A Single Session of Acne Scar Revision with PDO Threads: Four Months Later
Let me share a story about patience, collagen, and the quiet changes you can only feel before you fully see them. If you've ever struggled with deep acne scarring, you know that healing is rarely a straight line—it’s more like a slow tide that recedes and reveals new ground over time.
Back in October, after a severe acne battle that left behind deep craters and enlarged pores on my face, I decided to try a technique called PDO thread therapy for my scars. The concept is simple: these absorbable threads are placed beneath the skin, triggering your body’s natural collagen surge to fill in the gaps left by damaged tissue. But the results? They don’t appear overnight. The clinic instructed me to wait three to four months to gauge the full effect before deciding on a second session.
Today, in February, I’m here to tell you what I’ve learned. The most honest update I can give is this: my pores are noticeably less deep. They are smaller, and the depressions in my face—those little valleys that makeup always seemed to settle into—are now shallower. They’re still there, of course. I had severe, severe acne, and one session alone was never going to erase a lifetime of damage. But the texture has changed. It’s a quiet, real difference.
I have to be transparent about something: I experienced a breakout shortly after the threads, in October and November. But that wasn’t the threads’ fault—it was stress and other factors. My skin is still a work in progress, not what it was in late September before the treatment, but the improvement is there. And I want to be honest about how hard it is to capture this change on camera. I used a front-facing camera on an old iPhone XS Max for my before photos, and now I’m using a different device. So unless you see me in person, you have to trust my words. Just know this: my pores are less deep. The craters are less hungry. The skin feels different.
How the Threads Work
If you’re unfamiliar with PDO threads, here’s the core concept: these tiny, dissolvable threads remain in your skin for a period of time, causing your body to undergo a collagen surge to repair the surrounding area. This surge is what fills in those gaps in your skin—the pores and scars that were so badly damaged from acne. It’s not an overnight fix, but it’s a biological process that literally builds tissue from the inside out.
The nurse who placed my threads shared one crucial detail I didn’t include in my first video: the threads are designed to go deeper into the skin, targeting the deeper depressions. For more superficial texture issues, she recommended pairing this with micro-needling—whether at-home or professional. Some people do both methods at the same time. I couldn’t because I was breaking out afterward, and you should never micro-needle over active acne. But the combination is worth knowing.
The Journey to a Second Session
I wanted to record my second session and show you the nurse’s reaction to my skin after four months. But here’s the truth: I couldn’t get an appointment. These clinics are fully booked. I have an existing appointment scheduled from last year that’s coming up in June—four months away. I don’t want to wait that long. I’ve been trying for a last-minute slot, but it hasn’t happened yet. That’s why this update took so long to share.
But I will go for a second session. I knew from the start that my deep depressions would require multiple rounds. The nurse herself said, “Wait a few months, and see if you want to do it again.” I already knew my answer.
What This Means for Your Own Skin
If you’re considering PDO threads for acne scars, let me share what I’ve found helpful: This technique genuinely speeds up the process of repairing depressions far more than exfoliating skincare items or chemical peels alone. It gets inside the skin and stimulates that collagen response in a way surface treatments can’t. For my deeper scars, it’s already making a real difference.
I still have breakouts here and there. My skin isn’t fully clear yet. But the progress is tangible. I also have a micro-needling tool my mom gifted me for my birthday—I plan to record that experience and share whether it adds another layer to the repair.
If you’ve had this treatment, I’d love to know how it went for you. Was it effective for your scars? Did you need multiple sessions? The journey with acne scars is deeply personal, but the technology and patience are on our side.
For now, I’ll keep you updated as I schedule my next session and continue this slow, hopeful work of rebuilding skin from within.