treatyourscars Before we look at why scars change color, it is important to understand how scars form. In this post, I will explain why scars can change color and what you can do to make your discolored scars less noticeable.
After an injury to the skin like burns, cuts, or operations, scars form as a result of the body’s natural wound healing response. When the injury occurs, the body begins to repair and protect itself, resulting in scars if the injury is deep enough. Over time, scars change color as the skin grows and heals and new skin cells replace the damaged skin cells.
Your body has fantastic healing powers, and scars can discolor as your skin grows and heals. New skin cells replace the damaged, but frequent exposure to the sun without the proper protection one should have can cause the scar to overgrow its boundaries. In the worst-case scenario, it can take one to two years for the scar to shrink to an infinitely thin line around the scar.
There are many aberration scars, but the most common growth is called keloid scars. Keloid scars are tumor scars caused by the accumulation of excessive amounts of collagen. These scars lift the skin from pink to red, which is the same color as the dark surrounding skin.
Keloid scars and hypertrophic scars are the results of excess collagen produced at the wound site. The main difference between a keloid and hypertrophic scar is that keloids grow along the border between the original site of the skin injury, while hypertrophic scars remain in the injured area. Both are caused by excess collagen production during the wound healing process.
Hypopigmented scars are a common complication in patients undergoing deep or medium depth surgical procedures, recurrent procedures and those with a history of traumatic wounds or burns. Severe collagen scarring occurs when a wound causes more blood flow. After an incision or injury, the wound may develop significant inflammation, forming a heavy, thick scar, in response to sutures, infections, or foreign bodies.
As soon as the collagen is broken down at the wound site, the blood supply is reduced and the scar becomes smoother, softer and paler. The red or purple color begins to fade and eventually the scar turns into a hypopigmented, translucent white.
Certain parts of the body such as the chest, back, earlobes and shoulders are more scarred. Scars that form around the knee or shoulder can stretch or widen as a result of the healing process that takes place on movable joints.
Scars on the skin can occur after an incision or other injury during the healing process. Scar contractions occur when the skin shrinks, which can lead to tightness and restricted movement.
Scarring is the result of the body’s natural healing process when body tissues are damaged. Scar marks remain on the skin after a wound or injury on the skin surface has healed. This can lead to scarring of internal organs, cuts during surgery or the development of certain skin diseases such as acne or chickenpox.
Depending on the skin type and how the body reacts to the wound, each skin type determines the length of the wound healing process and the amount of scars that occur.
The colour of a scar is a good indicator of its age and life cycle. Red or purple scars are new scars that have not yet experienced the effects of the wound healing process. If you develop a keloid or hypertrophic scar, you will be stuck for much, much longer with a discolored scar; on the other hand, white scars are older than red and purple scars.
Scars resulting from surgical procedures are usually cosmetic in nature. The specific cause of white scars is melanin, a protein produced in deep layers of our skin by melanocytes.
If you have an injury or undergo surgery, the scar may remain red or purple. If the edge of the original wound does not extend beyond the scar, it is hypertrophic. The underlying blood vessels in this area have been damaged, and your body’s natural inflammatory response sets the healing process in motion.
Once the incision has healed, the skin moisturizer, applied gently or with a gentle, firm massage to the scar area, can help it mature. Once the scar left behind has healed, it can turn white, a process they call hypopigmentation.
In the two weeks after the operation you should massage the scar area five to four times a day. The ideal end result of any plastic or surgical procedure is a good quality, the scar is present and can be camouflaged. If the scar makes it difficult for the joint to move, it is important to stretch it out and see a doctor.
Clumping, puckering and thickening of the scar takes 2-3 months, while redness and pigmentation takes 9-12 months to fade. The scar on the face becomes a fine white line on the body, but can vary from a thin white line to a widening pale scar. The width of a scar depends on the amount of scar stretch, and this is determined by the patient’s body region and genetic characteristics.
Scars that have displaced anatomical landmarks can be rearranged to correct the displacement. Good scars are flat or depressive, raised scars that absorb the light and are visible, narrow or wide scars that are easy to see, and those that do not displace the anatomical landmark.
I have operated on many people of all skin colors and have had excellent results without excessive scarring. Many patients who fear that their scars may be misinterpreted by what they see see see wide red stripes and think that the last scar either is too wide or can be too red.
When you apply pressure to the skin during the blanching, you will receive a preview of what the final scar will look like. There is a frequent flush (pink skin surrounding the scar) that can make the scar appear larger, but it is not actually a scar. It is an increase in vascular function (blood vessels), and the redness disappears over time.
