Facial scars on women can be sexy, according to one decade-old study, and facial scars on men might be, too — but only when being considered for short-term relationships. In a more recent study, the findings were similar: Facial scars didn’t detract (and sometimes enhanced) facial attractiveness.
But when it comes to your own facial scars, the only person’s whose opinion matters is yours. Your scar may remind you of a traumatic event you’d rather forget. Or, you’re simply tired of telling everyone you meet how you got it.
Your scar may also be raised and puffy, as in the case of hypertrophic scars or keloid scars. Raised scars can be especially disfiguring. Removing them takes expertise, because if you’re prone to keloids or hypertrophic scars, surgery might create another keloid.
At Specialists in Dermatology, our team of dermatologists and aestheticians offer a variety of cosmetic services. We offer a variety of therapies to reduce or eliminate your facial scars atour offices in The Woodlands and Houston, Texas.
Would you like to be rid of your facial scar? The following are a few strategies we may recommend.
Chemical peels use various strengths of acids to slough off the outer layer of your skin, removing dead skin and debris, while stimulating skin renewal. If you have acne scars or other fairly shallow scars, regular chemical peels may be enough to restore the texture and tone of your skin.
Depending on the severity of your scar, we may apply a strong chemical peel that goes down into the deeper layers of your skin to help break apart the disordered collagen that makes up scar tissue. As your skin produces new collagen and elastin in response to the acid, it rebuilds the scar area to look more like healthy, normal skin.
An advantage to chemical peels is that they improve the health of your skin. If you’re prone to acne, chemical peels reduce the chances of a future outbreak and minimize the risk of scarring. If you have wrinkles, fine lines, or hyperpigmentation, chemical peels improve those, too.
Silicone sheets are particularly helpful for raised scars, but any scar can benefit. The silicone keeps the scar skin moist to suppress the overactivity of scar tissue.
You must wear the sheet on the scarred area for weeks to months. Silicone sheets have been used to successfully heal scars for more than 40 years.
If you have a keloid or hypertrophic scar, we may inject it directly with a corticosteroid, which reduces inflammation. Corticosteroids may reduce a raised scar by about 50%.
You may need more than one treatment to reduce the scar to your satisfaction. We may also inject it with 5-FU or bleomycin to help flatten the scar and reduce the itch.
If you have a pitted or depressed scar, we may advise evening out your skin with dermal fillers. A dermal filler contains hyaluronic acid (HA) to immediately replace the volume in your skin that’s lacking due to the scar.
We might recommend either Juvéderm® or Restylane®. Each of these collections of fillers has a variety of consistencies to match your needs. Depending on the type of filler you get and the location of your scar, a filler can last from 6-18 months or possibly more.
For complex scars, we may recommend surgical revision. Depending on the type of scar you have, we could normalize the look of your skin by taking a graft from a healthy area and using it to rebuild your scarred area.
Scar reduction is often the best way to reduce the appearance of a keloid scar. You must follow all after-care instructions to reduce the risk of a new keloid forming.
If your scar is more of a bother than an attraction, contact our team by phone or online form for scar treatment today at a Specialists in Dermatology office near you.
