Reducing the appearance of scars

Hakkekage

Last summer I was a moron and scraped the hell out of my chest while swimming underwater (hard to do, I know, but god does it suck), leaving me with some fancy scars there. Of course, I'm none too happy with them, and would like to find ways to get them to lighten up. I've tried Vitamin E cream, but it only works pretty minimally. There are two kinds of scars I'd like to reduce; the shiny-ish kinds, and the dark blemish sort.

Your advice is appreciated

Zombot

Stores carry these scar treatment pads that work wonders.
They take a while to fully work but I know from first hand experience they work.
The pads should be in the health and beauty aisle of various stores like Wal-Mart and Target.
The ones I used were about $15 but they were well worth the money.

EDIT: These were the ones I used.
http://www.band-aid.com/scar_healing_faq.shtml

Feral

Mederma. It's expensive, and it takes a long time, but it works.

Resonant

I myself have a scar on my right ring finger in the shape of a V. It happened when I was cleaning this huge glass aquarium and it shattered.

I'd speak to a dermatologist if none of the other solutions work. He'd probably be able to do wonders.

If you don't mind me asking, why do you not want these? Are they that bad? I'm curious.

(pix plz lolol)

Thanatos

Yeah, they sell anti-scar cream at any pharmacy that I've heard works pretty well.

DarkPrimus

God, I'd try out those Band-Aid scar things, but I'd probably have to use like a whole box a day.

rockmonkey

You don't need to get rid of the scars, you just need to get a good story to go with them. Are they cool looking scars? or just totally fagging up your chest?
Scars are pretty cool sometimes, just tell the ladies some guyS picked a fight with your friend in a bar and you jumped in to even the odds and one jabbed a broken bottle across your chest.

I've had some good experiences with those types of advanced healing band-aids too.

Hakkekage

They suck because it makes wearing a dress very difficult to pull off without looking like I had a bout of herpes on my chest.

Also no pics. Boobs lol.

That bandaid stuff looks great, but wearing it 23 hours a day would be tough to pull off. I think I will go for the creams again. Mederna, you say?

Disturbed_1

Vitiman c therapy

meatflower

rockmonkey wrote: »

You don't need to get rid of the scars, you just need to get a good story to go with them. Are they cool looking scars? or just totally fagging up your chest?

:^: to the good story

I was at a concert a few weeks ago and took a nasty fall into the bleachers. I had a huge gash across my nose and a lot of bruising on the side of my face, looked like I had gotten into a fight. Still, it was a cool concert and Kanye West showed up enexpectadly.

Later that night at a party a few of my friends who were at the concert said that I had charged Kanye West's Escalade while he was making his exit and got taken down by one of his body guards. Ever since then, that story has been circulating, and now people who I'm just being introduced to for the first time know me as "that guy who charged the Escalade". One person remarked that it was the greatest story he had ever heard.

So yeah, get a cool story. I'd vote for shark attack.

My own scar didn't turn out that bad, it's barely visible. I'm owing that to keeping the wound clean during the healing process.

I had a worse cut on my finger from chopping onions once though, which scarred terribly. I used a generic scar healing pad from Rite Aid and now I can barely see the scar. In your case though you might want to go with the creams, since there are multiple scars.

Feral

Hakkekage wrote: »

They suck because it makes wearing a dress very difficult to pull off without looking like I had a bout of herpes on my chest.

Also no pics. Boobs lol.

That bandaid stuff looks great, but wearing it 23 hours a day would be tough to pull off. I think I will go for the creams again. Mederna, you say?

Mederma. You have to apply it for 3-4 times a day for 3-6 months for old scars. A little less for new scars.
A friend of mine who raced motorcycles swore by the stuff, and from what I saw it was quite effective.

Hakkekage

Oh--wow. That's expensive, especially if I have to keep it up for about 4 months.

saggio

Coco butter. It works for most blemishes and the like. It's usually marketed to pregnant women to reduce the signs of stretch marks.

You could also try olive oil, which I use for any kind of rash or whatever. I get eczema, so my skin gets really irritated and dry, and olive oil does wonders. I'm not sure what it'd do for scars, though.

Zombot

The Band-Aid stuff is pretty comfortable.
When I was using them on a scar on my ass (don't ask) I could barely feel them.

Mr_Grinch

I've tried a couple of different techniques but have honestly found nothing works, I've resorted to just sticking with them. I have one on my middle finger over the knuckle (I had to walk around with an extended middle finger for weeks after slicing it with a knife) and I have two in....erm.... slightly more -private- places, both about 3 and a half inches long!

rockmonkey

Hakkekage wrote: »

They suck because it makes wearing a dress very difficult to pull off without looking like I had a bout of herpes on my chest.

Also no pics. Boobs lol.

That bandaid stuff looks great, but wearing it 23 hours a day would be tough to pull off. I think I will go for the creams again. Mederna, you say?

sorry, didn't realize you were female at first. So impressing the ladies with your scars isn't quite as important. Yeah that sounds like is sucks.

crake

Zombot wrote: »

The Band-Aid stuff is pretty comfortable.
When I was using them on a scar on my ass (don't ask)

But I simply must ask...

neville

crake wrote: »

Zombot wrote: »

The Band-Aid stuff is pretty comfortable.
When I was using them on a scar on my ass (don't ask)

But I simply must ask...

ViolentChemistry

This is what PMs are for.

Hakkekage

It's not the comfortable-ness of the Band-aid stuff, it's the fact that if I had to wear them for the majority of the day, it would look pretty damn weird to have them crisscrossing my chest for several months (even more so than the scars themselves!), especially with the summer right around the corner.

NightDragon

Hakkekage - something to consider for the fall/winter then, I suppose? I'm sure that if there's a day or two during the week where you feel like wearing something less bulky, you could just forgoe the band-aid stuff for those few days without any ill effects.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Does anybody have any idea how these things (scar gels, creams, etc) actually work? I mean, they can't be helping the scar to heal (right?)...the scar is a direct result of the skin having been damaged badly enough to not heal properly. So what is it?

...I'd just like to know what they actually do, because all the different creams/gels/bandaids/lotions/whatnot have different makeups...and some must be more effective than others, right? I myself have a super-recent scar that resulted from an incident two weeks ago...I'm just wondering if any of these things would even help.

ViolentChemistry

Whether or not a scar forms in the first place is often largely dependent upon what actions you take to help a cut heal initially, so I wouldn't find it too hard to believe that the creams help the afflicted area finish healing more normally.

Although I still say you should just tell people you got it in a swordfight. :P

EggyToast

If you have scars, nothing will make them go away. Creams and other treatments usually affect the color and texture of scars. For instance, scars are, well, scar tissue, and don't have regular pores nor sweat glands. Therefore, they tend to get dry, and can sometimes feel flaky or itchy. Just like regular skin, though, when they're dry, they get more pink.

Most creams and other topical treatments focus on moisturizing the scar and occasionally lightly bleaching the scar. Your regular skin will slough off faster than scar tissue skin, which is how the bleaching thing works.

Unfortunately, everyone's skin is a little different. For instance, some people can get scars that naturally blend with their regular skin tone after a while. Other people always develop very pink scars, or tan easily but have very pale scars. Some develop hypertrophic or keloid scars (both surface lump-type scars).

I guess for us to really help, we would need to know what kind of scars they are and the general skin complexion/tone of Hakkekage. In that regard, a picture actually *would* make the most sense, but people's skin tone changes from season to season, even if they're pale and generally avoid the sun.

Hakkekage, could you simply apply makeup? Are they large scars? If you're mostly worried so that you can wear dresses or other open-chest items of clothing, it follows that you wouldn't have something on that would rub against said makeup. Similarly, there's also thicker coverup that would likely be more resilient to sweat and rubbing.

Unless the scars are a very violent pink, scars do generally look better over time, especially if you're still young. I have scars from when I was a young child that are identical to my skin tone now.

Hakkekage

Well, I have a tan skin tone (I'm Iranian). The scar color range from pale to pink to raised; usually around those little dots is a ring of darker color. I got the scars because the scrapes from the pool healed, but like an irritated moron, I scratched and picked at the scabs. And no, they are not large scars, but they are many and scattered.

And yes, I could apply makeup. I use a clinique foundation that fits my skin tone well; the problem is going swimming, since no amount of waterproof cover-up can make that look natural, as it gets partially rubbed off with towels, etc. I am also unused to makeup as a whole, so the thought of applying cover-up everyday is simply unpossible.

And yes, I do darken in the summer (considerably, in fact). It's the pink part of the scars that tend to refuse to match my skin tone no matter the amount of UV rays I soak in that I wish to alleviate a bit. I also wish they'd diminish in appearance so I'd stop having the urge to scratch them whenever I catch a glimpse of them. I hate things on my body. If it's raised I will absently just pick away at it no matter how hard I try to condition myself not to (my days with chicken pox were an unholy nightmare because of this).

Sorry for no picture. The flash usually bleaches my skin in the picture anyway, and no flash makes me look way too dark, so it would be useless even if I did have a digicam. Sorry, Eggy.

tViolentChemistry: I don't know, how do the guys react to that kind of story?:winky:

I do have a scar I'm quite proud of on my leg, though. It's old and it used to look like a little map of the continental US, but it's faded pretty well over the past 9 years since I've had it.

RubberAC

Yeah pretty much
if you want anti-scar stuff to WORK
it'll be pretty 'spensive
but they're gonna be there forever no matter what

also scars are badass

i hate having to explain the one on my finger though
oh THAT scar,


i was cutting firewood with a kitchen knife and some hammers

trust me it gets so many ladies

LoveIsUnity

It also warrants mentioning, since you seem to spend a good deal of time in the sun, that exposed scars should always be covered in sunblock before you go out in the sun. Scar tissue is much more susceptible to skin cancer caused by sun exposure. This http://www.dermatologychannel.net/skincancer/squamouscell.shtml link mentions it briefly, but I'm sure that a more thorough google search will yield more detailed information. I have a large scarification piece on my chest, so I'm aware of how big of a pain it is to use sunblock when going out in the sun, but this minor inconvenience is preferable to cancer.

cooljammer00

also, for preventive measure, make sure you arent sat on underwater.

i mean, that's how you got the scars, right? :-/

Kerbob97

Definitely would recc the Mederma.

I haven't used it, but have seen the results on several people. Ranged from open heart surgery, tip of finger cut off, stabbed, gunshot, buckshot,(Jesus, I need new friends!) and other nasties.

Applied correctly and for the correct length of time it makes a huge difference. May not be perfect, but it will improve.

As a rule of thumb, olive oil- good, vitamin e- better, mederma- best. Cost goes up for quality.
Also plastic surgery is an option as well -ridiculously expensive but can have the results you may really want if you want "perfect skin" again.

Sami

Hakkekage wrote: »

I do have a scar I'm quite proud of on my leg, though. It's old and it used to look like a little map of the continental US, but it's faded pretty well over the past 9 years since I've had it.

Are... are you the bizzaro version of me? I have a birthmark that looks like a mirror version of the continental U.S. right underneath my heart... I'd always assumed this meant that I was the anti-Christ, but you never know...

Hakkekage

Sami wrote: »

Hakkekage wrote: »

I do have a scar I'm quite proud of on my leg, though. It's old and it used to look like a little map of the continental US, but it's faded pretty well over the past 9 years since I've had it.

Are... are you the bizzaro version of me? I have a birthmark that looks like a mirror version of the continental U.S. right underneath my heart... I'd always assumed this meant that I was the anti-Christ, but you never know...

Don't go home. I've already killed your family with an ice pick.

tLoveIsUnity: I never knew that. Wow, I guess I will have to block up.

I am going to try for Vitamin E. Mederma is just way too far out of my price range. Thanks for the help

Clawshrimpy

Quick addendum question, are there any ways to reduce the appearance of a scar from a burn?

E.Coyote

There are a handfull of over the counter products to reduce scarring, most are found right next to the band aids in the supermarket and are made from silicone sheets like mederma. All the ones I've seen have been clear with or without a fabric adhesive bandage attached. A few are ~much~ cheaper than mederma or the band-aid brand ones.

Good luck and such


p.s. guys will be more interested in the boobs than the scars. O.o

E.Coyote

Clawshrimpy wrote: »

Quick addendum question, are there any ways to reduce the appearance of a scar from a burn?

Pretty much the same deal, they use the silicone sheets and a mask for the really nasty burns, as well as silvadine cream on fresh burns. I've also heard good things about vitamin e for reducing scarring and increasing flexability for minor burns.