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Scars and the use of Silicone to reduce the appearance of scars

Scars and the use of Silicone to reduce the appearance of scars

Firstly let’s start of by explaining what a scar is.

A scar is basically the manifestation of the skin’s healing process. The body starts releasing collagen the minute skin or tissue has been wounded. The collagen starts to mend any damage to the tissue or skin. Collagen is a protein, and it reattaches the wounded skin. Once the wound starts healing, it forms a crust that is called a scab, and the scab is formed to protect the damaged area.

There are various causes of scars which include a cut, a sore, surgery, burns, acne and even chicken pox. There are a few different factors that affect the degree that skin scars. There is the size of the wound, and then there is the depth of the wound, and the age of the person who has the wound. The younger the person, the stronger the healing process. The scarring of a younger person will be thicker than that of an older person. Some other factors that will affect the type of scar are ethnicity, heredity and the location of the wound.

Children have a higher risk of getting cuts and being injured because they are more active. Children and people who are fair skinned are more prone to get hypertrophic scars. Darker skins such as Asians and blacks are more prone to get Keloid scars.

The appearances of the two scars are very similar, the difference being the Keloid scar expands beyond the original wound.

The location, in which the scar is situated, also has an influence on the scar size. If the scar is on the knee area or the shoulder area, the scars will become wider in size because there is motion in these areas.

Now let’s take a closer look at the different scars

Keloid Scars

This type of scar is the result of an excessively aggressive healing process. They expand past the original injury. Over time the Keloid scar could hamper your movement. As mentioned previously, Keloid scars are more common in people with darker skins. Tummy tuck

Contracture scars

Contracture scars commonly occur if your skin has been burnt. This type of scar tightens your skin and can impair your ability to move. It can also affect your muscles and nerves if the scar is deep.

Hypertrophic scars

They are scars that are raised and that have a red colouring. They are similar to Keloids only they do not form beyond the boundary of the injury.

Acne scars

Acne scars usually appear after the severe stage of acne, which is a skin condition caused by the changes in hormones. Acne is mostly common in adolescence, but has been known to occur later in life. Severe acne is triggered by the pores that are clogged and the bacteria that begin to multiply. There are 3 different kinds of Acne scars. One can appear as a deep pit, another angular in appearance, and another wavelike in appearance.

There are various kinds of different treatments available to treat scars. There are the surgical procedures, steroid injections, cyrosurgery, and dermabrasion. Then there are the alternative methods like vitamin E, aloe Vera and even cocoa butter.

Another very effective and less evasive treatment is Silicone Gel Sheets and the Topical Silicone Gel. There were some studies done to determine which one of the Silicone scar treatments would work best. It was concluded that the one was not more or less effective in treating scars than the other. The differences between the two however, are that the silicone sheeting cannot be applied to movable areas or on visible areas of the body. The silicone sheeting also requires additional taping after some time. The Silicone Gel has to be applied to the scar at various times throughout the day. It also takes some time before it has dried completely. Furthermore, sunscreen has to be applied religiously when using the Silicone Gel.

So in the end the choice of which Silicone treatment is the correct one for you is up to you and which would be more convenient for you to apply.

Treating scars

The use medical grade silicone has been widely researched and many clinical studies have been performed of the effects of silicone sheeting and silicone gel on scars and the improvement of the appearance of scars.

Silicone sheeting/silicone gel is used for a period of 3-6 months to flatten the scar and to reduce the appearance of the scar. See the for before and after pictures of scars using both methods shortly after surgery.

Silicone sheeting or gel prevents any bacterial contact, keeps the skin and scar tissue hydrated, providing a barrier that mimmicks natural healthy skin result in the scar to blend with the surrounding skin naturally and reduce any raised areas.

There is often itching associated with scars which is also dramatically reduced with the use of scarheal silicone products.

For best results it has been shown that the use of either:

silicone sheeting or silicone gel at night and using

scar esthetique advanced scar therapy during the day produces the best results on both new and old scars.