im not scarred for life!

[scarreddaisy]

When I showed my back to my doctor and dermatologist the scarring was so bad that they suggested down the road that the only way to fix the damage was reconstructive/plastic surgery...this was last the beginning of summer... late spring? Well I was devastated at this news because I knew that I couldnt afford something like that.. So after I got out of a deep depression ( I didnt know that my picking was csp at the time)... I started scrubbing my back twice/three times a week with sugar...less when it felt tender and more if i forgot... anyway... i also did tanning then scrubed again and have tanned about 4-5 times total and still do the scugar scrub.. i looked at my back in the mirror.. and although my side is a mess cuz i recently went at it, all the old scarring was gone.... and i started picking my back in the fifth grade. I am a freshman in college now. I was like holy crap! and I was told by TWO doctors, one whose job is nothing but skin that I needed reconstructive surgery... The scarring on my face is also gone.. I do this once a week because it keeps my acne at bay... but I thought that I would share this for those of you like me who have a large accumlation of scars ( I had to have had at least 300 spots/scars the size of the end of a pencil...) because there is so much guilt that the scar stays with you so long... Well, they dont have to! True, I have new scars from the recently healed and healing scabs on myback... but the old ones that have haunted me and kept me hiding for so long are gone... If you have ever noticed ( which I am sure you have since picking is our obsession) that when you pick at scar tissue it heals again even if you dont draw blood or anything... well i found with the sugar scrub (regular soap and sugar thats it) that it takes off just enough of the skin so that it heals smooth and graudally ( with tanning ) evened out with my skin color...you can fix what you have done.. it isnt hopeless! I thought it was for so long and that I'd be hiding my scars forever... not so. Now that thats out of the way, if I could just stop picking...

[touchingpeace]

thanks for the post. you reminded me of my situation. years ago I used to really concentrate on picking my back, because I thought it would be easy to hide. well, I don't remember when I stopped and focused on other areas of my body-but I have beautifully, flawless, perfect skin on my back. it used to be entirely covered, and if I think about it, it does not make sense that it healed so nicely without my lifting a finger. but then again that is what our bodies do naturally, the body when properly functioning, heals itself very quickly if we (I) can just get out of the way. Thanks for reminding me there's hope

-Jules

[anon,irresp.]

thanks, like touchingpeace, i thank you for reminding us that there is hope.

i also saw some improvement. others have improved a bit better than others. what i have done is use vitamin e, which i have not recently cause its so sticky. i have also used 1%hydrocortisone by advise from a plastic surgeon.
--anyone know of a cream vitamin e?

--by the way scarreddaisy: the scars you are talking about were more or less deep or raised? it seems like the sugar regimen would work best for deep scars. i would like try that on my face, but have to be careful that it does not slough off too much skin to have a wound.

[scarreddaisy]

yeah i used to gouge holes likes crazy into my back... and thats why the sugar was so great is that it took off just a little bit everytime.. and never too much and it just gradually healed. Exfolaiteing in general is great matience for skin and sugar is just a higher level of exfloation that you use once a week or so... I'm glad you guys got soem hope out of it.. I know that some days seem very bleak to a picker... its nice to share when you see some light

[scarface]

What a good idea - I've got some old bad scars from cutting and I'm going to try this!

Congrats on healing those scars; you must feel so much relief.

[firegirl]

i went to the grocery store today- i couldn't figure out why i had written sugar on my list (i use generic equal for my sweetening needs). i never remembered why, so i picked up some more equal. aha! this was why! i'm really curious to try this technique- thanks for sharing it, daisy.

to anon: i don't know your location, but if you're close to a wal-mart, they sell a vitamin e lotion in their health and beauty section, with the regular hand lotions. my papa had rotator cuff surgery a few weeks ago, and his doctor recommended vitamin e to reduce the scarring. he said that the lotion formula works just as well as the small tubes. i think it was only four bucks or so- but it was kind of hidden on the bottom shelf, i had to ask for assistance to locate it.