Medicated Creams or Gels
Over-the-counter skin medications such as creams or gels can help. If your scar is itchy or sensitive, antihistamine cream may stop the itch while helping your scar heal. Corticosteroid cream can help prevent scarring and has been shown to reduce the appearance of scars over time.
Massaging with vitamin E oils could help reduce collagen build-up, which can help flatten out raised scars. Try massaging for four to five minutes, three or four times a day and see if it works for you.
Collagen Production: Vitamin C is known to stimulate collagen synthesis, which can help improve the texture and appearance of scars. Brightening: It helps to lighten hyperpigmentation and even out skin tone, making scars less noticeable.
Use silicone products
Silicone products, such as silicone sheets and gels, can keep your scar moisturized and help it heal. You can use them under your makeup and clothing.
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.
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.
Or your healthcare provider may recommend applying corticosteroid cream or a silicone gel sheet to the area. If you have dark skin, ask your provider about using a skin-lightening cream with hydroquinone to lighten scars.
Cho et al. reported that patients with vitamin D deficiency had increased scar pigmentation, decreased epidermal barrier function in scar tissue, and lower scar elasticity and greater scar rigidity compared to non-deficient burn patients.
DO NOT EVER PICK OFF A SCAB. This will cause a scar by further traumatizing the fragile wound. 1. Continue applying Vaseline or Aquaphor for 2-3 weeks after suture removal.
You cannot get rid of a scar, but most scars fade over time without any treatment.
“Scarring is a natural part of our body's healing process. There are some people that are predisposed to forming thicker scars based on genetics, immune status, medications, and other factors.”
Massage is a way of softening and flattening scars and reducing the adhesions between the different layers of the tissue, making the scar tissue more flexible.
After a scar is first formed, the body continues to touch up its work where it can - which is why scars fade slightly over the years when left alone. But scar tissue does not get replaced by this process2, which means that most scars, when left to heal naturally, will never fully disappear.
Wounds heal faster if they are kept warm. Try to be quick when changing dressings. Exposing a wound to the open air can drop its temperature and may slow healing for a few hours. Don't use antiseptic creams, washes or sprays on a chronic wound.
They're often thick and raised and are the result of too much collagen being made in response to an injury, as opposed to not enough. Vitamin C has only been shown to be successful at helping reduce the appearance of hypertrophic scars because of its ability to regulate collagen production.
Vitamin Deficiency
Vitamin C is an antioxidant and boosts healing. It is also needed for the body to make Collagen (protein that forms scar tissue) eat high C foods such as broccoli, tomatoes, cabbage and oranges. Foods rich in Vitamin D improve your immune system and help stave off infections.
The healing properties of vitamin E, stemming from its organic compounds, can improve the body's overall ability to heal. That said, there is no evidence to support that it can heal scars specifically.
Caring for Scars
While every injury to the dermis leaves a scar, and there is no way to fully remove them, there are ways to minimize them. According to Dr. Dolen, “Skin responds best when treatments are done immediately after the wound has healed, rather than months or years after the injury.”
Use Vaseline® Jelly for Scars
By sealing in moisture it also helps to reduce dryness of scarred skin, once your skin has healed. This may help to improve the appearance of scars, making the skin look smoother and softer, as well as help to reduce itchiness caused by dryness.
Scars can be more sensitive to ultraviolet light for more than a year. An inability to respond to 'photodamage' may lead to worsening inflammation and altered pigmentation. The latter phenomenon may make a scar more conspicuous relative to its surroundings.