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March 24, Tyler Szelinski. Scars are the result of a complex and dynamic wound healing process that follows various stages. Over time, scars will begin to fade to white or skin color. Some scars, on the other hand, can become abnormally large and discolored due to excess collagen production.
The source of the wound, its severity, and genetics all play a crucial role in determining the size and color of a scar.
Continue reading to learn more about scar sizes and colors and what you can do to help with discoloration. What determines scar size? Scar size can be determined by several factors that occur as the wound is attained and during the wound healing process. Treatments can be costly and the results are usually temporary. Repeat treatments are needed to maintain the effect.
Skin needling, which involves rolling a small device covered in hundreds of tiny needles across the skin, is also reported to be helpful, but repeat treatments are often needed to achieve an effect and results vary considerably. Nicola, an office administrator from Newcastle, was involved in a bad road accident that caused serious injuries to her face. Her four-year-old daughter escaped with a broken collarbone. Nicola needed stitches in hospital. And as she was eight months pregnant, she couldn't have any anaesthetic to ease the considerable pain.
She said: "I had to grin and bear it — I still haven't really recovered even now. I felt really devastated when I realised that I would have a scar 8 inches across one side of my face.
One part is really bad, where the skin is more jagged than the rest. Fortunately, the young mother gave birth to a healthy boy a month later. However, she was still upset by the prominent scar across her face. At the clinic, a Red Cross volunteer spent an hour showing Nicola how to use the camouflage creams, designed to cover disfiguring skin conditions. Nicola remembered: "I just wanted to give it a try. I hadn't heard of anything I could use — normal make-up didn't hide the scar. After finding the right shade, the volunteer applied the cream for me.
She then cleaned it off and I had to put it on myself, while she checked that I was doing it right. I was soon able to do it at home quite easily.
It definitely makes me feel more confident than I did before. I'm looking forward to having an operation soon to correct the worst part of the scar, but when I go out the make-up is really good for hiding it.
When I have the make-up on and pull my hair over that side of my face, you almost can't see it at all! Find answers to common questions about scars. Raised, shiny scars are known as keloid scars.
Find out who gets them and how they're treated. Important: Our website provides useful information but is not a substitute for medical advice. You should always seek the advice of your doctor when making decisions about your health. Home Health library Scars summary Scars. Medically reviewed All of Healthily's articles undergo medical safety checks to verify that the information is medically safe. In this article. What is a scar? How do scars form? Skin wounds can be caused by many things, including: accidental injuries surgery burns and scalds intentional harm Read more about the causes of scars.
Where do scars form? Types of scars The different types of scars include: hypertrophic scars — red, raised scars that form along a wound and can remain this way for up to five years keloid scars — caused by an excess of scar tissue produced at the site of the wound where the scar grows beyond the boundaries of the original wound, even after the wound has healed pitted atrophic or 'ice-pick' scars — with a sunken appearance contracture scars — caused by the skin shrinking and tightening, usually after a burn, which can restrict movement Read more about scar types.
Treating scars Depending on the type and age of a scar, a variety of different treatments may help make them less visible and improve their appearance.
Pressure dressings are especially useful if wounds take longer than 10 to 14 days to heal, or after skin grafting. It has been claimed that the use of high pressure, elastic dressings can reduce the formation of hypertrophic scars by between 60 and 85 percent. Pressure dressings work by limiting the blood, oxygen, and nutrients to a wound, which reduces the rate of collagen production.
Cortisone or steroid injections are the first-line treatment for keloids. They can also be used to treat hypertrophic scars. The injections are repeated every few weeks. Between 50 and percent of people notice an improvement after cortisone injections, and often hypertrophic scars will fade completely after this treatment.
However, there is also a 9 to 50 percent recurrence rate. Side effects can include darkening skin of the treated and surrounding area. Hypertrophic scars can increase in size for the first 3 to 6 months and then begin to regress.
For this reason, surgery is not usually necessary. However, if the hypertrophic scars are impeding movement due to being at a joint, or they are causing excessive tension in the surrounding tissue, then surgery may be an option. Research suggests that hypertrophic scars are common after burn injuries with between 30 and 91 percent of reported hypertrophic scars following a burn. Hypertrophic scars can also follow many other injuries, such as accidental trauma or piercings, as well as surgery.
Avoiding any unnecessary skin surgery will limit the chance of getting a hypertrophic scar, as the incidence rate after surgery is around 40 to 94 percent. When skin surgery is unavoidable, the surgeon will try to ensure that surgical lines are along the skin tension lines whenever possible. The use of silicone gels and sheets for several months after an operation may also help reduce scarring. Methods: As part of a randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial investigating the effects of various doses of transforming growth factor-beta3 on scar quality, the authors observed the process of scar redness and maturation in non-drug-treated incisional and excisional wounds made on the upper inner arms of volunteers.
Scar photographic images were assessed by a review panel to ascertain the month during which redness faded for a particular scar.
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