I have a quite a few scars that are seemingly coming out of nowhere.. places on my face I haven't had acne in years! What could be causing this and is it reversable? I'm only 20, so I know it's not my age. I haven't been doing anything different with my routine, just normal washing, moisturizing, etc. Last month for a period of about a week I did use an AHA lotion with 10% glycolic acid.. is this the cause? And will these pits go away!?

Don't Worry, from what I understand this is a good sign. I think this is old scar tissue coming up...go to the main site and read about scar remodeling...I think you will find an explanation there...So I guess you should actually be excited, this shows that it is working YAY.....

Buried scar tissue is the problem. Often this is covered by fairly good looking skin.

This is our general advice on scar reduction.

Keep in mind that scar tissue is not dead tissue but a self-replicating differentiated form of skin - something like a callus. If scars were dead tissue, the normal wearing-and tear on the skin would swiftly remove them.

So you have to remove it totally to keep it from coming back. But with needles and hydroxy acids you can remove the scar tissue with time.

We think almost any skin blemish (scars and pitted scars, keratosis, skin tags, moles, age spots, sun damage, stretch marks, warts, hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation, white scars, discoloration) can be reduced or removed with a combination of hydroxy acids, skin abrasion, and Skin Remodeling Copper Peptides (SRCPs).

At times, it appears that under the right conditions, the skin activity ejects damaged skin and blemishes.

Copper peptides also suppress the production of TGF-beta-1, the scar forming protein. So as you remove scar tissue, the SRCPs help prevent new scar formation.

The hydroxy acids and abrasive methods slowly loosen and dissolve the blemish tissue and the SRCPs help the rebuilding of new skin.(Caution: This advice applies only to normal skin blemishes. Any skin blemish that appears dark, irregular, or bleeds should be promptly checked by a dermatologist.)

Scar reduction is a balancing act of scar removal and rebuilding skin. Too rapid removal of scar tissue and you get a hole in your skin and too little scar removal and there is no progress. In the past, dermatologists often observed that strong hydroxy acids, and other methods like the use of liquid nitrogen on blemishes, would remove the skin blemishes but subsequent skin irritations limited the use of these methods.

Skin may look worse for a time during scar reduction. Some deep scars such as from acne are covered over with a layer of good skin but as the buried scar tissue is pushed to the surface, it becomes noticeable. Often, one has to first get the skin into a healthier condition and then focus on removing the scars. More SRCPs makes skin healthier, more hydroxy acids remove tissue. The method is slow but usually works and has no downside.

We find that repeated use of moderate strength hydroxy acid, followed by the use of SRCPs, usually removes skin blemishes without excess skin irritation.

The SRCPs are usually rubbed into the scar area in the morning and the Hydroxy acid product rubbed in at night. Stronger hydroxy acids and our stronger SRCPs work faster but irritation can sometimes be a problem with the stronger products. Sometimes, people also use retinoic acid (Retin-A or Renova) along with the hydroxy acids to speed scar removal. The products should be used every day.

Some people with severe scars have had good results by applying the products four times daily a hydroxy acid at 8 am, a SRCP at noon, a hydroxy acid at 5 PM, and a SRCP before bedtime. You should see an improvement in a month but some old scars such as stretch marks and keloid scars may take 6 to 8 months to slowly remove. Slower is better in scar reduction.

1.If you are under 30, have acne in the scar area, or have rosacea, then use Super CP Serum in the morning and LacSal Serum at night. Start the products lightly - 1 drop of each daily then slowly increase the amount used.

2.If acne is not a problem, then use TriReduction Cream in the morning and LacSal cream at night.

3.If you are not getting enough effect, then try Super Cop or SuperCop 2X Extra Strength Extra which are our strongest SRCP but can cause itching. If it itches, you can wash it off with warm water. Skin slowly adapts to the Super Cops but this can take some time. Usually Super CP Serum is applied lightly in the AM ( 3-4 drops to the entire face) and concentrated specifically on your areas of concern. A Super Cop Cream (or Super Cop 2X) can be used as a spot treatment once a day very lightly. You can even work it into the skin with a flat toothpick.

4.Some clients report good results after applying Super CP Serum, letting it dry for a short time, then applying LacSal Cream over the Super CP Serum.

5. If you still are not getting a good enough effect, then replace our hydroxys with a 30% glycolic acid or lactic acid product. There are links to sellers of these at www.scar-reduction.com or http://www.reverseskinaging.com/resellers.html. For difficult lesions, like age spots, the salicylic acids (about 12% salicylic acid) used for wart
and callus removal often work well - drugstores have these.

6. Skin color usually reverts to its pre-damage color.

7. Blemish reduction can be further accelerated by skin abrasion with exfoliating washcloths (microdermabrasion cloths), pumice stones, abrasive pads, or microdermabrasion kits such as those used to remove calluses. Flat toothpicks can loosen pitted scar tissue. Needles are often used to break up hard or fat-containing scar
tissue in depressed scars such as after cystic acne.

Skin Needle Rollers (roller with needles) often reported work well with our copper peptides. It is available on Internet. Don't use it more than once weekly. Clean it after use and sterilize it before further use.

8.Using Retinoic acid (Renova or Retin-A) with SRCPs often produces faster scar reduction. Use 0.05% to 0.10% retinoic acid creams.

9.Daily supplements of 1 gram vitamin C, 1 gram MSM, and 1 gram each of either flaxseed oil, borage oil, or primrose oil also help skin rebuilding.

10.Stress inhibits skin repair and the rate of scar reduction by increasing blood cortisol. Taking 75 to 100 mgs daily of DHEA during periods of high stress may help block the cortisol effect and stimulate skin repair.

11.Regular aerobic exercise floods more blood into the skin and speeds skin repair and scar reduction.

12. There is more information at www.scar-reduction.com.

But I don't understand why these pits are showing up now?! What did I do wrong? And if I leave them alone, are they likely to go back into hiding?

They were always there as old scar tissue. You can leave them there but then you will always have bumpy skin - even more as you get older and the skin thins.

During healing of skin damage, good skin often grows over the damage. But this buried damage can be detected with ultraviolet skin photography.

Thank you so much for your advice. I just ordered the Super CP Serum and the LacSal. Since I still have acne, should I just spot treat my scar areas, or will this combo help with the active acne? And if this program works for me, about how soon is average for seeing improvement? Thank you again.. I'm so excited to start making a change in my skin health!

The products are more for removing scars that controlling acne.

You might use a light amount of retin-a also to control the acne.

Hi Andrea,
The same thing is happening to me and I am 52! So now I know it's not because my skin has gotten older and thinner.
As for the CP serum healing acne..I find that it dries it up so quickly. I recently used a 40% lactic acid peel and got a pimple two days later, which is unusual for me now. I used the same routine and I could feel it working on the pimple. Slight itch and two days later it was almost gone. Not sure if this is true for everyone, but for me both the Super CP with the Exfol does the job.
I too am worried about these new visible pits or depressions. I keep checking here and seeing others saying the same thing. At least I am not alone and hopefully I won't make my skin look worse.

Yes, it's good to know we're not alone! Sometimes I look in the mirror and just want to cry.. and I think, how it the world did my skin get like this without me noticing?

I tried one drop of the CP Serum one morning and one drop of the LacSal that night.. and after that one day had a horrible break out. I'm not totally positive it's related, but I'm pretty sure that was the cause. So I've decided to wait it out.. try to continue getting the acne under control, then set in on the scars. Or maybe I should try spot treating the scars?

Dilute the CP Serum and LacSal each with 10 parts of water. Then use these lightly.

It is likely you have many blocked pores and the CP Serum is increasing skin metabolism but an extra oils are blocked from exiting the skin.

There often is a huge amount of buried skin damage that causes irregularities in human skin such a bumps, pits or altered pigmentation.

This buried damage is usually covered, and trapped in place, by relatively good looking skin. The use of copper peptides, hydroxy acids, abrasion, needling, and retinoic acid help remove the covering skin and the the pushing up and out of the area of damage.

One of the ways that sun damage on skin manifests itself is as dark patches of excess melanin produced in response to UV exposure. This excess melanin is much easier to visualize in the UV than in the visible band. Bruising, bite marks and scar tissue can also be seen in the UV months after they have faded to the eye.

It is difficult to convince people of the huge problem of buried skin damage, but look at the pictures at Oculus Photonics at http://www.uvcorder.com/applications/3.html