Depending on the scar type, scars can take up to two years to fade naturally. After the two-year mark, it's unlikely your scar will fade anymore. Scarring is a natural part of the healing process following tissue damage. Most wounds cause the skin tissue to break, releasing collagen.
Hypertrophic scars occur when there is a lot of tension around a healing wound. These scars are thick and raised, and often red in color. They may remain like this for several years. Hypertrophic scars are the result of an imbalance in collagen at the site of the wound.
A scar may fade so much that you can barely see it, but it never completely goes away. Some scars cause problems months or years later. As nerve endings grow back, the scar may become painful or itchy. Skin cancer can develop in scars, especially in burn scars.
Scar Process
It will take six to 18 months for the scar to have its final appearance. Your scar should gradually soften and fade over these six to 18 months, but will look pink initially (photo B). Some scars never fade. If your scar stays pink after 12 to 18 months please call to discuss options.
Over the following 6-12 months, the scar will gradually become smoother, softer and paler. Although scars are permanent, they can fade over a period of up to two years. It's unlikely they'll fade anymore after this time. These changes vary from person to person.
Depending on the scar type, scars can take up to two years to fade naturally. After the two-year mark, it's unlikely your scar will fade anymore. Scarring is a natural part of the healing process following tissue damage. Most wounds cause the skin tissue to break, releasing collagen.
Keloid scars.
Instead of stopping when the skin is healed, the body keeps making collagen for months — or even years — after the injury, creating a raised scar. These types of scars can form anywhere but are most common on the abdomen, back, chest, ear, jaw, or shoulders.
Scars seem to get worse before they get better. For about six weeks after surgery the scar becomes red, firm and hard. This is the body's way of making a very strong and solid scar. Over the next four months the scar will soften and lose the redness.
Check if you have a keloid scar
You can get keloid scars on any part of the body, but they're most common on the chest, shoulders, chin, neck, lower legs and ears. A keloid scar usually grows for months or years and becomes bigger than the original wound. While it's growing, it may feel itchy or painful.
For best results, you should perform scar massage for at least 10 minutes, twice a day, for six months. You should only stop sooner than that if the scar starts showing signs of infection or you experience intolerable discomfort.
Mederma gel is designed to tackle a range of scar types including acne scars, burn scars, injury and surgical scars, old scars and more. It contains Cepalin® botanical extract, for old and new scars.
You cannot get rid of a scar, but most will fade over time. This can take up to 2 years or more, but there are some things you can do to help it heal or improve how it looks.
Cocoa butter cream and Vaseline are most often used to help reduce the appearance of scars. Applying the ointment daily will help heal scars but will not make them invisible. Another tip for caring for your scars includes surgery. Surgery will not eliminate the scar but can change its shape or make it less noticeable.
Vitamin E may be hailed as a new miracle regarding scar reduction and fading. However, the lack of clinical evidence suggests that using vitamin E for scars is ineffective and, thus, not necessary.
For some people, scar tissue may cause pain, tightness, itching, or difficulty moving. Due to how scar tissue matures, these symptoms may occur years after an injury. Helping scar tissue mature and heal at home may improve these symptoms.
Although old scars have already healed, avoid scratching them. The area remains sensitive to any irritation despite new tissues developing and hardening over time. Scratching a spot may erode these skin cells leaving your skin exposed to new infections from dirt and bacteria.
Keloid removal may range from a few hundred dollars up to $3,500, depending on how big the scar is, where the scar is, and how complex the procedure is. This cost may also include any additional treatment after the keloid removal procedure, such as steroids.
Results: Scar redness faded at an average of 7 months. Scar redness for incisions faded significantly faster than excisions (p = 0.0001, Kruskal-Wallis test), and significant differences were also seen between anteriorly and posteriorly placed scars for incisions (p = 0.0008) and excisions (p = 0.0035), respectively.
Hypertrophic scars that result from burn wounds are more difficult to treat. Superficial burn wounds usually heal without forming hypertrophic scars. Deep burn wounds are harder to treat. Many dermatologic and plastic surgeons treat these by removing the burned area and then using a skin graft.
As time passes, the scar turns a purple-y red (yes, I know these are technical terms). Then a dull darker purple red. And then they finally fade. This process varies from person to person, but usually takes about a year to finally fade.
Keloid Scars
Some keloids continue to grow months or years after the original injury heals. A true Keloid scar extends beyond the area of insult where a hypertrophic scar is increased scar tissue that stays within the borders of the original injury. Scientists aren't sure why some scars develop in this way.
Atrophic scars are the opposite of hypertrophic scars. They are depressed, sunken and often have a pitted appearance.