Good skincare isn’t just about cleansing and moisturizing. It involves all aspects of your day to day routine, managing breakouts, acne scarring, and cellulite, and making smart choices about your makeup and other products.
Below are just a few of the scar treatment options, but there are many more available. This article will give you a rundown of some of the most common scar treatment options. Talk with your dermatologist to get the scoop on which treatments would be the best fit for you.
Some acne scarring may be inevitable. But with careful treatment, scarring can be minimized. And that which does occur can be treated.
If you suffer from stretch marks, acne scars, spider veins, or cellulite, you likely would love to get rid of them.
But can you? Here’s the scoop:
Stretch Marks
One of the biggest discussion points I have with women is stretch marks. Most of them want to proudly tell me how they rub extra virgin coconut oil or shea butter religiously on their bellies during pregnancy. Even I rubbed my own pregnant belly with coconut oil, just in case.
The fact is, stretch marks happen when you go through a huge weight change and the skin tears causing marks. I have stretch marks on my thighs that I got during my growth spurts in puberty. But I never got them in pregnancy, and I can probably thank my parents for that since how your skin handles this stretching is largely a matter of heredity mixed in with luck.
What Really Causes Stretch Marks?
The fact is, all the reasons for developing stretch marks are speculative. The prevailing theory is that stretch marks are caused when the skin is stretched beyond its normal capacity; it creates a tear in the skin, and when the skin heals, the stretch mark forms. But that’s only part of the story.
Find out more about the actual causes of stretch marks.
Is dark skin less susceptible to stretch marks?
Although it was once believed that black and Asian women were less likely to get stretch marks than Caucasian women, black, Asian, as well as other women of color, can still be susceptible to developing them.
Interviewed for an article in the Oakland Tribune, Dr. Richard Nolan of Laser Skin Source in Alameda, California, revealed that Asian women are particularly prone to the development of stretch marks.
Many women of all races and skin tones can have a genetic disposition to getting stretch marks. If your mother or sister had them during pregnancy or through weight gain, you might get them.
What can you do about stretch marks?
Although laser surgery may be a better solution to stretch marks, it’s expensive, and women have been warned to avoid laser surgery.
Stretch marks are most likely to occur on the belly, thighs, breasts, and arms. So once you get them, can you get rid of them?
You can treat them and improve stretch marks’ appearance, but you can’t necessarily get rid of them.
StretchPatch is a new way to treat scars, acne, cellulite, and stretch marks with unique ingredients in heat powered hydrogel patch. StretchPatch works by restoring collagen, a fibrous protein that helps give your skin elasticity.
The best time to treat stretch marks are when they are in their brightly colored phase, meaning bright red or purple. Once they pass this phase and fade into silvery lines, they are much harder to treat.
StretchPatch is your best bet when it comes to diminishing the signs of stretch marks. The problem with StretchPatch is you can’t use it during pregnancy or when breastfeeding when your stretch marks are in their most treatable phase.
Laser treatments can minimize the effects of stretch marks, but these can also be pricey. You’ll need a series of $500-$1000 laser treatments to correct the marks, and the results are not guaranteed.
Acne Scars
Almost everyone deals with acne on occasion, but some of us have it much worse than others and have to deal with scars and discoloration left behind after the actual pimples go away. It couldn’t be more frustrating.
Acne can be so incredibly frustrating — not only the breakouts but what it does to your skin afterwards. Lots of people feel like the dark spots, uneven skin tone, and scarring is even worse than the pimples themselves.
You might be surprised to know your acne scars aren’t actually scars.: I know they might seem like scars, especially because they can last for months, but the discoloration you see is most likely what is known as an acne mark. Depending on your skin tone, these marks might look like a darkening in the skin or even a reddening, and they can stick around for six months or more for some. Call it a scar or a mark – they’re equally as annoying.
Think you’re responsible for them because of your picking or popping? Perhaps, but not likely.
Cystic acne is more prone to scarring or marking, so if you tend to get cystic acne, you’re more likely to get acne marks than the next guy – picking or not.
While you can’t change being prone to cystic acne, you can take some steps to avoid acne marks or scars. Get to a dermatologist who can help find the right skin care regimen for your skin, so the acne you get starts to slow down. It’s more than just telling you what products to use. Dermatologists can give you prescriptions that you can’t get without a doctor’s visit. He will also be able to talk to you about in-office treatments that can be done to treat the acne you already have.
There are things you can do to reduce the acne marks you currently have. Using skin patch products that are placed on your skin will help speed along the process of lightening because it will get rid of old dead skin and bring new skin to the surface sooner. Look for skin patches that contain ingredients to aid in collagen production. Products that promise lightning can help a little bit, but they’re probably not going to be the miracle worker you’re hoping for.
But there are treatments you can use to improve skin and decrease visible scarring. Over-the-counter products that contain glycolic acid can be helpful, particularly for minor discoloration. For scars that are created in the deeper layer, skin patch applications like StretchPatch are a better bet. Skin patch applications are nothing new in the treatment of acne scars. StretchPatch is one of the best treatments for reducing post-pregnancy stretch marks. It also works on many other scar treatments, including acne, surgery, cellulite, and keloid.
Depressed or pitted scars are, unfortunately, harder to get rid of than post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. You won’t find any over-the-counter creams or lotions that are effective for them either, despite claims by all those “scar treatment” creams.
Cellulite
Most women have a bit of cellulite on the backs of their thighs, above the knees, or even on the arms. You can spend hundreds of dollars on over-the-counter lotions and potions, but none has been proven to work permanently.
Some lotions contain a type of caffeine (yes, caffeine!), which can reduce the appearance of cellulite, but it’s only temporary. Some doctors claim lasers work on cellulite, but reports I’ve read are inconclusive. Put it this way: If lasers were truly a miracle cure for cellulite, the lines outside dermatologist offices would be far longer than the lines typically are when new generation iPads and iPhones are released. Despite various creams, methods and programs like My Cellulite Solution, finding a definitive and lasting solution for cellulite remains a challenge.
Keloid Scars
A raised, fibrous scar that grows beyond the borders of the original wound. Like other hypertrophic scars, they develop because of an overproduction of collagen. Certain people are more prone to keloid scarring than others. Fortunately, acne does not often cause this type of scar.
Spider Veins
Unlike stretch marks, spider veins can actually be removed completely via sclerotherapy.
I know this because I had mine removed and they remain gone several years later. The doctor injected saline into my veins, which collapsed them. It was a good use of my money.
Don’t want to pay $$$ to fix your veins? You can camouflage spider veins with body makeup specially formulated to cover up scars and veins.
Bad Scars – Not All Bad Scars Are Keloid Scars
Any time a cut or incision is made in the skin, there will be a scar. Plastic surgeons have acquired a reputation for “scarless” healing. The reason for this is not that a scar is absent after plastic surgery. The reputation for scarless healing comes from plastic surgeons’ ability to camouflage or hide scars in inconspicuous places on the body.
A tummy tuck incision is hidden at the lower aspect of the abdomen. It is covered by a bikini bottom, swimming trunks, or underwear. A facelift incision is hidden behind the ears. Rhinoplasty incisions are hidden inside the nose. Liposuction incisions are hidden in the pubic area and the navel. An eyelift incision is hidden in the natural crease of the eyelid.
These are a few examples of scars that are present but hidden or camouflaged. In summary, all surgery produces scars, whether internal or external.
Not all scars are the same. Some of the scars heal as a fine line and become barely perceptible. Other spots become so noticeable that they can significantly affect the quality of life of its bearer. Yet another scar fall somewhere in between – noticeable, but not enough to feel overly self-conscious about the scar.
If a scar heals poorly, it is usually incorrectly categorized as a keloid scar. In some cases, it may undoubtedly be a keloid. More often than not, it is just a scar that has healed less than optimally and is not necessarily a keloid scar.
For more information on the stretch mark removal, visit the Mystretchpatch.com website or contact them below. And please tell them you heard about them on Blufashion.com’s beauty website.
SkinGreat, LLC Laconia
Tel: 603-937-1487
info@thestretchpatch.com
Laconia, New Hampshire
Iskra Banović is our seasoned Editor-in-Chief at Blufashion. She has been steering the website’s content and editorial direction since 2018. With a rich background in fashion design, Iskra’s expertise spans across fashion, interior design, beauty, lifestyle, travel, and culture.
2 Comments
Super helpful!
Thanks Anna, I’m glad you found this helpful!