How to Fade Scars and Rebuild Skin (At Home!)
If you've lived with deep scarring, especially ice pick or indented scars, you know how discouraging it can be.
Today, we're diving into one of the most powerful techniques that I've ever seen for rebuilding scarred skin, TCA cross, and we're pairing it with one of my favorite regenerative tools, copper peptides, for results that just get better over time. If you've ever felt like nothing works for your scars, this is the episode you need.
Today, we will discuss scarring. It takes a long time for these scars to, you know, come onto the skin, you know, it's all of a sudden, you know, you have some cystic acne, next thing you know, you have some indentation scars possibly. It really works on your…
Self-esteem.
Yes, your self-esteem is low, and you just don't feel fabulous, and you feel like, ‘I'm never going to be able to correct this.’
Yes, it does feel like something…
Permanent. It feels so permanent.
And it just is kind of taking over your face, and you're gonna try to hide. Though some people have won and feel like that's the end of the world.
Oh yes.
And then some have, you know, just covered with rolling scars and things, and they're just like, eh, you know, but we want to help everybody, and there are ways to, and there are definitely ways to improve it. No matter what, at the end of the day, we can improve it. You may not have a perfect surface.
I mean, let's not be, maybe with enough time, but there are definitely things you can do. And I mean, at home, which is what we're talking about, there are also, you could go to doctors and have things done, but in the home scope.
One of the things to consider is that if you have a pimple, people often think of it as a bump on the surface of the skin, but that's not entirely accurate; it's really whatever's present at the surface is also present at the bottom.
Think of it as a sphere, not just half a thing. So it's inflamed down here. And if that pimple is sitting there and lasting for weeks, right? And it's damaging the collagen down below. And when this finally does heal, you're literally left with a divot in your skin, you know, and it's called an atrophic scar when it penetrates deep.
And if it's a single one, that's a lot of people who refer to it as an ice pick scar. It's kind of, we have that just that hole that just never ends. It's like a black pit. I had a few of those on my face as well.
And then a lot of times, you can have multiple cysts next to each other, or even like one now and one, you know, 10 years from now. And when they merge, those create even larger, larger areas, and they both can be treated.
Right.
And I think the easiest way to treat those is with the CROSS method.
Yeah.
So, you know, what is that? Okay, it's used with TCA, right? So, it's called the TCA CROSS. Chemical Reconstruction of Skin Scars is what CROSS stands for. And so, what they do is take a really high percentage of TCA.
Now, the highest percentage we recommend is 30. That doesn't mean there aren't higher ones. It doesn't mean that a doctor didn't use an 80% or 100%.
That is not something you should ever do at home. And I just want to stress that point, because there are people who run amok and somewhere find something, and I cannot stress enough how dangerous that is. Because if you were to, you know, get a little, you have your little Q-tip or your toothpick, and you touch skin that doesn't have a scar, now you've got a hole there. I mean, that is just…
Or if it drips on an area that…
A drip, somebody bumps you, just don't. Don't. 30 is very, very strong.
So, let's say we want to do a TCA cross. Let's just pretend this bottle is TCA. Now, we sell these because, in all honesty, you can use a toothpick if you want. A toothpick isn't extremely sharp because it's meant to be poked around in your teeth and gums. It has a more rounded tip.
These right here that we carry now have a little cotton on top. That's great for larger clusters of deeper holes. For example, if you have a chicken pox mark, such as a larger, wider one, you want to cover a larger area and have more acid on it.
I usually suggest, especially for ice pick scars, just taking your nails…
And giving them a little spin.
Take this little bit of cotton off. And the wood pick that's under here is far, far sharper than what a normal toothpick is because it's meant to really poke. So, I love this for things like ice pick scars and similar marks.
So, what you do is, here's the basic premise: let's pretend this is our TCA. You take your toothpick and, you know, dip it in there, you know, hold it for a couple of seconds. Your skin's all nice and clean. You take it out, and you're just going to find your little hole and push, like pushing it in where you saw that poke.
I'm not trying to draw blood. I'm not trying to poke through my skin. I'm trying to give it a pinch. You know, it's almost a combination of, like, I don't want to say needling. It's not really needling, but it helps break down those short fibers that are holding the skin in place, you know, because we've damaged it. It's helping to do that.
So you're poking it in there, and then that acid is getting really deep inside the hole. You know, the goal is not to take this high percentage and get it all over your face.
You want to isolate that to the interior wall.
Inside. So, you've got this hole; you're going to get it inside. Yeah, you might see a little white around the rim. That's okay, but I don't want to see, like, white all over your face.
Right.
I want to see a hint of it on the rim. You know, five minutes, you should see that whiteness.
Sure.
And then, yeah, rinse and you're all done. I mean, it's that simple.
If you have the larger ones, I would suggest leaving the cotton on, still saturating it. Now you're holding a little bit more acid. Make sure to wipe it off.
You don't want it all over your face. And then, if you have a bigger hole, you do the same thing, but you can go over and poke numerous times inside that big scar.
Is there a reason they would want to add a second layer? I've had this question before.
Yeah, it's possible, so when we have a TCA cross-demonstration video. And when I did that video, I mean, I did it, maybe I didn't have enough acid on my wooden thing. And I poked it in, did it, waited my five minutes, and it didn't frost at all.
So I feel like I had too few solutions on there. So I re-dipped it, you know, to make sure it wasn't dripping, but I didn't want it all over my face. Did it again, and it froze immediately.
So there is the potential if it didn't frost after five whole minutes.
Right. You want to wait five full minutes, right?
If it hadn't frozen, you could potentially go in, and I don't say you need to poke so hard again; you're just trying to get that acid in there and then take it out. You don't need to try to poke it again; just get it in there, take it out.
And it's just such a simple premise, and it's something that can be done once every five weeks, never any sooner. It's a five-week timeframe. For example, if you're undergoing a standard peel, it's typically a TCA peel that can take four weeks or longer to complete. This is five weeks.
Okay.
It takes that amount of time to stimulate those new tissues. They start moving up a little bit. And I noticed personally, when I did it, and I hit about three of them, I felt like it was just a black hole, just like a pit that was just never-ending. You didn't see the bottom of it. And I did it a couple of times.
And then I noticed in the mirror, you know, you're looking in like an up close mirror, and I'm like, ‘Well, it doesn't look black in there anymore.’ I wonder if I have a clog or skin issue or something. I'm like, ‘Is there something in there?’
Well, no, it was literally my skin growing up and filling the hole in. So that's that process. And it starts from deep in that hole and just keeps going. Every time you do a stimulating new tissue growth, it stimulates new tissue growth, and before you know it, it starts to fill in that hole.
And then, if I have any, they're just like surface now; they don't bother me. I'm sure they don't even notice it. Like that, you just do it until you reach that point where you don't care anymore. You're like, ‘Eh, who cares? I can't even see it.’ I have really been looking in a up close mirror to find it. Then you can stop.
So, let's say, for the sake of argument, that you have a lot of them on your face. Maybe poking one at a time just doesn't seem like a good idea for you, right?
You don't have to do the CROSS. What I would suggest for someone like that, who has a lot of scars, is to use a milder percentage. I don't want you to put 30 all over your face. We don't want that.
I would suggest doing the 13, or possibly the 20. This all depends. And then just start doing just the all-over peel because that acid's going to get in there.
And if you have ice picks, those are the never-ending holes, yeah, go ahead and use your ice picks, but just your normal, little, more shallow ones. Like I said, it's up to you. Just get good coverage or do some little pokes here and there.
Do whatever works for you. Sometimes there are just so many that people don't want. They're like, ‘I'll be there all day.’
I understand.
And they're a candidate for an all-over face peel.
Yeah. Target your problem areas and then give the peel a once-over. And you know, there are a lot of other things that could go with this, but like, are you thinking of any questions that we should cover with that? Because many things come with this.
I do. I want to touch base on preparing for this. You would prepare your skin with a melanin inhibitor, just like you would for a regular face peel.
Such as our Fade Bright, Hydroquinone, or a similar product.
When you're doing the CROSS, because you're using a higher percentage.
Yes. So, even if you're not prone to them, it may potentially leave a red or brown mark on your skin for a little while, especially if you have a bit darker skin tone. And the best thing you can do is prep with Fade Bright. And that just makes me think for a second, like, let's say it takes five weeks to heal, and you can still have a red mark.
Yeah.
And that is, I mean, if you think about it, you did a powerful peel. You went very deep into the skin, and you were pretty aggressive. So yeah, that skin can be red for that whole five weeks.
And if it's still red at five weeks, you could use like 1% hydrocortisone for one to two weeks. That will help to even out that redness. However, if you have a darker mark, you can continue with your Fade Bright.
Once it has healed, you can resume using Fade Bright or your daily products. It's so important. The darker your skin, the longer you should prep.
Yes.
And…
Percentage. Let's talk about that.
And if you have darker skin, let's say you're… and I'm not saying you can't do 30.
Right.
That if you choose to do 30, go ahead and do 30. But for safety's sake.
Yeah.
We really do recommend using a little bit milder, perhaps the 20.
Yeah.
And do the cross with the 20. I've even seen people doing the cross with the 13. It's fine. Whatever you're comfortable with is what you should do.
Absolutely.
But definitely try to, I know everybody wants to treat it and go gung-ho. If you're in the darker skin tone category, perhaps Fitzpatrick type four, you have olive, Indian, Asian, or Mediterranean skin. You have the potential to develop PIH, even if you're preparing properly, because it's so high.
So true. Because you could do 10 peels, prep through all 10. And then, you know, something just sometimes changes within you, you know, if something's happening within you, you're on some medication, you're out in the sun, like life changes occur. And sometimes it's not the same every time. So, you really just want to be the best judge.
It's a little bit like roulette. You just don't know for sure.
So, sometimes it's better…
Take a step down.
To take a step down and just be mindful of keeping the acid on the interior walls of the scar.
Yeah. Make it your point.
Yeah. Don't use a large Q-tip, as this can create a polka-dotted effect.
No, use these. And these are the reasons; this is what I think we should sell it for: $5. There are a hundred of them in here. It's nothing. Just buy these. These are great. They're super sharp.
Alternatively, if you have larger holes, you can simply leave the cotton in place, as I mentioned. These are just so worthwhile. And you won't find these. We obtain these from a medical supply company. You won't find these at your local drugstore. They're just not there. Just get these. They're as inexpensive as we can make them.
Now, could they potentially use lidocaine before this cross-treatment as well?
I would say yeah. I'm absolutely not opposed to using lidocaine. In all honesty, if you're just doing one or two spots…
You're going to be fine.
It's nothing.
Yeah.
Like it's almost not even irritating because you're just doing a dot of it, it's nothing.
It is really nothing. Now, if you have several of them, I could understand that you might want to do that, just like if you wanted to numb for any peel.
For sure.
You can totally do that.
And always, always, always look at the percentage on the bottle.
Before you do it.
Yes. If you have multiple percentages of acids, let's say you have a TCA 13 and you bought maybe a little vial or two of the 30% or the 20% for this.
Be really mindful and look at those percentages, as you're putting yourself at risk. Or, often, they say I accidentally grabbed the wrong bottle, which could be the case, or sometimes they just really want to move up to the next percentage.
Yeah.
And it's just not in your best interest.
No.
Slow and steady wins the race.
Yes. And don't expect it to be like the kind of rule I mentioned in the video, where it looks worse before it looks better.
Yeah.
People say, 'It looks worse. It's bigger.’
Yeah.
It's a great sign.
We've just done a number on that, and we're forcing it to renew itself completely. That's what sets this all into action, leading to new skin growth and everything else. However, that's how it ultimately fills in.
Don't be scared of that. And again, take pictures. I want to emphasize this point enough.
Take a picture before you start, and take one every time you do it. As I usually say, do it every month, but every five weeks is even better. Take a picture before you do your next one, and you will see that it is improving.
You will see it. And how many times is it going to take? Like people are, well, how many times do we have to do it? You know, it might be three times for you, and it might be 12 times for you.
It depends on the severity, but it will improve.
Yeah.
There's no question.
We have seen some fantastic results.
Unbelievable.
Unbelievable.
Like they make you feel like this is going to work. Just do it.
Yeah. Honestly. And you know, it's just, it's a process like everything.
Yeah.
It takes a considerable amount of time for these scars to develop.
So it's going to take some many years and diligence to, you know, reverse that. Another product goes hand in hand with, you know, stimulating that collagen after. I do want to make one quick point that, you know, your skin can, after a cross treatment form, like a bit like a scab.
That's what we want.
You want that. It's not always like a red or purplish scab.
Someone with my skin color had mine, a shade like flesh. I couldn't even tell.
You don't know. So, I had a caller the other day and said, ' Mine didn't scab. ' It just looks like plasticky on top. I'm like, ‘That's it. That's, that's like a scabbing over top.’ Don't be aggressive and try to remove that.
No, the longer that scab stays there, the better. So, if you're washing your face and you usually use a scrub, skip it.
Don't use it in that area. The longer the scab stays attached, just like when you skin your knees, you want the scab to remain there. It protects it and it stimulates more tissue growth. Leave it on there.
Therefore, there is no need for peel boosters after the cross treatment. Do not apply Luminosity or Dream Peel, as we want to avoid speeding up the process. We want that scab to stay on there. The Dream Peel speeds things up a bit. Luminosity speeds that fluctuate slightly.
So we want to avoid that. That was an excellent call.
Yeah, because I get that question a lot, you know?
Yes.
And I always try to say, you know, just you don't want to rip the roof off. Leave the roof on there.
Leave it on as long as possible.
That's when all the good stuff is happening in the house. Everything is fixing itself.
Yeah. And for the most part, it's not too noticeable. I would say those with Fitzpatrick skin types four through six are a little darker.
Yeah.
You will see a little dark mark. We also have another video on there featuring a customer. What was she like? Hispanic. And she did it. She did have the dark marks, and they did leave little dark scabs.
And they lasted for probably five days or so. So, if you have 10 of them, consider doing three, which will allow you to deal with a couple of dark marks, and people will just appear to have a freckle or something similar.
And then, you know, maybe when those fall off, go ahead and do a couple more. There you go. And let those fall off and do a couple more.
So it's not like 15 dark marks on your face that you have to explain away. You know, you kind of time it a little bit.
Yeah, that's a good suggestion.
Yeah. Additionally, for healing, products like emu oil or the essential healing blend are obviously beneficial. Either of these is perfect.
And we do want you to use copper. I cannot recommend copper enough. This is a skin remodeling product. So, even if you're not doing peels, let's say you have some scars and you want to target them, but you don't want to do the cross. You're not interested.
Just use this. Use the Super Cop 2X, or consider using the Super CP Serum. This is easy to spread if you have a lot of scarring or similar conditions. It's more than half the strength of this, like this is really key if you're trying to target scars.
And a hint for this. Now, obviously, we want this to really heal. You'll be at least five days or so with that scab on. We don't want to be irritating it. This is irritating. Don't put this on.
I recommend 10 days.
Yeah.
10 days after you've done your cross. When that's done, that's fallen off. You won't even see it. That's fallen off. It's not red, red. It's calmed down.
Nice and healed.
Then you can start applying this. If, for some reason, you need to, I suggest taking a very small amount, patting it into the hole, and wiping off any excess. Do this right before you go to bed.
Yeah.
If that's burning for some reason. Okay. Wash it off and wait a few more days.
However, it can feel itchy and a little tingly.
Yeah.
That's normal.
That's normal. I mean, like if it's like burning, burning, cause you're like still too red and raw. Okay. Wash it off. It should just be, and it shouldn't even be tingly or itchy for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Right.
That's why I advise people to apply this right before going to bed. If the tingly itchy bothers you too much, you can use the serums. Don't cause that at all.
Yeah.
Not at all. But I highly, highly recommend using this. I don't suggest using it every single day. It's usually too irritating. I would say every other day or once every two days or three days, whatever works for you.
Use as often as you can. For some reason, you're using it, you get irritated, and then you stop using it for a few days. Start back up again. Just try to keep it in there, knowing that it will irritate. You just rotate it.
Yeah.
A couple of other things that are beneficial, right? PDRN.
Yes. Yes.
PDRN is really, really beneficial for scars. That is something you can apply immediately after rinsing your peel.
Perfect.
You can put it on every day after that. That will be so, so healing after you've done your peel.
Another way to use it is to, for example, avoid the peel. To perform the micro infusion, use the tool, apply the stamper, fill it with the PDRN, and then stamp it into the designated areas. This would be a good way to target some of the larger ones with extensive coverage.
You could do the PDRN micro-infused that, you know, once every two weeks or so. Super option.
Is there a benefit to adding the EXO-AD to that mix?
I always want to suggest that. I was trying to be simple, but yes.
I'm sorry for kind of throwing you a curveball.
No, no. I feel like I'm always telling them to do too many things, but yeah, I would always recommend adding exosomes to the PDRN.
That's right.
Because they're the little messengers, they're the sergeants. They're going to tell your cells what to do. Build more skin, fill in that hole.
I just want the customers to have all the knowledge because when they're working on these, they're serious. They want results. And if they want to throw everything at it, you know?
Yes.
Because it takes a long time for these scars to form, and they do. It is a little bit of a road journey.
It's disheartening. Yes. It's not fun.
It won't be an instant fix.
No, no. And what I'm thinking of with this is like, especially if you're young enough, let's say, this is generally acne that's causing all this damage.
For sure.
If you are young enough and don't have any scarring yet, but you're getting cysts on your face monthly, consider starting an acne regimen. We recommend the AB cleanser, epidermal growth factor, and vitamin B for your daytime routine.
At nighttime, use AB cleanser, Regenerate, and Fusion A, as you need a retinoid and vitamin B. I mean, it's that simple. Use those products. What I have here is a regenerative product that can be used for healing after this and can also be used during your microinfusion.
It can be used at any time. However, if you are young enough and haven't developed scars yet, and you have the cyst, epidermal growth factor is a powerful healing agent.
Absolutely.
Helps to quickly deflate a scar or prevent the formation of a scar, such as a cyst.
Yeah.
Quickly. And that's what's so important. It's when it's lingering around that it starts to damage the collagen and creates these scars, right? It's that inflammation.
So you're going to speed up.
Speed up the healing of that cyst so you're not left with scars. Use an epidermal growth factor every day. This Regenerate helps to heal and prevent acne, but it's especially beneficial for cystic acne.
Something like this, I think, is what you should use to try to prevent it. And then again, if you're unfortunately having to treat it, that can be part of your regimen too.
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Obviously, we also have our Illuminate mask, which they can use after any of their treatments to help speed up the healing process.
Yeah. Therefore, the red is activated simultaneously with the infrared. So that really promotes healing. So that would be great. Once you've rinsed your peel off, sit under the light for at least 10 minutes, preferably even longer. Stimulate that healing.
Yeah.
Absolutely. That was a good call, too.
Yeah. I mean, I'm just trying to think of all the things that, you know…
What else, what else? There's a lot here. There's a lot you can do. It doesn't necessarily have to be an atrophic scar.
Yes.
All right. If it's a raised scar, that's a hypertrophic scar.
Yes.
Now you're not going to poke into a raised scar, but you can most definitely, you know, use the TCA 30 probably easiest to put on a little Q-tip, just be real, you know, go over whatever the line is or whatever your scar is or dabbing on there that five minutes rinse it off that can be used for any kind of scar.
The type of scar I wouldn't recommend is a keloid scar, for sure. So, the difference between a hypertrophic scar and a keloid scar is that if your wound heals and you have a raised scar, but it's exactly where the wound was, that's normal. You can go ahead and treat it with acid.
If by chance, though, let's say the wound was only, you know, an inch long, but your scar is two inches long and a quarter inch more, and you've got a keloid scar where the scar has moved past the wound. Therefore, you should avoid using a strong acid because it could potentially exacerbate the situation.
Right.
You can still use copper, and I always recommend it. I usually recommend something like serum 30.
Yeah.
And then the copper, if you're trying to treat a keloid scar, but don't do the strong peel or the cross, just apply it.
Speaking of the multi-acid serum 30 and the copper peptides, I was counseling a customer on the phone. They had an injury scar.
Okay.
And they were unsure about doing peels, as their scar was lovely and had healed and was sealed. It was on their forehead.
We decided to use the multi-acid serum 30 and then alternate it with the copper peptide, Supercop 2X. And I know for a fact my son has had an injury scar on his forehead, and our excellent Andrea from our Facebook Gurus moderator had a similar injury around her eye from a bicycle accident.
And I remember when my son had his injury, I remember texting Andrea because, you know, I know she didn't do peels, and I couldn't remember exactly what she was using, but I wanted my son to do precisely what she was doing because you could barely see her scar.
You can't see anything.
And you know, now my son, he, you can barely see it either above his eyebrow. So he did that. The customer I counseled on the phone has the same results because, sometimes, it's a lot to jump into the peels, and they're a little hesitant.
Yeah. That's why you can start with the serum or adjust the copper.
Exactly.
Just get started and take a picture so you can monitor your changes. I mean, it's…
And the serum 30 is strong. So it's not like we're saying, put it all over your face. We're saying…
It's kind of like saying it every other day: can you do the serum today and the copper tomorrow?
And put it right on where your scar is or whatever you have going on. If it's a surgical scar, an injury scar, or any other type, if you're diligent about it, take that photo at the beginning and just be consistent.
Emu oil is also excellent because it genuinely helps.
Emu oil is good for scarring.
Yeah. The emu oil, the essential healing blend. Those are all great choices.
Yeah.
You know, so that they can get to the finish line in many ways.
Yeah. And you know, if they have questions on how to do this, or if they want us to walk them through it, of course, we have the TCA cross video on the website.
There is another video on scarring on the website that says the same things we're saying here. Serum, either serum 15, if you're really sensitive, serum 30, the coppers, they're all on there, but you can watch that.
And, of course, you can call us, because, as you said, we counsel customers all day long. We're open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
Absolutely.
And you call, and someone will answer the phone.
They will.
If somebody doesn't answer the phone, you'll end up on hold.
Yeah. Because we're counseling someone else.
We'll get to you. And I mean, sometimes you might be on the phone for 45 minutes with a customer.
Yeah.
It happens.
I was on the phone for an hour and six minutes with a client the other day. I don't even remember the scenario, but we were going through a lot at the time. And, it was a successful call, and you know, we counsel through everything, and I feel like they were off to the races. They placed their order and, you know, I'm sure we'll be touching faces again soon.
Oh yeah. However, that's exactly what we're here to help you with.
You can send us photos to support@platinumskincare. We're always happy to look at the photos. That really does help us make good recommendations.
And, yes, when you're emailing, please be a bit more concise. I don't want you to write a book, but be a bit more straightforward.
I did this. It's six years old. This wound, it healed. It's like this. What should I do?
For sure.
Or, if you're particularly sensitive, please let us know. If you're skin is like a piece of wood, let us know that. We can be more aggressive with our recommendations.
Send a photo. Sometimes people think it's just the worst thing in the world. And we're like, ‘I'm sorry, what am I looking at?’ Like, I don't know. What am I looking at? Cause I don't even see what's ended their world. And I'm like…
We're our worst critics, you know? And it's just like, sometimes, like you said, they may have one indentation scar, and we're looking at them overall and thinking, ‘Oh my God, they got such lovely skin.’
What is the problem here? Yeah. But yeah, reach out to us. We can help you. This is something that's solvable.
Absolutely. Yes, we can. We'll talk to you soon.
Yeah.
