Scars are a reminder of different experiences in your life. They could be a souvenir from your childhood or a love mark after giving birth. There are times when you don’t mind that they’re visible, but more often than not, you find yourself hiding them under your clothes. If this is the case, you might want to know more about them to make them less visible.
Before you try any home remedy or start hopping from one derma to the next, let us give you a primer on scars:
1. Scar formation is the body's way of healing itself.
Your body starts producing new collagen after a surgery incision, a wound, some acne, or a burn, which are the usual causes of scars. Collagen mends the damage to your skin and eventually becomes scar tissue.
2. Scars usually stand out from your skin because of the lack of melanin.
Melanin is the pigment that produces your skin tone. Its absence during scar formation (and the increased circulation or blood flow to the area, which is a normal response of the body when you get wounds) makes any kind of scar appear red or purplish at first. It may turn lighter or darker brown over time, but never the exact same shade as your skin tone.
3. The scar's appearance is greatly affected by where it is.
When you get scars on areas that you usually move, stretch, or extend (like your knees and elbows) or to body parts with taut skin (like your cheeks or your abdomen), the scars will be bigger and more visible.
4. Seemingly harmless things can make them worse.
Sun exposure, harsh soaps, and scratching—these can all irritate scars and make them darker or more prominent.
5. You can improve scar appearance.
Try a silicone-based solution before you opt for more expensive and invasive procedures to make it fade. Studies show that silicone reduces scar thickness and color by hydrating the scarred area, sealing it off from infection, and preventing further collagen formation, the root of scar formation.
Clearascar contains 100% silicone and is clinically proven to improve the appearance of scars in as little as eight weeks. You can apply it after the cut, wound, or burn has healed.
Clearascar is available in leading drugstores nationwide at P399 (6g tube) and P724.95 (15g tube).