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Facial scars can stem from an old acne infection, a childhood injury, or a recent surgical operation but scars can cut deeper than skin and scar your confidence too, eliciting thoughts of starting all over again. In your journey to get smooth skin again, you may have contemplated a plethora of options from pantry fix-its to clinical grade. You can find a ton of information online about how to naturally remove facial scars, but what works?
This guide will provide an honest and objective perspective on both sides of the equation. We will explore some common natural remedies, some of the strong medical and clinically-proven treatments available today, and help you better understand which step will get you closer to achieving the clearer complexion you desire.
Exploring Natural Ways to Remove Scars
The idea of using gentle, natural ingredients to heal our skin is appealing. These remedies can play a supportive role in skin health, but it's crucial to set realistic expectations from the start.
What Natural Remedies Can (and Can't) Do
Natural ingredients are the most appropriate for treating very mild surface discoloration or to assist the skin during the early wound healing process to stop a scar from becoming worse. They provide hydration and anti-inflammatory benefits but cannot remodel collagen or change the structure of a formed scar. They will not fix anything indented, pitted, or raised. Now, let us look at some of the more common options available:
- Aloe Vera: Known for its soothing nature, aloe vera is perfect for calming angry skin and aiding in moisture. That moisture is important for a healing wound as it creates a better environment for skin repair.
- Honey: Raw or Manuka honey has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. Like aloe, honey is more effective when done on a fresh, clean wound because it can help reduce infection and inflammation which can reduce the severity of the scar in the end.
- Silicone Gels & Sheets: Here is where science and nature combine. Silicone is clinically proven, evidence-based treatment. Although it is available over-the-counter, it is some of the first line stuff recommended by a physician.
Medical Treatments for Face Scars
To truly change a scar, you need to go beneath the surface. True scar revision involves breaking down the disorganized scar tissue and stimulating your body to produce new, healthy, and organized collagen. This is where medical treatments excel, offering predictable and significant results.
Minimally Invasive Procedures
These treatments are the work horses of scar revision and are best for mild to moderate scarring with little recovery time.
- Chemical Peels: A chemical solution is applied to the skin by the dermatologist to exfoliate the upper layers of the skin. This process removes dead skin, improves any discoloration, and promotes new cell growth for a smoother surface.
- Microneedling: Also known as collagen induction therapy, this procedure creates thousands of tiny, controlled punctures in the skin, using a device with fine needles. These thousands of punctures trigger the body's natural healing cascade and floods the treated area with new collagen that will eventually help to fill in and repair depressed scars from inside out.
- Dermabrasion: This is a more aggressive intervention in terms of physical exfoliation. The specialist "sands down" the outer layers to expose the smooth, undamaged skin below.
Advanced Energy-Based Devices
For more significant texture issues, energy-based devices offer powerful results.
- Laser Resurfacing: This is the gold standard for scar treatment. Powerful, focused beams of light are used to either remove the damaged outer layers of skin (ablative lasers) or heat the deeper layers to stimulate collagen remodeling (non-ablative lasers). Lasers are incredibly effective at improving the texture, color, and overall appearance of acne scars, surgical scars, and injury scars.
Injectables & Surgical Solutions
For deep, stubborn, or complex scars, a more direct approach may be needed.
- Dermal Fillers: A safe, gel-like substance can be injected directly into a depressed scar so that it raises it instantly to the surrounding skin's level. Although temporary, it offers immediate results.
- Steroid Injections: If the scars are raised hypertrophic or keloids, then injecting a corticosteroid will dissipate excess collagen to soften the keloid or hypertrophic scar and flatten it down.
- Subcision: This is performed on "rolling" scars mostly, which are usually tethered down by fibrous bands. In these cases, a band is disrupted by inserting a small needle to break the bands, releasing the tether to allow the skin to rise to a more normalized level again.
- Scar Revision Surgery: If scars are considerable medical scars or large prominent ones, surgical procedures may be the best option. A correctly trained cosmetic surgeon can surgically remove the old scar tissue and re-close the incision correctly, with advanced closure methods that result in a much thinner and less noticeable scar.
Your Personalized Path to Clearer Skin with Dr. Anup Dhir
The best way to improve the appearance of face scars is not choosing natural vs. medical; it's creating an individualized plan that meets your needs. Real change happens when you take a combined approach: using medical treatments to revise the scar, while helping your skin naturally heal, with basic daily practices such as sun protection.
With so many options it can be overwhelming, and guidance is valuable; this is why you need an expert. The first step is a consultation with a cosmetic surgeon, which is the most important step.
If you are ready to move past temporary solutions to permanent face scar solutions, schedule a consultation with world-renowned cosmetic surgeon Dr. Anup Dhir today. He will assess your specific scar type (which is important), hear your wants, and design a custom treatment plan utilizing the latest and most effective techniques to restore your skin, and your confidence.
