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.
Methods for improving the appearance of scars include: Topical treatments, such as vitamin E, cocoa butter cream, silicone gel,onion extract products, and several commercial skin care products like Vaseline and Aquaphor that are sold over the counter may be somewhat effective in helping to heal scars.
Petroleum jelly prevents the wound from drying out and forming a scab; wounds with scabs take longer to heal. This will also help prevent a scar from getting too large, deep or itchy.
Conclusions: This study shows that there is no benefit to the cosmetic outcome of scars by applying vitamin E after skin surgery and that the application of topical vitamin E may actually be detrimental to the cosmetic appearance of a scar.
While existing scars cannot be waved away via magic wand, you can speed up the fading process by regularly applying certain topical creams, lotions, and gels to them. Some common ingredients in these scar treatments include aloe vera, cocoa butter, Vitamin E, honey, and other hydrating materials.
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An environmental factor that clearly has an effect on the appearance on skin scarring is sunlight exposure. 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.
Coconut oil is also said to help boost collagen production. Not only could increasing collagen in the skin help with fine lines, it could also help minimize scarring by binding new skin tissue together.
In reality, hydrogen peroxide may actually increase scarring on the skin by interfering with the wound-healing process. It can also cause skin irritation and burns if used at too high of a concentration. It's best to stick with using hydrogen peroxide as a cleaning product for household surfaces.
Aquaphor helps heal wounds by preventing them from drying out and scabbing, minimizing healing time. It can also prevent extensive scarring when applied to a minor wound. If using Aquaphor for a wound on your face, be sure to also clean the wound daily.
Do POLYSPORIN® Topical Antibiotics help with scars? Yes, POLYSPORIN® Topical Antibiotics help keep wounds moist to minimize the look of scars. Learn how to care for wounds and protect against infection and scarring.
It can take up to 12-18 months after your injury or operation for a scar to heal. A normal scar will become darker initially and after a period of time this will start to fade. Dark scars can remain for years or indefinitely in people with darker skin.
There are many options to treat deeper scars depending on your particular case. These include skin grafts, excision, dermabrasion, or laser surgery. In a skin graft, the surgeon uses skin from another area of your body. This is often used with people who've had burns.
New scars are exceptionally vulnerable to hyperpigmentation from unprotected sun exposure. This has to do with the way the melanin in your skin responds to UV rays, which is usually to darken the natural pigment of the skin.
Bio-Oil helps to improve the appearance of new or old scars; whether from surgery, accidents, burns, insect bites, scratches or conditions such as acne or chickenpox. Although younger scars will have a greater chance of improvement, studies have shown that older scars also benefit from regular use of Bio-Oil.
Results: Aloe vera modulated the inflammation, increased wound contraction and epithelialization, decreased scar tissue size, and increased alignment and organization of the regenerated scar tissue.
Vitamin C has been shown to promote wound healing, also by contributing to collagen formation. Mild to moderate acne scars as well as surgical scars can benefit from a vitamin C application. As you can see, vitamin C is a multi-tasking workhorse that can protect, repair, and rejuvenate your skin.
Common over-the-counter (OTC) ointments, such as Neosporin, can be applied to the affected area. Apply only a thin layer of the ointment to your scab. OTC ointments or creams containing benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid contain antibacterial properties that can aid the healing process.
Using hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol to clean an injury can actually harm the tissue and delay healing. The best way to clean a minor wound is with cool running water and mild soap. Rinse the wound for at least five minutes to remove dirt, debris, and bacteria.
If used with topical acne medication like benzoyl peroxide, rubbing alcohol can irritate and dry your skin out even faster. Worse yet, it may even promote scarring.
She continued: "Ice can be really helpful by reducing the swelling, redness and calming the inflammation and that will reduce the risk of scarring and post-inflammatory colour change on the skin." Ice reduces blood circulation to the inflamed area and tightens the skin's pores.