Articles

When our skin is injured different cells go into immediate action and an intricate healing mechanism starts.

Scars are an essential part of the biological healing mechanism that occurs after the appearance of a wound to the thick layer of skin (the dermis) or the outer layer of skin (the epidermis). This type of damage is cured by rebuilding the tissue, and in these instances, scarring is minimal. When we damage the thick layer of tissue beneath the skin, rebuilding is more complicated. Our bodies lay down collagen fibres (a protein which is naturally produced by the body) and this commonly results in skin tissues that are similar to the original but less functional tissues we call scars as they are different than healthy skin.

After an injury has healed, scars continue to change as new collagen is created and the blood vessels return to normal. This is the reason why most scars will fade and improve in look over a period of two years after a wound has occured. However, there will always be some visible evidence of the damage, for example hair follicles and sweat glands do not grow back, so it seems we can never completely be rid of scars.

Now, it is good to remember that an injury does not become a scar until the skin has healed completely. Skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis and injuries such as small burns or sunburns are not scars because the skin is broken or still being healed. However, these conditions could lead to small scars if scratched before the outer layer of skin is healed.

Many persons have some kind of scars and for most of them this does not cause any problem. However, this is not valid for all people.

Biological Scar Creams Benefit The Healing Process

There are many scar healing creams, silicone gels and ointments, made of vitamins, botanical extracts, and biological ingredients that are designed to optimize the healing of scars, help in scar reduction and make scars less evident.

Not all scar creams are alike though. Healing of wounds is a complex process that entails an intricately and coordinated degree of orchestration that happens between the many cells, organs and products of the immune system that do the wonderful job of maintaining our biological, health-full integrity.

Fibrosis is an abnormal skin reaction to a wound and can be described as the replacement of the healthy structural components of the tissue by aberrant, non-functional and exaggerated agglomeration of scar tissue. This is perhaps the most significant biological marker for fibrosis. Many clinical problems are linked with excessive scar formation. For example, keloids and hypertrophic scars.