Life is busy, and oh so messy. As we bump, trip and knock our way through life, we will inadvertently find ourselves at the wrong end of our kitchen knives, a sharp corner, or a rough pavement - and soon, the owner of brand new scars.
While there may not be any guaranteed way to fully remove scars, there are plenty of procedures and treatments that can reduce and minimise scars, each with their pros and cons. Here are some of them!
Home-based treatments
One of the most popular alternative scar reduction treatments, creams and gels containing onion extract claim to reduce scarring through anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.1 However, clinical studies have shown that it is ineffective in treating scar discolouration or itching.2
Silicone sheets work by physically covering the scar in order to regulate transepidermal water loss, so as to prevent over-production of collagen that can cause raised scars. However, silicone sheets can be uncomfortable or impractical to wear
round-the-clock, and modern re-usable sheets, if not washed properly, can introduce infection.3
Silicone gel treatments like Dermatix® Ultra are essentially a direct improvement over silicone gel sheets. They aid scar reduction using the same mechanisms, but being a simple-to-apply gel that also dries transparent, silicone gels avoid all the drawbacks of silicone sheets while also increasing effectiveness. Being a gel that patients can apply on their own, silicone gels are also often used together with other scar treatments for multimodal scar therapy.
Improved erythema after 90 days
Dermatix® versus silicone gel sheeting
Greater reduction
in scar height after 90 days
Greater ease of use
Surgical and professional treatments
In a scar revision, your doctor will use a variety of surgical techniques to reduce the size of your scar, reposition it to a less visible area, or smoothen the contour of sunken scars.5 However, the new scar may not be an improvement over the original scar, and as with any surgical procedure, there will be some degree of risks.6
Commonly used for hypertrophic or keloid scars, a steroid that softens, shrinks and flattens scars is injected directly into the site. While effective, steroid injections may also cause skin thinning, hypopigmentation, and delayed wound healing.7
Pulsed lasers can be used to treat discolouration, by shrinking and dissolving the blood vessels under the scar responsible for the discolouration4, while fractional lasers target the outer layers of your skin that is scarred or discoloured by peeling them off.4 After laser treatment, you can expect swelling and itching for up to a week, and might get permanent light or dark spots on the treatment area.4
Generally used on large keloids or keloids that do not respond to steroid injections or other treatments, external beam radiotherapy uses highly-focused x-ray beams to destroy the cells that produce collagen.4 Side effects may include tenderness and pain at the treatment area.4
While silicone gels are the clear winner for home-based treatments, the different surgical and professional treatments each have their strengths and applications - you should seek your doctor’s advice on the treatment that works best for your scar.
And no matter which treatment you go for, you can always pair it with Dermatix® Ultra to achieve even better scar reduction results!
