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.
Scars will usually look worse before they look better, and the color will begin to fade once initial healing is complete. This process takes several months.
The scar will tend to remain red for 1-6 months afterwards. After that as the collagen, fibers and scar organizes and matures, the scar tends to contract down and flatten out. The color becomes less red and begins to take on the color and appearance of the surrounding tissue.
Most of the time, scar production peaks in thickness, lumpiness, swelling, redness and irregularity in 12 weeks (3 months) and has subsided by 6 months. Another 6 months or more of scar remodeling occurs to breakdown the thick, lumpy scar into a smooth, thin sheet or line scar we desire.
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.
Sun exposure can make a scar darker. Repeated exposure increases the risk of developing skin cancer. Keep up your nutrition: Having low levels of vitamin D or C in your system can make scarring worse and you need adequate high quality protein in your diet to help your skin make what is needed to heal.
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.
Scars can take up to 2 years to mature fully and go through stages of healing. This slow process may explain why some people do not experience scar tissue pain immediately. Initially, the scarring may look minimal, but the scar may get bigger over many weeks or become raised, firm, and thick.
Keloid Scars
In fact, long after the wound has healed, this type of scar continues to form more tissue, causing a growth above the skin. Some keloids continue to grow months or years after the original injury heals.
If you have a new scar, make sure to not neglect it during those fun summer events. Too much sun exposure can cause a scar to discolor and not change to a nice faded line. The scar can also become more thick and hard.
The skin edges touch, allowing fast healing of the area as skin cells from either side migrate across to the other side and seal the wound in about 24-48 hours. This relatively narrow area will become the scar tissue, but can stretch and widen or thicken over time due to many factors.
A scar may appear flat, lumpy, sunken, or colored. It may be painful or itchy. The final look of a scar depends on many factors, including the skin type and location on the body, the direction of the wound, the type of injury, age of the person with the scar, and his or her nutritional status.
The body sends oxygen-rich blood cells and collagen to the wound, which helps the body to form new skin. It may look red and raised at this stage. Maturation- Maturation is the stage of healing when a scar softens, flattens and fades. You'll notice your wound looking more like the skin that was once there.
"When scarring is seen as the result of a violent encounter, it signifies strength or bravery in a guy, or it could be due to an accident, and so evidence of a risk-taking personality. Either way, it's another way of assessing a man's masculinity," Burriss said.
The appearance of these scars is often worsened by the normal effects of aging. A number of options are available for the treatment of acne scarring, including chemical peeling, dermabrasion, ablative or nonablative laser resurfacing, dermal fillers, and surgical techniques such as subcision or punch excision.
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.
How does a scar mature? Immediately following wound healing, a scar is usually red in appearance and is referred to as an 'immature' scar. Between 3 months and 2 years the scar should become paler, flatter and softer and can then be referred to as a 'mature' scar.
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.
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.
Sun exposure not only affects a scar's appearance, but also how quickly your tissue heals. “After two or three months, the scar starts to look fairly normal, but if you get burned it can really throw the scar back into the first two stages of healing,” he says.
Excessive pulling or tension across a healing wound is increasingly implicated as a factor which may increase inflammation and scar formation. An environmental factor that clearly has an effect on the appearance on skin scarring is sunlight exposure.
The timing of silicone scar sheet use can affect its efficacy, but it is generally never too late to start using them. While the best results are often seen when treatment begins shortly after wound closure or the formation of a scar, established scars can also show improvement.
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.