Helping Scars To Heal

Some of you may have seen my post about using makeup to cover scars.

In this thread I would like to compare tips and tricks on ways to help scars heal better.

The best thing, I've found, is that you need to keep the area clean as it heals. Dirt trapped in the skin as it heals seems to prolong the healing and also risks infection (thus making the scarring worse).

Also, try to irritate the skin as little as possible, don't pick at it, be careful not to catch it and cause further damage and also avoid abrasive clothing items that will rub away at the area.

Finally, invest in a product specifically designed to treat scar tissue. I use Bio-Oil and is has helped me immensely in making my scars fade.

Does anyone have any other/different tips?

Home made solutions perhaps?

Definitely open to new ideas!

A cut with a bandage over it has been proven to heal faster than without and I always use an antibiotic ointment... And then Scar Zone to reduce the scarring and avove all.. Keep the scar out of direct sun light!

Yes, the bandaid works great on a pimple, worth looking ridiculous at night. Lavender essential oil is my favorite anti pimple remedy, it's the most gentle product i've found.

What you can also do, preferably at night time, is cute a slice or a square of fresh lemon (or just use lemon juice on a cotton pad) and apply it on the areas you have scars, it helps fading them. I can't stand fruit acids in a serum but my skin has no problem with this trick.

My father likes using an antibiotic cream called aureomycine, i personally don't like it, it's too greasy for me.

Sunscreen i think also makes a big difference, the skin is irritated enough without being attacked by sunrays.

I have surgical scars from a car crash about a couple of years ago, and I wish people gave me tips at the hospital. I've been reluctant to keep doing this, but I heard from some other patients at PT that opening Vitamin E capsules and spreading the oil on scars twice or even three times a day eventually makes them disappear.

Without question, use Mederma! It actually takes about 6 months to one year to really work but if you use it as instructed you will see great results.

My son split his head open in a football game and had to go to a plastic surgeon to reconstruct his forehead. The scar was huge and just horrible. (It looked kind of like a Zorro mark right in the middle of his forehead!)

She recommended he use Mederma faithfully for one year and now the scar is barely visible.

Originally Posted by creolesugar /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have surgical scars from a car crash about a couple of years ago, and I wish people gave me tips at the hospital. I've been reluctant to keep doing this, but I heard from some other patients at PT that opening Vitamin E capsules and spreading the oil on scars twice or even three times a day eventually makes them disappear. Yeah that's what the Bio-Oil is for, concentrated vitamin E. It's helped somewhat with my own scars but they're only faded. I think it's the best I'm ever going to manager really as some of them are quite deep.
magosienne, I'm liking this lemon juice idea. I may try that one out!

=]

Lemon juice is real good at fading stuff. Honey helps scars heal too.

Honey? How does honey help exactly? That's really interesting!

Originally Posted by Ssue /img/forum/go_quote.gif Without question, use Mederma! It actually takes about 6 months to one year to really work but if you use it as instructed you will see great results.
My son split his head open in a football game and had to go to a plastic surgeon to reconstruct his forehead. The scar was huge and just horrible. (It looked kind of like a Zorro mark right in the middle of his forehead!)

She recommended he use Mederma faithfully for one year and now the scar is barely visible.

I've had a million scars--lots of surgery in my past.
Anyway, a scar takes about a year to mature. And Mederma does not work, nor vitamin E. If there are "better" results than doing nothing, it is pretty much attributed to the massaging of the area when putting those products on. So, a regular massage with cheap lotion is pretty much going to give the same result.

Silicone gel sheeting has been proven to work well, especially on new scars. Steroid injections help to flatten and break up hard, ropey scar tissue (worked for me, but painful for the moment that its being done). And last but not least, lasers are awesome. I'm about to have laser treatment on my 6 month old 16-18 inch scar on my lower back... can't wait! That scar is annoying the hell out of me--somewhat painful and itchy, so I can't wait for it to lose its color and stop being a royal annoyance.

I've been using Carol's Daughter Scar Butter on a really nasty one I got this summer and it worked after using it consistently (2 or 3xs a day) for a month. It has alot of different natural ingredients to help with healing.