is the sun good for covering scars?

[lauryn]

oh yeah what type of scars do you have

Ice-pick scars get their name from their appearance. They may be superficial or deep, are usually small in diameter and have steep sides like an ice-pick wound. They may be hard or soft to the touch; the soft scars are usually more superficial and the hard scars deeper. The base of hard scars under the skin may be wider than the scar at the surface of the skin.

Depressed fibrotic scars are usually large scars that have sharp margins and steep sides. They are similar in appearance to deep chicken pox scars.

Superficial and deep soft scars are variable in size, and have sloping edges that merge with normal skin. (i have these)

Atrophic macules are soft, flat scars that often have a bluish or violet color on white skin due to underlying blood vessels. Macules tend to fade over time and become less obvious.

[shihui]

hmm...i've read the info you provided on the sun's benefits. i guess i'll try to strike the right amt of sun exposure.

as for my skincare routine, i wash my face when i bathe and before i sleep. that is for weekdays. if i would to make an effort to wash it and apply skincare products on weekday mornings, i'll have to wake up extra early. and i wake up really early for school already. as for weekends, i would wash my face in the mornings and when i bathe. if i still feel oily before i sleep, i'll wash it again. i wash my face with a facial purifying cleasing gel.

after washing, i'll apply either vitamin e lotion, or scarzone, or garnier dark spot corrector cream onto my scars. also, i exfoliate my face on a weekly basis.

my scars are soft, flat and brown. i thnk i have ice-pick scars too. i'm not sure if they are scars or just open pores. and there are a few specks that i don't know if they are scars or not. if i look in the mirror under bright white light, i can count up to ard 40 tiny brown spots on my right cheek.

[lauryn]

vitamin e topically

As a nutrition scientist, my scientific intuition told me that vitamin
E does little for healing scar tissue and that wearing vitamin E-containing
lotion doesn't do much for the skin. BUT, to be sure, I checked some the
latest research on the vitamin E/skin topic on the web through the Grateful
Med data base . Just as I thought, I found several
current research articles that stated very clearly that, for humans, in
almost all (90% in one paper) of the cases studied, vitamin E put on the
skin as ointment after skin surgery did not benefit the cosmetic outcome of
scars. In fact, the application of the vitamin E-containing ointment
actually was detrimental to the cosmetic appearance of the scar (Baumann
1999, in Dermatology Surgery). I found some other articles about work done
with non-human animals in which the evidence for benefit was really
'iffy'...or other articles about human research in which the authors would
not clearly state that there was any beneficial effect ("remains unclear").
So, I guess the best I can say is that there is no strong evidence to
support the 'old wives' claims' that vitamin E helps heal scars. Maybe
what IS happening is that, since vitamin E is lipid/fat soluble, it is
really the fatty solvent that is making the skin seem more supple and
smooth...and the scar appears to be less distinct.
Remember, however, that vitamin E IS a nutrient (fat-soluble vitamin)
taken internally. What we are discussing above is vitamin E applied
topically (on the skin). Vitamin E functions as an anti-oxidant in the body
and keeps certain very reactive compound from destroying cellular
structure, such as the membranes around the red blood cells and other
tissues that can be 'oxidized' by 'free-radicals.' Vitamin E functions by
stopping the chain reactions that these free-radicals can cause at the
cellular level. For the vitamin to act as an anti-oxidant, however, it
must be taken internally, as far as I know.

[lauryn]

i couldn't find much info on scarzone. it has silicone and an spf so thats good. as for the garnier product i couldn't find it. what do you exfoliate with?
is vit e what you use to help the scars heal?

[lauryn]

do you pick with tweezers and the like or just your nails?

[shihui]

thanks lauryn again, for your reply. i use dalton smoothing exfoliating cream. at times i'll apply the vitamin e lotion on my scars, but nowadays i've stopped doing that. even if i do, i would apply on my freshly-picked spots instead.

i pick mostly with my nails, rarely with tweezers or anything like that. i've only started to pick with tweezers this year, after i read on the board that this is possible. i'm not blaming the board or anything like that, because i believe that even if the board had not made me realise that i could use tools, i would have sooner or later. and if i didn't join this board, probably i would have picked long enough by then to realise the usage of tools. but anyway, i rarely do it..probably less than 5 times in my entire picking life. it's only when i really cant get what i want out from my face, then i'll use a tweezer to help me get it out.

[lauryn]

well for fading scars i use glycolic acid. Read my post on ALPHA HYDROXY ACIDS it a good one and it'll give you a sense of what they actually do. i don't think you breakout much. For that use salicylic acid. also read my post on that too. there both in the THERAPY MEDS section. my bf threw away all my tweezers so i couldn't use them but i still go out and buy more and hide them from him. anywayy, i know how you feel about not knowing that you could pick with tweezers. i learned a few new tricks from the board too.

[lauryn]

some people use LUSTRA to fade scars.
if you have freshly picked scabs try using bag balm to soften them up and help them peel of easier.
www.vermontcountrystore.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=8413&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=4&iSubCat=164&iProductID=8413&searchid=inceptor
only apply it when you can sit around for a while and then rinse it off. like at home watching tv for a couple hours

[shihui]

i guess it'll be hard finding these products around the malls here...and i don't really like to go out...i guess the only way out for me is to buy them online but i don't really know how to go about that, so i shall just stick to whatever i can have right now to help myself with the scars.

[lauryn]

i can walk you through ordering them online if youd like

[lauryn]

Vitamin D and Sunscreen

It’s hard to imagine that a vitamin could find itself in the midst of a controversy, but that is exactly the position vitamin D is in. The conflict is over risking sun exposure because of our bodies’ need for vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency can be a serious health problem, most notably by blocking the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, causing a chronic imbalance and bone deterioration. As luck would have it, sunlight is the most abundant, natural source that helps our bodies make vitamin D.

You may be unaware that, despite the name, vitamin D is not actually a vitamin. It is a hormone known as calcitrol. When your skin is exposed to UVB light, it converts 7-dehydrocholesterol (present in your skin and bloodstream) into vitamin D, where the liver and kidneys activate it and it begins regulating and enhancing the absorption of the minerals calcium and phosphorus in the body. Since there are very few foods that naturally contain vitamin D (your best options are salmon, mackerel, and cod liver oil) most of us need to rely on either sun exposure or vitamin D-fortified foods (such as milk and cereals) to ensure we get enough.

Where the controversy takes place is that exposing our skin to the sun without sunscreen is dangerous, but there are those that believe sunscreen will cancel out the body's ability to manufacture vitamin D from sun exposure. This concern has been expressed from several seemingly reputable resources (Sources: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/325/20932/230636.html?d=dmtContent; www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/diet.fitness/10/28/vitamin.D.ap/; www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/what_sunscreen_guidelines_000020_4.htm; American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December 2004, 80 (Supplement 6):1678S-88S; and Archives of Dermatology, December 1988, pages 1802-1804).

On the other side of this argument are proponents for sun avoidance (myself included) who encourage maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D through dietary sources and supplements without skimping on the sunscreen because sunscreen does not block the amount of UVB radiation needed to help the body manufacture vitamin D.

An article reprinted in PCI Journal, Volume 12, Number 4, November 2004, refers to comments by dermatologist Darrell S. Rigel, M.D., clinical professor, New York University Medical Center in New York City. He reports that as someone who sees and treats skin cancer patients on a daily basis, it is appalling to him that anyone in good conscience would claim that intentional sun exposure, regardless of length of time, is beneficial. It is a fact that skin cancer rates are rising and solid science supports the daily application of sunscreen as the best defense against the damaging effects of sunlight. The same article also mentioned a 1997 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. It concerned patients with xeroderma pigmentosa (a disease that causes multiple skin cancers in persons exposed to even small amounts of UV radiation). The study demonstrated that these patients, despite avid sun avoidance and constant UV protection, still had normal levels of vitamin D over a period of several years. There is also the issue that no sunscreen, regardless of active ingredients or how often or liberally it is applied, can provide 100% protection from UV radiation. The tiny amount of UVB light that sunscreens do not shield is enough to begin the synthesis of vitamin D (though depending on your skin color and climate, supplemental vitamin D will likely still be necessary).

Further, several large, controlled studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency does not result from ongoing regular sunscreen use. Vitamin D supplementation is a good idea because most people’s diets are naturally deficient in it, not to mention as we age our bodies’ ability to produce vitamin D naturally diminishes due to the decrease in 7-dehydrocholesterol (a component in skin that begins the conversion process for vitamin D) (Sources: The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, Volume 103, Number 8, August 2003, pages 3-4; American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, March 2002, pages 185-191; Dermatology, January 2001, pages 27-30; British Medical Journal, October 1999, page 1066). Before beginning any new vitamin supplement program, make sure to consult your physician.