Like anything else in life, prevention is key to scar healing. Your skin is a delicate organ that needs daily attention. From scarred areas to smooth skin, there’s no denying the benefit of good skin care. It starts with prevention, and that’s a two-pronged approach: preventing the injury that led to the scar initially, and then taking steps to ensure the injury heals optimally to reduce the appearance of a resulting scar.
From silicone gel and massage to laser treatments and surgery, many treatments are out there that can fade anything from C-section scars to acne and burn scars. Follow these tips on preventing and treating scars.
Prevent Scar Formation
Not all injuries will scar, but that takes dedication and attention on your part. Other times, no matter how well you treat the injury, a scar of some kind will be inevitable. The question is: how noticeable will it be? Many factors will prevent your wounds from healing properly, including:
- Necrosis – Dead skin as well as foreign materials will hamper the healing process.
- Hemorrhage – Persistent bleeding won’t allow the wound to close up.
- Infection – Open wounds are susceptible to bacterial infections; this makes your body focus on staving off the infection rather than healing it.
- Age – Wounds take longer time to heal in older adults.
- Diet – A poor diet leads to a deficiency in healing nutrients like protein, zinc, and vitamin C.
- Medical conditions – Many conditions can restrict blood flow, such as anemia, diabetes, and vascular disease; this in turn lowers the immune system.
- Medicines – Many drugs out there can interfere with the healing process.
- Varicose veins – These result in the repetition of ulcerations and skin breaks.
- Smoking – Tobacco use slows down the healing process, which in turn increases complication risks.
- Sun: Apply SPF every time you go out into the sun, especially on scarred areas.
- Dryness – When exposed to the air, open wounds don’t heal as well as moist environments.
- Failure to use Scarfade and massage: Applying silicone gel coupled with gentle massage twice a day is the optimal way to help a scar heal and then fade.
Common Treatments
Topical gels and ointments are the least-invasive forms of scar treatment. Let’s take Scarfade, for example, which is an OTC, easily-accessible option that can be safely used for all ages. Just massage it on the area in question two times a day, and you will soon see noticeable fading in a matter of weeks. This is your least costly option for fading scars.
Mid-range cost options for scar healing include:
- Pressure treatment to bridge the gap between scar tissue and healthy skin; this compresses small blood vessels under the scar.
- Dressings and sheets can be put on the healing skin that can soften and flatten it, while also providing relief from itching and discomfort.
- Steroids can decrease redness, burning, and itching (injected into the scar tissue)
More invasive options that should be attempted as a last resort include:
- Skin grafting: This procedure places aportion of healthy skin taken from one area of your body to the area that is scarred.
- Laser surgery: This reduces the appearance of scars many years after the scar has formed.
- Cryotherapy: This approach freezes the scar via nitrogen vapor.
When healing a scar, go from the least invasive options for your mild and moderate scars first, then move up the ladder if those don’t work. The good news is that silicone scar gels such as Scarfade are enough to minimize scar appearance. Try some of our proven products today!