Dr. Nelson Lee Novick, MD

The precise at-home prescription medications and which in-office procedures you might need can only really be best determined after an in-person consultation. Sorry, there are no quick answers or treatments for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and treatment must be tailored to individual needs.

Any mole or growth that increases significantly in size, shape, color, or exhibits itching, tenderness, crusting or bleeding should be examined by a board certified dermatologist who most likely will recommend a simply biopsy to rule out the possibility of a skin malignancy. In the case of moles, early diagnosis of malignant moles (i.e. malignant melanoma) is essential, since delay may result in spread of the malignancy and poorer outcomes.

Dermatologists are specialists in diseases and conditions that affect the skin, hair and nails, so a dermatologist is definitely the specialist that should be consulted to evaluate and treat moles, especially those that are peculiar looking or have changed in size, shape, color, etc.. You would be well advised to seek consultation as soon as possible to ensure that your mole is actually benign and not a melanoma or other kind of skin cancer. Best of luck.

Unfortunately, there is really no one vitamin that directly helps hair loss. Biotin, which was recommended for years, has been shown to not being particularly effective, as was once thought. Instead, its use, especially in the high doses that were recommended in the past, has been shown to interfere with certain critical blood tests and can lead to misleading results. Your best best is a consultation with a dermatologist, a specialist in hair loss conditions, who can diagnose your specific type of hair loss and prescribe certain topical and/or medications that have proven safety and efficacy for retaining and even growing hair. It is best not to wait, since the early one intervenes, the more likely one is to be successful. Best of luck.

Without photos are even better an in-person, up close examination that allows for manipulation and palpation of the scars, I can only answer in general terms. Most persons with acne scars have the full range of scars, including boxcar and rolling scars and ice pick scars. They may also have generalized acne-related facial atrophy, as well. Each of these problems requires its own individual treatment or combination of approaches. As any follower of my answers knows well, I have been cautioning against falling prey to the intense marketing hype (but unfortunately little hard science) that surrounds the use of so many of the fraxel lasers and radiofrequency devices currently out there. If there is indeed generalized facial atrophy, then a Field Subcision to reflate the area would be a logical first step. Following this, individual subcisions may be used to elevate and smooth the boxcar and rolling scars. Subcisions may be performed either alone or in combination with fillers, although I would not recommend permanent fillers, such as Bellafil, as these may give rise to difficult-to-treat bumps and lumps complications five, ten or even twenty years after their use. TCA CROSS can be used for the ice pick scars, and finally, if necessary, professional medical microneedling may be used to further help blend the color and texture of the treated areas with the surrounding normal skin. It is important to bear in mind that ALL of the treatments, with the notable exception of Field Subcision--even when chosen for the correct purposes--typically requires between two to four treatment sessions to achieve optimal results. To save money and time and needless disappointment, do your due diligence when evaluating the next, relatively expensive "bells and whistles" device you may be offered and stick to the relatively inexpensive, proven and effective techniques just described. Best of luck.

If by deep acne scars, you are referring to boxcar scars, then, in my well over three decades of experience, subcision is the most effective treatment. It is relatively inexpensive, virtually painless when performed properly in experienced hands, and highly effective. All the bells and whistles devices, like lasers and radiofrequency devices are expensive, remain largely unproven and are supported far more by marketing hype than any hard science. Punch excisions have also been used for deep scars, but in most cases, they can result in surgical scars in place of the acne scars and, for this reason, I have largely stopped performing them. And, unlike subcisions, which engender little to no post treatment downtime, punch excisions, since they are small surgeries, do in fact do this. Ablative lasers and dermabrasion, which have also been used for deeper scars, have much longer healing periods and downtime.

The first requirement is to diagnose the nature of the hair loss, i.e. is it early female pattern hair loss, alopecia areata, traction alopecia or stress-induced alopecia to name a few common causes. You should schedule a consultation with a board certified dermatologist so that the cause can be determined. Once this is done, a proper treatment regimen can be prescribed.

Forget the facial foams, scrubs and toners. They typically dry out the skin, make the skin more sensitive, and don't do much for preventing (or even treating) break outs. Choosing the wrong type of moisturizer can also lead to increased breakouts. Your best bet for home treatments would be benzoyl peroxide gels, salicylic acid solutions or Differin. If this does not work, you would be wise to consult with a board certified dermatologist. The sooner the acne breakouts are controlled, the less likely you will develop permanent acne scars. Best of luck.

A series of superficial peels, such as with high concentrations of glycolic or salicylic acid; Jessner's solution and low concentrations of TCA have been used for decades to treat acne and to hasten the fading of the brown spots following acne flares.

A series of superficial peels, such as with high concentrations of glycolic or salicylic acid; Jessner's solution and low concentrations of TCA have been used for decades to treat acne and acne and to hasten the fading of the brown spots following acne flares. Improperly performed, such by at-home attempts to self-treat or by inexperienced physicians and non-physicians using too strong peels or improperly applying them can cause scarring or damage to the skin. So, best to leave peels to experienced hands, so that the right choice of peeling agent will applied in the correct manner to be safe and effective.

Yes, salicylic acid can help to reduce blackheads. However, higher concentrations, such as 30%, which can be applied by a physician in the office work more efficiently and more quickly than the OTC 2% salicylic acid products. In addition, a trained physician can literally clean out physically a hundred or more clogged pores in one sitting and can then apply immediately afterward the high concentration of salicylic acid as a preventative measure.

Unfortunately, true scars of all kinds, including those from acne, are permanent. They can certainly be improved significantly with simple and relatively inexpensive and tried and true treatments, such as subcision for boxcar and rolling scars; and TCA CROSS for ice pick scars and very dilated pores. But, they cannot be completely erased. However, if you are talking
about post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation or post-inflammatory erythema (redness), these kinds of problems generally fade. In patients of skin of color, dark blotches generally take quite a few weeks to fade compared to persons of lighter complexion. Redness, too, generally fades, but it too can take several weeks. Dermatologists have simple in-office treatments and can prescribe prescription medications to speed the fading process.

You haven't said what kind of scars. However, the vast majority of my younger patients come to me for acne scar treatments. There are several different simple and relatively inexpensive treatments that can be used to treat boxcar, rolling, and ice pick scars, as well as others.

Unfortunately, they are not typically good for acne, or for that matter, any skin except for perhaps the most, most oily skin. And even there, I wouldn't necessarily recommend them. Scrubs basically dry out the skin, and when the skin gets too dry, it becomes intolerant to acne medications (which also unfortunately dry out the skin a bit, especially if not used properly). And the acne medications are the real weapons against acne. Short answer: forget the scrubs and instead use gentle cleansers and proper anti-acne topicals.

PRP can be used after skin cancer. However, the real question is how valuable is PRP in the first place. The fact is that there is really not hard science (mostly just marketing hype) behind the use of PRP and it certainly isn't worth the $800-1000 per treatment cost here in NYC

The actual question is whether one should be doing PRP at all. Hard science is really not there to support its use. And its expensive price tag of $800-1000/treatment in NYC makes it a very poor choice for anti-aging treatment.

Perhaps, especially when combined with professional microneedling. However, there is really little need for the expensive $800-$1000/treatment (NYC prices). Other treatments work far better and far quicker and are typically much less costly. Save your money

If you ask me whether blood contains growth factors and wound healing factors that may help to promote new, native collagen and elastic fiber production to improve scars, the answer would be yes. If you ask me whether one needs to spend $800-$1000/treatment (NYC prices) to have your blood taken out, spun down and then sprinkled back on or injected back into your scars, I would say not to waste your money. If you have depressed acne scars, a simple, inexpensive subcision treatment creates a little blood pocket under the skin (at no extra charge) that contains the growth factors and wound healing factors to improve the scar.

Yes, a chemical peel can burn the face, especially (and usually) when performed at home or by an inexperienced, non-medical practitioner or in a medspa type setting. In the hands of an experienced aesthetic physician, such as an aesthetic dermatologist, the proper chemical or combination of chemicals and the proper concentrations of each can be safely employed to treat whatever the particular skin problem.

There are a variety of methods for removing moles, but no true mole (beauty mark or birth mark) should be simply frozen off, lasered off or destroyed in any way. The safest way to remove a true mole is via Scalpel Sculpting, a simple, relatively inexpensive technique that simply sculpts the mole off without deep cutting or stitches (so little chance of scarring) and also permits the mole to be sent to a laboratory to make sure it isn't a serious condition (such as malignant melanoma) hiding like a wolf in sheep's clothing.