hi cedar, sorry to hear about your skin struggles. while i use a number of products to keep my medium/severe acne at bay, i don't know of any 'acne scar reducing' products, sorry :-(

good luck! hopefully others will be of more help...

Have you thought about lazer treatment? It is amazing what dermatologists are doing with lazers these days.
My husband had severe acne as a teen and over the years the redness has completely vanished on it's own. So, time will heal.

I don't know what it was called, but I know that I saw something at Target the other day that said it was specifically for acne scars. I wish I could remember! If you have a Super Target- check the face care aisle.

san--Unfortunately, laser treatments are not an option for me; the price is just way out of what I consider my dispoble income. I got cut down to part time hours at work recently, and am planning on going to school soon. Heck, even I did have that kind of money, I'd rather spend it on a trip!

I was hoping for a fairly low cost option, and wanted others' ideas before I dropped the cash. Someone recommended a product by Murad, but since they tend to be a little pricey, I was wondering if there was any feedback on it.

I'm wondering what exactly you mean by acne scars. Do you mean actual scars, similar to what you get after a cut, or are you referring to those dark spots
(post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation) that never seem to go away? I have heard people refer to both as scars.

I have a lot of PIH on my face which makes me feel very self-conscious, so I empathize with you. I'm sorry to hear that you struggle with this. I don't know of any treatments for acne scars. At the moment it's just a makeup fix for me. I'll be interested to hear if anyone else has a solution.

Peace.

I know this sounds a little weird, but have you tried plain yogurt? I use a mask of equal parts yogurt and honey (probably about half a teaspoon of each), smear it on my face, and leave it on for half an hour or so a couple of times a week. I've had really good results with it.

I use plain, organic yogurt with the most live cultures I can find. I've heard that raw honey works best, but I use a 99 cent honey bear from Walgreens, and that seems to work fine.

Anyway, it's very easy, cheap, and I've seen a big difference since I started using it. And you can eat the rest for breakfast!

Have you tried Vitamin E lotion or oil on the scars? It really works for most of the scars that I have accumulated over the years and even if they don't disappear, it helps the worst of it heal up.

Cedar, I'm in my mid-twenties and still have bad breakouts too. I don't have a lot of scarring, but my mom has a great, light Vitamin E face creme by Bobbi Brown. I've used it a few times as an under-makeup moisturizer because it's very smooth and not oily, and I figure the Vitamin E couldn't hurt.

Cedar,

I'm with you. I am 29, and I have breakouts and acne scars. I have tried many different products, and I have realized that you just have to try, try, try until you find one that works. The problem is that it often takes 3 to 6 months to see results, so it is frustrating. I started using Philosophy's products a couple of years ago, and last year I started using "Help Me," which is retinol product. I was still having good breakouts, and it more-or-less cleared those up (except for premenstrual ones), and has reduced the redness and pockmarking.

I use the Purity Made Simple face wash because it is cleansing but not drying and the Hope in a Jar moisturizer (not the one made for dry skin, but the regular one) both morning and night. I use the retinol at night. It took a good 2 months before I started to see results, but the results have been sustained for over a year. My face is oily, so I need to pat it dry once or twice a day, but don't hesitate to wear moisturizer. I really like Hope in Jar because it helps reduce the look of my pores.

For deep acne scars, you will need Laser Therapy. I can't afford it either, so I just live with having not so great looking skin.

Christie

Cedar, My husband also has lots of acne scarring and still breaks out at 28. We have tried nearly everything, and he's been on Accutane and everything else imaginable.
The various dermotologists he's seen have all recommended photo facial treatments. Like you, we can't afford that. So we use various products to keep him from breaking out, but nothing can be done with the scarring at present. And makeup isn't an option for him.
We have started using philosophy's Hope in a Jar for his moisturizer. We like it because it doesn't leave his skin looking shiny and greasy. That seems to tone down the redness and appearance of scars.
He rotates between philosophy's acne skin care, Proactive, and several other brands. His skin seems to become immune to one brand if he uses it continually. So since we can't "fix" the issue, we do what we can to make his skin healthy and keep it from breaking out now.

Sarah, has your husband tried "Help me!" It is marketed as a wrinkle/aging cream, but it worked like magic on my acne. Acne is partly a problem of skin not exfoliating off dead skin cells, which then help clog pores. The retinol sloughs off this skin, which helped not only improve my red pimples, but also the little white bumps I used to have all over my chin.

Philosophy just came out with an acne retinol product. I got it to try. I'm not sure yet if it is exactly the same or if it will improve/worsen my condition. Since Help Me works so well, I have been hesitant to try anything else. I'll keep you posted.

Wow, I'll definitely check that out. Who makes that? We did try the philosophy retinol product and didn't notice any improvement. We still have it and will try again for sure.

Sometimes the cause is hormone related. What helped me most was birth control pills and later hormone pills for menopause. There must be something better by now. I wonder if there is an Estrogen cream available. I had one for awhile that was prescription and it worked well. Eventually age will take care of the problem.
For an ugly red flare-up, nothing worked as well for me as leaving a bit of toothpaste on it overnight. It often dries it up and removes redness.
My father had life-long acne problems which I probably inherited. When he was in his 80s-90s he was treated for years for prostate cancer with hormone therapy. His skin became as clear and smooth as a baby's.

I would also think that a retinoid product would be very beneficial. I actually don't have acne but have other skin issues and have done quite a bit of research on retinoids (did most of this well over a year ago so the details are kind of fuzzy for me at this point). I know it is supposed to be great for those with acne and oily skin and in preventing wrinkles. Like Christie said, it aids in skin turnover. Anyway, I would suggest doing some good research on retinoids - seeing a dermatologist might be your best bet. And be very careful about sun exposure when using a retinoid - most people only use it at night and you have to be especially diligent about your sunscreen use because it does make you more sensitive to the sun.

I actually ended up buying Avene's Ystheal cream (which contains retinaldehyde) when I was in Europe in December. It is also available online in the U.S. through websites such as drugstore.com. I haven't used it yet though. I have very sensitive skin and I have read that retinoids can cause shedding and other adverse skin reactions during initial use so I have been procrastinating because I am afraid of how my skin might react. I've sort of been waiting for a week when I don't have anything going on just in case I get some kind of freaky reaction.

I don't think that the regular OTC stuff like Philosophy or ROC contain enough retinoid to make a big impact. Obagi has a retinoid product but it's pretty expensive. I seem to recall that there is some legal restriction in terms of what you can get without a prescription - hence my decision to go with a European product.

Hi Cedar!
I too believe that, unfortunately, no cream will have enough of an impact to really reduce scars, although they can be very beneficial your skin.

What I would advice you to look for is a clinic or health center in your area that practices Endermology; a type of in-depth tissue massage that improves the structure of the skin. Two years ago, I had a scarred, blotchy, red-patched forehead and thought I had to either have laser therapy or live with it. But after undegoing endermology treatments for a few months, I now have normal skin!

I'm European, so I don't know about the situation in the US, but for me the treatment was covered, and even if it hadn't been, it would have been cheap enough to pay for myself (being a student) and absolutely worth it.

Either way, I can totally relate to the frustrations of having problematic skin, and I wish you lots of luck with finding a solution!