Get Rid of Scars with these Safe Scar Healing Therapies
There are many scar treatments on the market nowadays. With so many to choose from it’s extremely hard to know where to begin. The following scar healing treatments have been shown to safely get rid of scars:
Silicone Sheeting and Gel: While lots of theories have been put forward, no-one knows for sure how silicone improves scar texture and appearance. The studies agree on one thing… silicone scar treatments work.
Silicone sheets interfere with make-up and clothing, and can be very cumbersome. Dimethicone silicone gel scar treatments are as effective as silicone sheeting and are much easier to use. Easy make-up and sun block application is an added benefit of the gel. Dimethicone silicone gel has been certified as safe.
Vitamin C: Normal skin is composed of organized, linear (but slightly wavy) collagen fibers. The skin reacts to injury by absorbing the damaged collagen and replacing it with new collagen fibers. Unfortunately, this new collagen is laid down in a very unorganized way. Unorganized collagen is more likely to be associated with ugly scarring. Vitamin C scar treatments help to improve and organize collagen production which in turns improves the final scar.
Vitamin C can cause some mild stinging when applied as it penetrates the skin. This is normal and eases off quickly.
Many skin care products that contain vitamin C in the ascorbic acid form are colored brown. This is to disguise the fact that the ascorbic acid has oxidized and become ineffective (oxidized ascorbic acid is brown too). For this reason, vitamin C skin care products that are brown to begin with should be avoided.
Natural Plant Extracts: Just because something is “natural” does not mean that it cannot cause harm. Having said that, many skin care products contain natural plant extracts as ingredients, mainly because of their anti-inflammatory effects. Safe examples of natural scar treatments include:
* Aloe Vera leaf extract (Aloe barbadensis)
* Licorice (eg Stearyl glycyrrhetinate)
* Safflower seed oil (Linoleic acid)
* Sunflower oil (Oleic acid)
Aloe speeds up wound healing and encourages growth of new, healthy skin. Aloe is also a potent anti-inflammatory and has been used to treat wounds for centuries.
Licorice decreases inflammation and has anti-microbial properties. It has been used successfully in the prevention and treatment of acne because of these properties. Licorice also speeds up wound healing and lightens hyper-pigmentation (dark scars, melasma, age spots, brown spots). This pigment-lightening effect is boosted when licorice is used together with topical vitamin C.
Both sunflower and safflower seed oils contain very high amounts of oleic and linoleic essential fatty acids. These acids are needed to maintain the skin’s top layer which maintains moisture. Moisture is vital for normal skin health and improved scar healing. Both these acids have also been shown to improve skin and scar elasticity.
To summarize, stable forms of vitamin C, silicone, and natural scar therapies including licorice, aloe vera, safflower and sunflower oils are all safe and can be used topically to improve scar healing and help get rid of scars.
Dr Chrysopoulo is a board certified Plastic Surgeon with a special interest in advanced scar healing treatments that help get rid of scars safely. He is also Chief Science Officer for InviCible Scars, a hypo-allergenic advanced scar therapy completely free of preservatives, fragrances, petroleum, mineral oil and alcohol.