There is no avoiding the fact that our skin changes as we get older. Skin wrinkles and sags, it has scars mapping across it from stretching, acne and all a number of things. Improving the appearance of your skin may well be a priority for you and if it is, you’ll be doing all that you can to ensure that you feel confident about it.
If you have noticed that your skin looks different and you want to improve the appearance of it, then the best thing that you can do is work on making those scars and changes fade as much as possible.
Excessive scarring can happen for a number of reasons. If you’ve had a baby and you had surgery for that, you will live with the scar for the rest of your life. Stretch Marks can scar, chicken pox can scar if you scratch, mommy makeover scars can be hidden, but you’d still want to reduce their appearance. Add these scars onto aging skin that sags and it doesn’t make anyone feel particularly good.
The main reason that people want to reduce the appearance of scars is largely cosmetic and below, we have plenty of ways that you can improve the appearance of your skin and your scars.
Medication.
Did you know that corticosteroids are the main treatment for excessive scarring on the skin? They work to decrease the collagen in the skin and reduce the production of inflammatory mediators. These can be injected directly into the scarring to reduce their appearance over time.
Another medication that can help is antihistamines and many people aren’t aware of this. They are used to control the itching that comes with scarring healing. It can even help if you have new stretch marks on the skin. When the scar is scratched less, it doesn’t appear red and angry.
Occlusive dressings.
These are silicone gel sheets and they can be used with some success for minimal scarring. Waterproof, flexible and cool, they work by softening and flattening out a scar to stop it looking red and angry. They are flexible to wear which makes them comfortable and the gel sheeting will moisturize and cover the entire scar. It’s secured in place with a clear surgical tape.
Pressure garments.
These are designed to prevent water build up in the skin most of the time and they are custom fit to your body. Pressure garments are usually used to help you to reduce the appearance of scarring. They’ll be flatter, thinner and softer than before. They won’t look so angry and red and you’ll feel more comfortable as a result.
Botox.
Some people choose to use Botox for scarring as it can reduce tension in the skin and paralyze the musculature, the resulting reduction in skin tensile force will ensure that scarring is reduced. It’s also used to stop excessive sweating, which can make the skin rub together and cause rashes. It’s a promising method of scar reduction, and it’s been used for years to ensure that people feel more comfortable as a result.
Onion extract.
A bioflavonoid with antibacterial properties, onion extract can have an antihistamine releasing effect on normal cells as well as malignant cells. It works to cause cell death, and it inhibits collagen synthesis which results in a reduction of scar tissue formation. You might not think that onion extract will be particularly nice to put on your skin, but there are plenty of healing properties for onions on the inside of the body, so why not the outside?
Vitamin E creams.
These are very popular when it comes to reducing the appearance of scarring and damage to the skin. Vitamin E is an antioxidant and it has plenty of positive biological effects including the reduction of a reactive oxygen species. This is what prevents healing and causes damage to the DNA, which can make your skin appear to be scarred red and damaged.
Of course, we have to pay attention to the fact that there are only anecdotal reports of shows that work to ease scarring, and yet those reports are true for many people.
Dermabrasion.
This particular beauty treatment can be used to reduce the appearance of irregularities in the skin surface. It actually removes the surface of the skin with specialist equipment – it’s not painful – and it can involve general anesthesia. If you have scars that are raised above the level of the surrounding skin, it would be the perfect treatment for that. If the scars are sunken opposite into the skin, dermabrasion will not be the answer.
Laser surgery.
There are some laser surgeries that can improve the appearance of your skin especially when it comes to acne scarring and stretch marks. Laser surgery in scar management is limited, but the color of the scars can be improved with the management of a vascular laser. There are not enough long-term studies to confirm the effectiveness of this therapy, which is why it’s only something you should do with a fully trained medical practitioner.
General surgery.
Any surgical removal of scars will always have a new scar that can take up to a year to mature, flatten and become white. If you have a mommy makeover surgery, the new scar would also be below your bikini line. This means that the scar would not be visible to anybody but you and if you care about appearances that is enough to be a positive.
The help that comes with surgery can be desirable in the short term, but you may need surgical revision of hypertrophic or keloid scars if they occur after the surgery.
Any one of these options can help you to improve the appearance of scarring. It doesn’t matter which form of therapy that you choose to help, it’s important that you use the best medicine of all; time. It may take some time for the appearance of surgical or every day scars to lessen, if you stick to the treatment plan you’ll see results.