Reduce the Appearance of Scars - Without Buy Creams and Gels

If there is one thing that makes everyone feel a little self conscious, it is scars. Of course, the level of self consciousness usually depends upon how big the scar is and where it is located, but nonetheless they are pesky little buggers that we would more often than not like to be rid of.

When I was young my activeness caused me to end up with a ton of scars all over my arms and legs. For years I did not care because I wore nothing but jeans and baggy sweatshirts, but now that I enjoy wearing dresses, skirts and tank-tops, these have begun to make me feel a little self conscious. Growing up I had always been under the impression that once a scar formed, that there was nothing a person could do about it - it was there on the skin forever. However, as I grew into an exceedingly clumsy adult I began to look into ways that I could diminish my current, and inevitably to-come scars and marks on my skin.

For old scars and marks from injuries:
A scar is the fibrous tissue that remains after a wound in the skin has healed. There is one thing that must be explained right away: If a scar is from a significantly deep wound, there is a great chance that it will heal as a "raised" scar. The unfortunate truth is that raised scars are much more difficult to get to fade than those that lay flat against the skin-especially if you waited several months to begin treating it. You may have to accept that the scar will be with you forever, and try to make it a "part" of you as best you can.

However, for flat old scars there is still a good chance at getting them to be diminished, even if they may never fully disappear. Truth be told there are thousands of creams and ointments available that claim to remove scars, and promise incredible results in just a few weeks. These are gimmicks. What is the best "medicine" for scar removal, then? A dab of olive oil.

For old scars that are several months to several years old, put a dot of olive oil on your fingertips and massage it into the scar. It is best to massage (you don't need to push on the skin, this is more of a "rub") in small circles, and I find that if you are able to massage with some speed this is more effective. What this does it warm the skin and stimulates the cells on the surface of your skin. This encourages the generation of new unscarred cells, which will slowly but surely help to diminish the appearance of the scar. But, be aware - this is not an overnight process. This must be done several times a day, between 3 and 4 is usually a good amount. Also, be prepared to devote at least 6 weeks to this routine before you deem it as something that "doesn't work." I encourage you to take a picture before you begin the routine, and then again after doing this for about 6 weeks, 3 times a day in order to really see that there is a difference, however slight. Another thing to bear in mind is that this number of weeks and daily application routine is the same routine suggested by the self-named "leader in scar management," the brand-name MEDERMA.

For new or recent scars and injuries:
For anyone who shares the clumsy trait with me, you may know that a deep bruise can actually damage tissue under the skin pretty badly and can result in broken blood vessels even after the bruise itself is gone. I recently had the deepest penetrating bruise I have ever had in my life on one of my knees. It hurt to walk, it hurt to stand. The pain lasted for close to a month and the skin changed colors that I did not even know that a bruise could change. However, the coloring finally disappeared and a few days after so did the pain. However, I noticed that there was a 2-inch long broken blood vessel that remained under the skin. Yikes. There is something that olive oil won't fix, so what is a girl to do?

For broken blood vessels, especially on joints like elbows and knees the most important thing to do is to get that body part moving in some way. Exercise is a great way to do this. For example, in my case I continued my daily jogs and the blood vessel was cleared up within a few days. However, blood vessels in my face (a place you can't properly "work out") take at least a week to heal up. With a broken blood vessel on the elbow or elsewhere in your arm, for example, you could lift weights. What exercising the area does is get blood moving to that part of the body, pumping and circulating around your system. This helps the broken blood vessel to heal itself faster than it would without this added "blood boost."

For new scars and injuries however, you can do something with olive oil that you cannot do with scar medicine-you can work the olive oil into an "open" wound. No, I do not mean rub olive oil into a bleeding gash in your arm. Once the wound has scabbed over, you can massage the olive oil GENTLY into the scab and surrounding skin that may scar. Scar removal medicines warn you not to rub the medicine into scabbed wounds due to the chemical content and the potential of these chemicals to harm the exposed healing tissue under the scab. However, with olive oil you can get a jumpstart on managing the scar that may be formed. Olive oil is scar and tissue-safe! Massage a small amount of olive oil into new or recently formed scars 2-3 times a day for about 3-4 weeks, and as I mentioned above, be prepared to take comparison pictures so that you can judge for yourself whether or not you would like to continue using this routine, and to see how it has helped.

In addition to oil massages, for new scars it is incredibly important to exfoliate the skin around the injury. You can do this with any exfoliating body wash and a loofah. Because my skin is on the more resilient side, I use table sugar in the shower and a loofah. Remember to use what is best for your skin, each person is different!

Scars can be pesky triggers of extreme self-consciousness, but they do not always need to be hidden. Try some of these methods before you deem a scar hopeless! While some scars never fully disappear, it is important to be able to be comfortable in your own skin.