Friday, September 9, 2011

Effective way to improve your pitted scars: TCA cross method

I wrote this series of articles because (i) I have pitted scars myself and know how depressing this can be, (ii) I think this approach to improving pitted scars is effective and provides hope, and, (iii) to my knowledge, this is not widely known in the Philippines.

The TCA cross method is a hope for people wanting to improve pitted scars. The good thing about TCA cross is that, unlike other products or treatments, it completely focuses on the pitted scar and offers as much as 70% improvement (according to the original study which I will briefly discuss below). This, of course, still depends on your skin condition and the treatment itself.

I broke down this topic into several parts to make it simple and readable. There is a study and scientific explanations about the TCA cross method, and I will try to talk about them in layman's term. Okay, read on.


Dr. Jung Lee and the original study


TCA cross before and after
A before-and-after TCA Cross treatment photo from acne.org
The TCA cross (chemical reconstruction of skin scars) method allows pitted scars to be filled in through new collagen production. The best result that you can achieve is for the scars to be barely noticeable unless you look closely or viewed in a certain angle or light.

The TCA cross method was discovered by a Korean doctor (surprise), Dr. Jung Bock Lee, and this study was published in 2001. All in all, 64 patients that have acne scarring were studied, and all of them showed significant improvement. The observed results were better when using a higher concentration of TCA (65% versus 100%).

Read the abstract of the study in Cosmetic Skin and Surgery Center. There's also a follow-up study regarding the efficacy and safety of using 100% TCA in NCBI.


TCA cross


Basically, the TCA cross method uses a high concentration of trichloroacetic acid (TCA), which is applied locally on pitted scars. Reported complications are rare because of the localized and focus treatment; unlike other kinds of treatment, only the pitted scars are treated and not the whole face, which means that you spare the healthy skin tissues.

The TCA cross method reconstructs acne scars by inducing new collagen production and dermal thickening. The scar is treated with TCA, a scab forms and will eventually fall off, and the weeks of collagen regeneration begins.

The TCA cross methods works best on ice pick scars. According to the study, the TCA Cross method can also normalize deep rolling and boxcar scars. However, I have yet to see a testimonial on its effectiveness on the latter scars mentioned.


How does it work?


The TCA causes cell death to several years of the skin cells. These layers will then slough off and new tissues will form. Dermal collagen remodeling then follows and will continue for several months. The TCA cross method results in cumulative effect; since the skin is filled in gradually in each treatment, result improves with the number of treatments.

This procedure is conducted by professionals but can also be done at home. This is because the steps are quite basic and simple.

Ready? Read the basic steps here.



PS: Once formed, pitted scars will be hard to remove; in fact, with the current technology that we have now on skin care, I think that it would be downright impossible to bring back the old smooth skin. But you’re thinking, “I saw this testimonial, this advertisement, this comment on a forum…” well, that's just marketing folks. You can, however, improve the scars and make them less noticeable to the point that it's only visible in certain angles and lighting condition.

27 comments:

  1. Hello,
    How often do you need to do the TCA cross for icepick scarring?
    thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, it's a case-to-case basis and depends on how deep your icepick scar is. Some may already notice significant improvement after just a couple of sessions, while others may benefit from longer treatment. Just don't forget to wait for a month before repeating the tca cross. :)

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  2. Thanks for your prompt reply! :)

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  3. Thank you so much for your post. I am experimenting with self-skin-needling with moderate to good results albeit very slowly :-( I have documented my technique at http://www.skinneedling.org

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    Replies
    1. Where can I buy TCA Cross Kit. I'm interested. How much percentage to I need to use?

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  4. How soon can i wash my face after application of tca?

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  5. Where did you have your TCA cross? or if you bought it, where? please email me. i badly need a treatment for my pitted scars. thank you! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was DIY treatment in my case. The TCA I bought in multiply; there are other sellers in sulit.com as well.

      Please see other my other posts regarding TCA. Thanks. :))

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  6. How much percentage did you use? Is 30% TCA effective?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If it's your first time to do this, it's better to start with a lower-percentage TCA. 30% TCA IMO is too strong for the initial session.

      I've mentioned that here: http://pretty-filipinas.blogspot.com/2011/09/things-to-take-in-mind-before-you-do.html

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    2. kATHerine i just wanna ak how i can Buy TCA CROSS..???
      TAHNKZ

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  7. hello...

    is the result permanent after using TCA method? or it comes back over time?

    thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yes, I have an ice pick scar that is in my nose, its deep, and I purchased a tca 30% from an online shop. I used an insulin syringe to put the solution into the pit itself. what I did is I placed 1 drop of tca to the pit waited for it to frost after that I again placed one more drop on top of the other so its like two drops. on the first few weeks the scar would really look bad like it had gotten worse (quite worried) it was even more deep and it became bigger. I did nothing and observe it for more than a month and then when it got completely healed the result is amazing, I would say 95-100 percent improvement. just expect that your scar will get worse and there will be hyperpigmention for quite a long time but the result is AMAZING.

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    2. where did u purchase the insuline syringe from? if u got it online please attach the link

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  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  9. Does it work permanently? And how much will it cost? Please respond. Thank you

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  10. i just wanna asK hOW CAN I bUT tca cross

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  11. Hi. You could find it at olx.ph.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hOW CAN I FIND IT sir? can you Help me?

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    2. can you give me the exact website..thankz

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    3. where can this be bought?

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    4. olx. if not in olx.com, mybenta.com, one merchant sells tca 30% for 600php. another sells 30% for 1000php. just be careful. tca cross if effective it orked on my ice pick scar but mind you its an acid so you have to be careful. expect that your scar will get worsed and darken on the first few months but the result is worth it. minus the price. just read other literature before trying it for yourself.

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    5. hello sir.. can you share what exactly did you do? after doing tca cross. what ointments did you put on your face. pls answer.. thankyou.

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  12. Once it frosts is it suppose to be washed

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. they said don't wash for a week because the water pressure will break it?

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  13. I guess your testimony and your busting skills with the acne scar treatment scam should be heard by many. However, this gem I found in Philippines treating acne scars gave me light that treating acne scars could really do revert back your former glowing, child-like soft touch skin.

    ReplyDelete