Ok, i’ve never suffered with acne but there are three other types of scarring that I have had to deal with in my life that were fairly unpleasant. I’ll talk to you about what those were and how I dealt with them and you can see what you think:
1) I got bitten by a dog when I was seven years old and I had thirteen stitches on my face from five deep teeth-marks: four on my left cheek and one just above my left eye. It looked bad at the time and I remember my parents talking to each-other about it (I overheard): they were discussing whether or not I might need plastic surgery (perhaps a skin graft) when I was older. I remember my mum being very upset about my looks being ‘ruined’ and my father telling her that they would just have to wait and see what happened and what I needed.
Basically as time has gone on the scars have really faded. The one above my eye is covered by my eyebrow and isn’t visible at all now. The other four can be seen but they just look like small indents (like little dimples). They can’t be seen at a distance and most people don’t seem to notice them straight away: sometimes someone will suddenly say, on the third or fourth occasion of my meeting them, ‘oh, what’s that on your face’ … like they’ve just noticed, or sometimes people just don’t notice at all and only become aware of it if and when I tell them.
These scars were never treated so I guess what I’m trying to say here is that time really is a great healer: especially if the scars were caused when you were young. My dog-bite scars don’t worry me at all.
2) I caught chicken-pox when I was seventeen years old and I couldn’t leave it alone (even though everyone told me I had too and warned me that it would scar, lol), because it itched so much. I was left with some minor scarring on my face (pock-marks) … mainly around my mouth and chin area. Again, I think because these scars were caused when I was still young, and my skin still maturing, over time they have faded to insignificance. They don’t bother me at all and I have never had to treat them with anything.
3) I began self-harming when I was fifteen years old. At first the wounds I inflicted were more like scratches and didn’t scar at all. I stopped self-harming until I was in my early twenties when some personal problems led me to start again. This time though I inflicted some much deeper wounds and a lot of them. The lacerations were all caused by a razor-blade – some of them required hospital treatment, but a lot of them didn’t get it so I was left with scarring. At one time the scarring would go purple first thing in the morning or during winter (whenever it was cold basically) and it really stood out. It was quite bad.
These scars were quite bad and didn’t show any sign of getting better of going away on their own. Obviously because of the nature of the scars (where they were – on my left arm mainly, and how I got them – self-inflicted), I found these the most embarrassing and wanted rid of them.
My mother bought me various lotions and potions to apply to the area.
I used an Aloe Vera gel, which when used every day definately seemed to make a difference (although this isn’t something that is going to just happen overnight – you have to be committed and keep applying the cream and not giving up hope).
More recently I used Bio-Oil, which is a new oil specifically marketed for people with scars – it is very greasy and oily to apply, but it has a lovely smell and a lovely feeling when rubbed into the skin. I also reccommend this oil.
Another product I would reccommend for scars is Coconut Butter – again, when used over time it really does work.
I have been using these products for a couple of years now and I think the scarring has been reduced by at least 50%.
Another great way of healing scars is by exposing them to sunlight. This last summer I was able to get a great tan and since my tan has faded I have noticed my scars fade significantly. Obviously you need to be careful not to burn in the sun (you don’t wanna end up with skin cancer) … but depspite all the negative publicity the sun gets, for scars the sun can really bring great benefits.
The main thing is not to let your scarring get you down – there is plenty that can be done but you need time and patience to let it work. good luck.