What is a scar ?
Each mark has his story
When skin trauma occurs – burns, wounds, severe acne or surgery – the skin regenerates itself to protect from infection, and to close and heal the damaged area. Healthy cells migrate to the wound and then multiply to complete the healing process. Healing can cause hyperkeratinization – the chaotic multiplication of epidermal cells, resulting in a different texture than the rest of the skin.
How do you get a scar ?
There are various situations that can cause one or more scars on your body. Here are the most common causes below :
The immune system
Certain medications – such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, immunosuppressants – and treatments, such as chemotherapy and certain diseases such as diabetes and kidney failure, affect the immune system and the body’s ability to heal. This can make it more difficult for the skin to heal and can increase the appearance of scars.
Lifestyle
Diet, physical activity, stress management, alcohol and tobacco consumption, as well as the environment – skin aggressions such as the cold and the sun – can all influence scarring. Indeed, lifestyle could have an impact on collagen production and skin cell multiplication. Healing would therefore be slower and the scar would be more apparent on an individual with an unbalanced diet and a sedentary and stressful lifestyle
Age
With age, cells multiply and regenerate less quickly and collagen production slows down. This explains why children’s scars form quickly and why those of adults and older people form more slowly and tend to remain more apparent.
Skin type & localisation
The type of skin can have an influence on scarring. Indeed, hypertrophic or keloid scars (excess skin located at the edge of the original scar or on it) tend to appear more on darker skin. In addition, the more articulated parts of the body, due to the more frequent movements in these areas, heal less easily and may leave more visible scars.
Are there any treatments for scars ?
The good news is that indeed there are various treatments that can alleviate and in some cases irradiate the appearance of scars. Here are a few :
