c, l carnitine, creatinine, b5, cod liver oil, aveeno, vasoline, honey, benzyl peroxide, salicyclic acid, sunscreen, and cocoa on my skin. However, given you clearly have sensitive skin I would talk to your doctor before doing anything! I am recklessly bawlsey.

[jadamgo]

Some salicylic acid, retinyl palmitate, niacinamide, and sodium ascorbate/ascorbic acid would work wonders. In fact, I would suggest replacing the lemon juice entirely with salicylic acid. Buffered, of course, to a pH ideal for skin exfoliation without irritation -- for salicylic acid, that's in the range of 3.2 to 3.8. Closer to 3.2 if your skin is oily and resistant to irritation; closer to 3.8 if it's dry or sensitive. For most people, 3.5 works very well.

[aconita]

DMSO/SSKI 50/50% works wonders on any kind of scars and pigmentation (over-pigmenttation and under-pigmentation).

Indented scars may benefit by DEEP dermarolling (bleading) performed only once (wait at least 1 year before evaluate result and eventually repeat).

TCA peelings will help too but take care and inform yourself well before attempting it home made.

DMSO/SSKI is easy, cheap and fool proof...and probably the most effective treatment you can ever get.

[Ark]

the problem is you might plug your pores and cause more acne, i did something similar to myself.

[aconita]

Not with what I suggest for sure.

[mrd1]

My new basic skin cream is

salicylic acid
citric acid
vitamin c and e
retin a .1% (rx)
moisturizer
sunscreen
hydrolaurian 0.5% ("5%" some may claim)
creatine

and I take doxycycline 2x/day