Scars can be really embarrassing, especially if they appear in areas you can’t hide. Going out, you feel consistently self-conscious. This is when a scar removal cream becomes inevitable.
The truth is very few of these ‘miracle’ remedies actually remove scars and it’s important you know the ones that work. This is especially true if you are about to buy a scar removal cream.
Moreover, it’s important to note that some scars won’t go away completely. All your treatment will do is reduce the size and camouflage its appearance to make it less visible.
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Understanding Scars
Scars occur when the skin is injured and the collagen fiber attempts to regrow as a result. That is, the skin is trying to repair itself. There’s usually a slight discoloration as a result and sometimes the scar appears depressed or slightly raised. Scars may look white or red, based on your type of skin. Other times, they appear shiny and flat.
Either way, how fast they disappear depends on how deep the scar goes. Most scars naturally fade as time goes by. However, some will need treatment to become less visible.
If your scar is very deep or visibly raised, your doctor may suggest surgically removing it. Surgery includes dermabrasion, excision, skin grafts or laser surgery. If your scar is as a result of a burn, the surgeon may remove skin from an area that isn’t visible and place it over the burn.
Different Ways of Removing Scars
If your scar is as a result of a surgery, it is best that you wait to heal first. Even if you must use any scar-removal treatment, wait a while. It is advised you wait to heal completely before you start any treatment to remove it. But more times than not, the natural process of healing will cause most of the scar to fade.
Injections are often used to depress scar raised from the skin. Keloids and hypertrophic types of scars are usually treated this way because of their size.
Collagen injections are often used for certain pitted scars even though their results aren’t permanent.
Better Ways of Scar Removal
The most common forms of treating scars are, however, over the counter creams and gels. These products are effective for treating scars caused by injuries, wounds, cuts and breakouts. Like we have already been pointed out, scars due to surgery can easily fade if you give it time to heal.
Treatments started too early when proper healing hasn’t taken place can often lead to itching and other irritating conditions.
Scars from acne can also be treated with scar removal cream. If the scarring is severe, you may consider using a removal cream with silicone.
Types of Scars
Scars differ. So it’s important you know which type you have, so that you find the right cream to treat it.
Acne Scars
If you’ve ever had a huge breakout of any kind, you’re likely to have scars. Acne scars can appear as deep ridges or lines. Sometimes they may appear wavy or with angles. Treating these acne scars depends on which one you have.
Keloid Scars
Keloids are growths on skin due to over-working to heal. This causes the skin to grow beyond the injury itself. Surgery, silicone and steroid treatments are common ways to treat large keloid scars. Smaller ones are treated by cryotherapy.
Dark skinned people have a higher tendency to have a keloid scar.
Hypertrophic Scars
They are raised scars. Similar in appearance to keloids, they don’t grow beyond the skin. They also appear quite different and have a red-like appearance.
Contracture Scars
Contracture scars result from burning. They can go deep into the skin and affect nerves and muscles.
Ingredients to Look Out for When Choosing Your Scar Removal Cream
As we have already mentioned, not all scar removal creams actually do the job. This is due to the fact that few ingredients have the capability to actually reduce the appearance of scars.
The likely ingredients you will find in the scar removal cream that works effectively are silicone, vitamin E and allantoin, among others. Allatoin works to make the skin soft. These ingredients reduce the visibility of scars.
They also moisturize and smoothen the problem area, reducing the visibility of redness and fading the scar.
With the right scar removal cream treatment, you can get the skin you want. But note that you may not completely get rid of them.
These ingredients mentioned below can help shrink the size of your scar and make it less visible. Watch out for them when buying your scar removal cream.
Silicone
You guessed right if you thought silicone would be on the list. Already mentioned earlier as a treatment, silicone is effective for so many types for scars.
What this ‘miracle treatment’ does is fluff up your skin to enhance the healing process. This method works so that the skin ‘swallows up’ the scarring, leaving only the new skin. It is particularly effective against fresh scars.
Silicone has been noted for it’s double effectiveness as an anti-wrinkle and anti-ageing agent.
Silicone as a scar treatment has been used for generations by hospitals and surgeons to effectively treat scars and burns.
Scar Treatment Using Silicone Works in Four Different Ways
i. It helps to hydrate skin and keep it supple.
ii. It does not let the area get infected, thereby prolonging its healing.
iii. Helps skin produce collagen to improve its health and appearance.
iv. It stops itching and other irritation caused by burning or scarring, thereby soothing the skin.
Honey
It has been discovered that honey is effective for so many home remedies. It has also been known to reduce the appearance of scars on skin.
Honey naturally fights inflammation and kills bacteria in wounds. These bacteria are what promote the appearance of scars on skin.
If you decide to use honey as part of your treatment in removing scars, you will need some information to guide you.
First of all, know that even though honey has antibacterial properties, it is not the type of anti-bacteria your skin needs. There’s ample evidence to show that honey fights bacteria. Nevertheless, science has not been able to prove that it effectively removes acne.
However, it is safe to assume that its antibacterial properties will fight the conditions that make the skin conducive for breakouts.
For effectiveness, make sure the honey you use is raw. The brands you choose from the shelves usually have some form of treatment. Any honey that’s been ‘touched’ does not have the same effect on acne anymore.
This is because the properties that fight bacteria and inflammation have been removed during the process of treatment. Look out for honey that’s raw, pure and unheated.
If you can find a product that came straight from hives, that’s all the better.
The Best Way to Use Honey
Use your honey product by pasting on your face. Then wash it off after some minutes, preferably after 20-25 minutes.
Honey is known to be really great for getting rid of pimples. Its ability to calm the osmotic action on skin reduces inflammation and draws away the fluid. This makes the pimple less glaring.
The thing to note in using honey is that it will always leave a sticky feel on your face. This routine must therefore be followed by a thorough deep cleansing to get rid of the residue.
When all has been said, research on honey being effective against scar isn’t established. What is certain is that it will soothe the irritation and encourage healing. It will also help get rid of pigmentation issues some people experience as a result of acne breakout.
This helps however because if it stops further breakout of acne or pimples, it has indirectly stopped scarring from occurring.
Check out these interesting skin care product reviews/articles:
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What Is the Best Body Wash for Dry Skin – Extensive Answer
Vitamin E
For millennia, Vitamin E has been known and used as a solution to skin problems. Researchers today however claim not to have any real evidence that it helps reduce scars. Using Vitamin E is worth a try but make sure you test it to make sure there’s no negative reaction.
One thing that’s certain about Vitamin E is its strong moisturizing properties. It keeps skin supple and healthy-looking, and this can easily reduce the appearance of scars.
Retinol
Retinol has been proven to take care of several skin problems all at once. Its ability to speed up the process of skin cell renewal ensures most minor scars are healed immediately.
Therefore if you have a breakout or recently ended one, retinol will really help to ensure there’s no left-behind marks on your skin. Its ability to heal old scars has however not been ascertained.
Salicylic Acid
This chemical increases the skin’s ability to heal itself. It dries any blemishes left behind thereby making it less visible in appearance. It also reduces the potential of a blemish causing damage to the skin.
Salicylic acid has the tendency to cause dry skin. Therefore, it should be used with a good moisturizer like olive oil. Olive oil improves skin’s elasticity and helps its appearance as it heals.
When treating skin against scarring, ensure you use sunscreen and stay out of the sun as often as you can. The effect of the sun on scars is that it can adversely affect skin repair and make scarring permanent.
Hyaluronic acid
This chemical fills the pores and evens out skin color and texture, leading to reduction of the visibility of scars. Used once daily, this ingredient will effectively improve skin appearance. Hyaluronic acid has been proven to work on both new and old scars.
Co-enzyme Q10 (Ubiquinone)
Ubiquinone is fairly common when it comes to skincare products. Known as Q10, ubiquinone works as an antioxidant which helps the body produce healthy cells.
As we age, the production of Q10 is reduced. This naturally leads to ageing and the skin’s inability to hide scars. The skin ends up looking damaged.
Manufacturers have however found a way to produce this key ingredient so that it can be used topically as a cream. A lot of anti-ageing and scar removal creams contain this ingredient because it has been proven to work effectively.
Buying a scar removal cream that contains Q10 would be a smart decision because of its ability to reverse the skin’s natural tendency to line.
Therefore, whenever lines appear on skin as a result of scarring, Q10 fights it by improving how the skin looks.
While this great ingredient reverses the appearance of scars, it also fights wrinkles. Sun damage, genes, lack of proper hydration can all lead to wrinkles.
Q10 also rejuvenates the skin. It reverses the skin’s natural tendency to sag.
Moreover, applying Q10 on your skin on a daily basis helps ensure the production of collagen and elastin, thereby keeping skin firm, supple and able to reverse the effects of scarring.
Phytosterols
These sterols are plant-produced so the human body does not have the ability to produce them.
Buying a scar removal cream with phytosterols can do a number of different things to your skin. Its anti-inflammatory properties are based on it having antipyretic properties and aspirin. These two properties were the basis of the development of beta sitosterol, an ointment used to treat burns.
Beta sitosterol is active as an ingredient that helps enhance healing, prevents growth of bacteria and removes scars.
This is not all. Beta sitosterol’s ability to restore the skin’s natural barrier has had the effect of greatly reducing the appearance of scars on its surface. With this ingredient, scars have been seen to improve in a very short period of time, sometimes in as little as one month.
Quercetin
This ingredient is known for its ability to reverse inflammation and stop the appearance of scars.
Research has shown that wounds treated immediately with only quercetin healed significantly faster and left little scarring.
It is also known to flatten and thin keloids and other scars that are difficult to treat.
Niacinamide (Vitamin B3)
Another ingredient that is recommended for you is niacinamide or Vitamin B3. It is known for its ability to restore the skin’s natural beauty and health. It is also known for reversing signs of aging and for restoring any damage on skin.
Not only good for reducing the visibility of scars, niacinamide evens out skin tone, removes lines and brightens dull skin.
It has also been noted that it doesn’t change composition around light or heat. This means that external conditions won’t reduce its effectiveness.
D-panthenol
This is a chemical compound also known as vitamin B5 because of their similar nature. Panthenol is easy to absorb into the skin. It is now famous for several benefits to the skin.
Also, it enhances the process of healing to the skin, restores lost moisture, stops inflammation and itching, smoothens skin surface and keeps skin elastic.
Moreover, D-panthenol is practically a wonder ingredient with multiple functions which include speeding up metabolism in the body, production of steroids and production of Vitamin B5.
This is not all. D-Panthenol enhances healing of wounds and its great moisturizing ability ensures that as the wound heals, it leaves little or no scarring.
This ingredient is good for treating scars, burns and transplantation. Skin that heals while using D-Panthenol is smoother, softer and suppler. It is believed that this is because D- Panthenol has the ability to restructure the skin matrix and cause the production of certain key cells.
Finally, you should know that this ingredient is an all-rounder for every skin need. It hydrates the skin, reverses signs of ageing by removing those lines and wrinkles and generally rejuvenates the skin. Effects of this ‘wonder’ ingredient can be seen from as soon as 2 weeks of consistent use.
Tips on Using Your Scar Removal Cream
Below are a few tips for making your cream more effective…
i. Choose your scar removal cream based on the severity of your scar. Most over the counter creams are effective.
ii. Use your scar removal cream on the area several times a day.
iii. Keep scar out of direct sunshine. The rays of the sun can make scars permanent.
iv. Massage your scar removal cream thoroughly into the skin. This helps soften scar tissue thereby flattening them.
v. Ensure you use an effective moisturizer on your skin. Dry skin tends to itch and will further irritate scar area.
Remember to treat your scar right and pretty soon, it will be a thing of the past.
