Scar Treatment in Los Angeles: Laser, Morpheus8 & CO2 Options
Scars don't erase — but the right treatment for the right scar type reliably improves them 30 to 70 percent. This page shows you how to identify your scar, which of our four treatments addresses it, and what each costs at Mirror Mirror Med Spa.
Every Scar Is a Collagen Problem
A scar is what skin builds when it heals in a hurry: collagen laid down fast and disorganized instead of slowly and in the right pattern. Too little and the skin sinks — the pitted, rolling, and boxcar scars acne leaves behind. Too much and it rises — the thick, raised line after surgery or a burn. Old scars are simply that disorganized collagen made permanent.
Every effective scar treatment does the same fundamental thing: it re-injures the scar in a controlled way and gives the skin a second chance to rebuild the collagen properly. Lasers do it with heat, microneedling does it with needles, radiofrequency does it with both. What differs is depth, precision, downtime, and which scar type each is built for. That match is the whole game — a treatment that is excellent for a boxcar scar can do almost nothing for an ice-pick scar two centimeters away.
Mirror Mirror Med Spa treats acne, surgical, traumatic, and stretch-mark scarring from our Westwood clinic, serving Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Century City, and greater Los Angeles. Most plans combine two of the four treatments below.
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Which Scar Type Responds to Which Treatment
Look at the shape. Shape tells you depth, depth tells you the treatment. The cross-sections below show what each scar looks like beneath the surface.
Ice Pick
Tiny, deep pits under 2 mm wide that look like enlarged pores or puncture marks — usually on the cheeks. The hardest type: they go deeper than most devices reach.
Boxcar
Broad, crater-like depressions 1.5–4 mm wide with sharp vertical walls, on the cheeks and jaw. The type that responds best to resurfacing.
Rolling
Wide, soft-edged dips that give skin an uneven, undulating look. Caused by fibrous bands underneath tethering the surface down.
Raised & Red
Hypertrophic surgical scars, C-section lines, burn scars, and the red or brown marks acne leaves behind. Color and thickness, not depth.
Most faces have two or three types at once, which is why a combination plan — deep remodeling plus surface resurfacing — outperforms any single device.
Four Ways We Treat Scars
Current Mirror Mirror Med Spa pricing. Every treatment is performed by a licensed medical provider.
Morpheus8
Radiofrequency microneedling that reaches the deep dermis to break down dense scar fibers and rebuild collagen from underneath. The workhorse for rolling, boxcar, and ice-pick acne scars, surgical lines, and stretch marks. Safe on all skin tones. Series of 3.
CoolPeel CO2
Fractional CO2 — the gold standard for pitted scars — delivered with the Tetra's short-pulse technology so downtime is 2–5 days instead of two weeks. Vaporizes the damaged surface and lifts shallow depressions. Fractional ablation tiers available for deeper work.
Lumecca IPL
Intense pulsed light that targets the redness (post-inflammatory erythema) and brown pigment (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation) that linger after acne or surgery. Doesn't change texture — clears the color that makes flat scars look worse than they are.
Cortisone Injections
The scar you never get is the best outcome. A cortisone shot flattens an active cyst in 24–48 hours so it heals without pitting. Diluted cortisone also softens thick, raised hypertrophic scars over a few sessions.
Pricing reflects current Mirror Mirror Med Spa rates. Members receive 3–5% off through the Membership & Loyalty Program; financing is available through Cherry. Exosomes can be added to Morpheus8 or CoolPeel to speed healing — see Exosome Therapy.
When a Scar Needs Surgical Revision Instead
We are a med spa, not a surgical practice — and part of a good consultation is telling you when a scar is a surgeon's job.
Surface, Texture, Color, Depth
Flat or slightly raised scars, pitted acne scars, red or pigmented marks, uneven texture, and stretch marks. Energy treatments remodel collagen without cutting.
- 3–5 sessions, several weeks apart
- Days of downtime, not weeks
- 30–70% improvement is the realistic range
- Works on old scars — a 20-year-old scar still remodels
Severe, Wide, Tight, or Keloid
Deep, wide, or thick keloid scars that resist energy treatment; contracture scars pulling across a joint; scars that distort a feature. A surgeon excises and re-closes with a finer, better-aligned line.
- One procedure, 1–4 weeks of healing
- Replaces the scar with a new, smaller one
- Higher upfront cost, surgical risks
- Often followed by laser to refine the new line
Combination
The majority of scar plans stack two treatments: Morpheus8 for depth, then CoolPeel for surface, with Lumecca to clear color at the end. For raised scars, cortisone to flatten first, then laser. Sequencing matters as much as device choice.
- Deep first, surface second, color last
- Exosomes after each device session to halve downtime
- Results continue improving 6 months after the last session
Scars We See Most in Los Angeles
Face and body. New and decades old. All skin tones.
Ice pick, boxcar, rolling
The largest category. Usually a mix of all three types plus lingering red and brown marks. Morpheus8 + CoolPeel + Lumecca in sequence.
C-section, facelift, mole removal
Raised, red, or widened incision lines. Lumecca for the color, Morpheus8 to flatten and blend the border into surrounding skin.
Stretch marks
Torn dermis from rapid growth, pregnancy, or weight change. Morpheus8 body treatment rebuilds texture; $835 per session, $2,499 for three.
Burns, cuts, chickenpox
Irregular texture and thickness. CoolPeel fractional ablation tiers for deeper resurfacing, Morpheus8 to soften rigid tissue.
Serving Westwood, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Century City, Bel Air, and Culver City from our Los Angeles clinic. Considering scar revision in Beverly Hills? We are ten minutes away.
From Consultation to Remodeled Skin
Scar work is a series, not a session. Here is the shape of a typical plan.
Map the Scars
Your provider classifies each scar by type and depth, checks skin tone for laser safety, and photographs a baseline. You leave with a sequenced plan and written pricing.
Go Deep First
Morpheus8 sessions 4–6 weeks apart break down old scar fibers and start collagen rebuilding underneath. Redness and grid marks fade in a few days.
Resurface
CoolPeel smooths the surface once the deep work is underway. Days 2–4 are the peak of peeling; makeup by day 5. Lumecca clears remaining color.
Let It Remodel
Collagen keeps reorganizing for up to 6 months after the final session. Daily SPF is non-negotiable — sun darkens healing scars. Maintenance every 1–2 years.
Frequently Asked Questions
What clients ask us most about scar treatment at Mirror Mirror Med Spa in Los Angeles.
For deep, pitted, or stubborn scars, fractional CO2 is widely considered the gold standard because it both vaporizes damaged tissue and drives deep thermal remodeling — at Mirror Mirror that is CoolPeel, which delivers CO2 with a fraction of the traditional downtime. For red or pigmented marks without texture change, light-based treatment like Lumecca IPL is the better tool. And for the deepest rolling and ice-pick scars, radiofrequency microneedling (Morpheus8) reaches further than any surface laser. In practice the "best laser" is usually two of them in sequence.
Removed, no — no treatment fully erases a scar of any age. Significantly improved, yes. Old scars are rigid, disorganized collagen, and fractional lasers and RF microneedling penetrate deep enough to thermally break apart those fibrous bands and prompt the skin to rebuild them in a smoother pattern. Mature scars sometimes need one or two more sessions than fresh ones, but age does not disqualify them. The realistic target for any scar treatment is 30–70% improvement in visibility and texture.
Look at the shape and edges in raking light. Tiny, deep, pinhole-like pits under 2 mm wide are ice pick scars. Wider, crater-like depressions with steep, sharply defined vertical walls are boxcar scars. Broad, smooth, wave-like dips with sloped edges that make the skin look uneven when you stretch it are rolling scars. Most people with acne scarring have a mix, and the treatment plan is built around whichever type dominates. Your provider confirms it under magnification at consultation.
For deep scars, yes. Standard microneedling creates micro-injuries at the surface; Morpheus8 adds radiofrequency heat delivered through the needles into the deep dermis, which produces a far more robust collagen and elastin response and can break down the tethering bands under rolling scars that plain needling can't reach. Standard microneedling still has a place for mild texture and as maintenance. Most people notice mild improvement after two Morpheus8 sessions and meaningful scar reduction after a full series of three; texture keeps improving for up to six months afterward.
Any high-energy device can, if it is set too aggressively or used on the wrong skin. The real risks with CO2 are prolonged redness, pigment changes — darkening or lightening — particularly in deeper skin tones, and, rarely, new scarring from burns or poor aftercare. That is why settings are matched to your skin type, why CoolPeel's short-pulse delivery minimizes heat spread, and why strict sun avoidance afterward is mandatory. Performed correctly, a fractional CO2 laser heals scars rather than creating them. Days 2–4 are the rough patch: swelling, tightness, warmth, and peeling.
Generally yes, provided the goal is significant improvement rather than total erasure. Clients who see the most value are those whose scars affect how they feel about their face or body every day — acne scarring especially. The practical math: a full Morpheus8 series is $2,499, results build for six months after and last years with maintenance, and the alternative is living with it. What makes a revision not worth it is a mismatch — the wrong treatment for the scar type, or an energy treatment on a scar that really needed a surgeon. A good consultation prevents both.
At Mirror Mirror, Morpheus8 is $835 per session or $2,499 for a series of three; Lumecca IPL starts at $200 for a spot treatment and $500 for the full face, with three-session packages; cortisone injections are $75 each; CoolPeel is priced by zone with three-session packages listed on its pricing page. Because most scar plans combine two treatments, total cost depends on scar type and area, and your provider puts the full number in writing at your complimentary consultation. Members save 3–5%, and Cherry financing is available.
