Presented by Dr. Philip Young of Seattle: Acne Dark Pigmented Scars in an African American Black Dark Skinned Patient and the unique elements to consider with darker skin types:
I see that you have dark pigmented scars from acne which may include some rolling scars and atrophic scars but maybe possibly not Frank boxcar scars. The challenge is that your skin is dark (darkly pigmented as most African Americans are) and your chances for hypopigmentation and lighter skin is a real possibility using any sort of resurfacing techniques including chemical peels, dermabrasion, lasering, etc. You have to be comfortable with these risks in order to proceed to improve your scars and whether or how you feel about your current scars that you have versus having lighter skin in certain parts of your treated areas. Meaning, are you comfortable of possibly having lighter skin that can be noticeable versus the having the scars you have now. Which would be worse. If your current scars are worse then I would take the risks of the treatment. You may get no hypopigmentation or other complications. The risks are actually probably small. But, likely the better place to start for you first is to fully optimize your skin care and we can help you with that. We have a unique approach with this as well utilizing chemical peels, delicate and thoughtful skin care tailored for you.
Dark skin acne topical skin care approach
Thanks,
Dr Philip Young and our Team at Aesthetic Facial Body Plastic Surgery and our Seattle Bellevue Office