Is scar cream really useful? Analysis of the scar removal principle of scar cream

Scar removing cream has been very popular recently, with all kinds of advertisements everywhere, claiming that it can remove various scars. Let me explain the detailed analysis of the scar removing principle of scar cream.

Does scar cream really work?

Scar removal cream has been very popular recently, and you can’t help but see all the advertisements. Moreover, the selling point is quite confusing, as it claims to be able to remove various scars. But in fact, scar removal cream is mainly used to "prevent the formation of scars" or at most to lighten the pigmentation of scars, but it cannot remove them.

Let's first take a look at what scars are!

(Today's pictures will be a little uncomfortable, please prepare yourself mentally in advance)

Scars do not appear when the skin is damaged. Scars will only appear when the dermis is damaged. The most common are traumatic scars, surgical scars, acne scars and cesarean section scars.

(Traumatic scar)

Our skin is naturally smooth and evenly colored. However, after being injured, the blood vessels will have an inflammatory reaction, so the area around the wound will turn red. When the dermal fibers start the healing mechanism, they may not grow so neatly, resulting in uneven scars and pigmentation left after the inflammatory reaction. It may even pull the surrounding skin, and the elasticity of the skin will be affected to a certain extent.

Therefore, for relatively small scars, as long as the wound is treated promptly and sutured with cosmetic needles, the chance of healing is still very high, but the new tissue will be more or less different in color from the original skin.

(The color of Selina's burns is different from that of normal skin)

On the contrary, a larger wound is more likely to leave a scar, such as a cesarean section scar. The dermal fibers themselves are difficult to completely conform to the long flat, and some people with scar-prone constitutions are more likely to leave scars or even hyperplasia;

(Hypertrophic Scars)

Acne scars are generally severe acne pits (Type III and above) that are left behind when the dermis is damaged. Ordinary acne will at most leave some red or black acne marks.

(Common Acne Scars)

But what is certain is that these wounds are deep into the dermal fibrous tissue and cannot be completely removed by external ointments. Including stretch marks and obesity marks, which are actually a kind of scar, it is completely impossible to improve them by applying medication.

However, scar cream is not completely useless. It can be used when the wound is formed. It can effectively relieve inflammatory reactions and scar hyperplasia (it has little effect on people with scar-prone constitution), and it is only effective for scars within 6 months.

In other words, for old scars that are more than 6 months old, any medication is ineffective. Don't put your hope on ointments.