To be successful in life, one needs a sound mind a sound body. The importance of beauty is often underestimated by the ever so famous morals like beauty is only skin deep, but this is not actually true. Your beauty and the way you look adds to your overall personality a great deal and to be successful one useful ingredient is to look good.
What better way would there be to look good than start caring for your skin as it is what totally conforms and without the shadow of a doubt it is the largest organ of the body. Our skin is totally seamless, just like a flat piece of clothing and whenever something unpleasant happens to it, it hampers our overall appearance.
Scar marks are examples of those unpleasant appearances on the skin. Just like you can deform a piece of cloth by tearing it into different small pieces, any injury, trauma, burn or even a surgery can cause scar formation on the skin.
A scar can be benign to you if its small or it is somewhere on your body that it can be hidden through your clothing. But if it’s not concealable then you start wondering of ways to conceal it other than your clothing. You make attempts to change its appearance and somehow make it less obvious.
Let’s discuss in detail everything about scars and the different ways to get rid of them.
How does scarring happen?
Scar formation is a natural phenomenon. Whenever there is a breach in the continuity of the skin as a result of some injury, acne or anything that deforms the skin, the body deals with it by the help of its repair process. The whole building framework of the skin is laid together and the skin tissue is put together.
Scarring is an exaggerated response of the skin to injury and it leads to excess deposition of fibrin into the rebuilding material of the skin causing it to have an abnormal appearance. It is also often at times pigmented. There is a genetic predisposition in some people to develop scar tissue and there are some places on the body where scars form, preferably for instance, the shoulder.
What are the Different Types of Scars:
There are different types of scars.
1. Keloid scars:
These scars result as an aggressive and exaggerated attempt of skin to heal and regenerate. These scars overgrow the area of the injury. Over the passage of time, keloid scars tend to produce difficulty in movement of the adjacent body parts. The treatment options are surgical removal of the scar, administration of steroid injections and the use of silicone sheets that help flatten them out. Keloid scars that are small in size can be treated with cryotherapy. Keloid formation can be prevented by applying pressure or gel pads to the healing wound site when the injury is endured. These scars are most common in people who have darker skin complexions.
2. Contracture Scars:
These scars occur as a result of burns to the skin. The healing tissue gets contracted because the activity of the Myoepithelial cells. These scars hamper the movements of the adjoining skin parts as well. Sometimes these scars may go deeper beyond the skin to involve muscles and nerves as well.
3. Hypertrophic scars:
Hypertrophic scars are similar to keloids in some respect but they differ from them as they don’t go beyond the margin of the injury. They are raised and reddish in color. The treatment options are administration of steroid injections and the use of silicone sheets that flatten the scar tissue.
4. Acne scars:
Acne scars occur in people who have severe acne. Acne scars have a variety of shapes for instance, deep pitted scars and scars that have an angular and wavelike pattern of appearance. The treatment option for these scars depends on what type of acne scars you have.
Home remedies to get rid of scars:
Following are a few home remedies that may help with scars.
1. Use cucumber Paste:
Cucumbers have a great water content and are known to give the skin a softer and more hydrated feel. These pastes are available as various commercial preparations from retailers. You may also make your own organic cucumber paste at home. There’s lots of information available. Having used cucumber paste, you’ll be able to feel a considerable difference in your scars.
2. Use lemon juice:
Lemon juice is rich in alpha hydroxyl acids that have a rejuvenating action on the skin, helping you get rid of the old skin and replacing it with new skin cells. It helps reconstruct the normal appearance of the skin. It also helps in regeneration of skin and it has a certain bleaching action that aids the lightening of scars.
Use a sterile cotton piece, dip it in lemon juice and apply it to your face. It is to be made sure that the scar containing skin region is covered with the cotton. After 10 minutes of application, wash the face with tap water. If the skin becomes sensitive and painful to the use of lemon juice, it would be wise to avoid it for a few days.
3. Honey:
Raw honey has a role of lightening up the scars and it also helps in the regeneration of skin cells. Best results are obtained by mixing honey with baking soda. Use a warm wash cloth to apply the mixture as it will aid the deeper penetration. If you want to make a face mask, you can double the amount of baking soda that you used previously.
4. Turmeric, yogurt and lemon juice:
This is a very effective home remedy and requires the formation of a paste. All you have to do is take a few drops of lemon juice, half a table spoon of turmeric and one table spoon of yogurt. Mix it and apply on the scarred area. Wash your face with water after a few minutes. You will feel a considerable difference only within a few days.
5. Onion juice:
Onion juice has great anti-inflammatory effects, it seems to promote the collagen production in the skin and it acts as a filling agent. Due to its skin care benefits, many people have made commercial preparations of onion gels that seem to have considerable impact on the appearance of scars. Although very efficient, this treatment option does take its time and you need to be patient with this remedy.
6. Aloe Vera Gel:
Aloe Vera has long been known to be a useful herb. It has remarkable skin regenerating effects. It also has a calming and soothing action on the skin when used topically as it reduces the inflammation. Although available in various preparations such as gels and various ointments, it would be best to use it in its natural and unprocessed state. Be sure to use the gel at least a couple of times a day.
7. Olive oil:
Olive oil finds its use almost everywhere in our health industry. It is quite frequently used as a food item as well. It serves as an excellent scar remedy as it has high acidity and several antioxidant components. It also has a fair share of vitamins like vitamin K and vitamin E. These vitamins have a rejuvenating effect on the skin and are good for skin regeneration.
Possible options for Scars treatment:
Following are the treatment options for scars.
1. Use of over the counter drugs:
Over the counter drugs are effective against scars produced by cuts or other injuries and wounds. If you are already consulting a plastic surgeon, and your scars are caused by plastic surgery or any such operative procedure, it would be best to consult your surgeon for the use of over the counter drugs. If not, there are certain prescriptions that may help the issue. Over the counter drugs include prescription creams, ointments or gels. Often the scars that are attributed to allergies may include in their treatment regimens steroids or certain antihistamines. These additions may cause itching and at times are quite sensitive. In case you are experiencing acne related scars, it would be wise to consult your dermatologist. Doctors can also help and recommend preventative measures against scars such as pressure application and silicone gel sheeting.
2. Surgical removal or treatment:
For deeper scars there are plenty of options available and each treatment option depends on the individual case. These options include, the placement of skin grafts, dermabrasion or to opt for the most advanced option of laser surgery. In skin grafting surgeons most often take the skin from a different part of the body and implant it to the wound site. It is often considered for people who have suffered from burns. In case your scars impair your body’s functional ability, surgery can help alleviate that disability. If you’ve undergone recent surgery then it is wise to wait for at least a year before you consider treatment for that surgery related scar. Scar may fade over time and also become less visible to the onlookers.
3. Injections:
If you have scars that stick out, for instance keloid scars or hypertrophic scars, then it would be worth considering to go for steroid injections. It may be used as a single treatment or in combination with many other treatment options.
For pitted scars, other options like the use of fillers and collagen may help the cause but these treatment options are not permanent.
Professional Treatment options for Scars:
1. Laser treatment:
It is one of the most advanced treatment cares these days. It delivers a high energy beam to the skin that has the effect of reducing skin pigmentation, reducing blemishes and removing scars from the face. When going for this treatment option, be sure that your therapist is an experience one.
2. Surgical Revision of Scars:
Surgical scar revision is an effective way of scar treatment. It involves the surgical removal of the scars and re-approximation of the adjacent skin areas with the use of absorbable suture materials.
3. Dermabrasion:
Dermabrasion is used for scars that arise due to the rough and uneven nature of the skin. This treatment option is used to give the skin a smooth and gentle feel to touch.
How to prevent Scarring:
If you have sustained a skin injury, then you are liable to suffer from a skin scar. Here are a few steps that can help prevent scar formation following a skin breach.
1. Avoid interfering with the natural process of skin healing:
You should avoid the use of any chemicals and substances like Vitamin E to an open wound as they may impede the healing process. Try minimizing the movement around the skin injury and reduce any pull or tension on that skin.
2. Cover the injury:
It is necessary to not let the cut or injury dry out. Prevent formation of scab over it and keep it covered and moist with petroleum gel. Apply the cover for a week or so. After you remove the bandage, try keeping the wound moist by applying an ointment till the skin regeneration starts again.
3. Place some pressure on the injury site:
Placing some pressure on the site of injury effectively prevents the scar from sticking out. There are special pads designed that apply pressure on the skin areas while they heal. Silicone gel sheets are an effective way of maintaining pressure on the affected skin region.
4. Massage:
Massaging is an effective way of prevent the collagen overgrowth. After your wound has closed, it would be good to massage it with a lotion or vitamin E for a few seconds a couple of times a day as it will effectively break off the excessive linkages between the collagen fibers in the healing wound. You may also opt for Dimethyl sulphoxide as it is a prevent chemical to aid the process of wound healing and skin regeneration.
So if you have scars and they are a constant source of worry for you, adopting the above mentioned treatments and preventative options, you can very well get rid of these unsightly appearances.
