Need Opinions On Scar Reduction Products

[Guest Joe Joe]

Anyone have first hand knowledge of any of these products: Scar FX silicone sheeting, Epi Derm silicone sheeting, Rejuveness Silicone sheeting, scarprin (gel), skin esthetique (cream), Rejuvasil (gel)?

[Guest ~Brenda~]

Hi Joe Joe,

I do not have any experience with scar reduction products. I would suggest that you consult your physician as to what he/she recommends according to your scar type.

Love

Brenda

[Guest julia_d]

There are some laser based treatments which can reduce pigmentation, but noting else has any real effect except skin grafts.. various claims for these creams and stuff, but honestly they don't work.. The best cure is time, but even 40 years won't completely fade a big scar.. They do fade over time, but they take many years. I have a few and you just have to learn to live with them. I think of them as a part of me, proof I have been alive and have lived in the world and taken some of the damage it chucks out.

[Guest i is Sam :-)]

the silicone sheets can be at least partially effective but i think they have to be applied fairly early. injections of steroids (from your doctor obviously) can reduce a keliod scar, this is what i'm gonna get for my trache scar. Bio Oil possibly has some slight effect but it hasn't really been demonstrated in a study. Laser treatments can reduce the color of it, or a good pastic surgeon ca re trace it, you can't get rid of a scar completely but you can fix it by making a much cleaner incision, closing it up very well, and then treating with steroids etc.

[Guest SaraNetherlands]

In my opinion scar removal (or serious reduction) is still best done through medical means. There are supposedly some different techniques available, ranging from laser to reducing the scar by basically removing it and making a 'better' (read: barely noticable) scar. Non-surgical means (read: creams, patches, pads, the-whole-other-mumbo-jumbo-from-ebay) at best reduce a scar but still keep it visible. A bit like having a big scratch on the paint of your blue car and using a blue marker-pen to cover it up a little. If scars are facial or at areas where you do not dress, sometimes a bit of make-up/cosmetics can do a lot.

Another option, which people often overlook is getting a tattoo if the area has only a single scar. Many men and women who for example had a belly tuck, decide to go for a subtle pattern of flowers and vines to draw attention away from the scar (you break the flow of the scar with the pattern of the tattoo. However, this ofcourse only works if tattoos are something for you.

[Guest angie]

My FTM bud used vitamin E for his chest scar.

Two years later and it looks real good.Not that

he cares,as long as those globes aren't attached

to him anylonger.I have a HUGE scar on my face.

Only thing that will greatly reduced it,or eliminate it,

will be surgery.But,actually,it really doesn't bother me

all that much.While I am very aware of it,it doesn't

get in the way of guys showing me attention.

Angie

[Guest Evan_J]

I have no idea what inspired this topic to be bumped into the present but considering that the original poster has recently posted preparing for surgery.........

One of the options I found out about when I was anticipating top surgery for guys of color is injections of a drug called "kenalog". Yep, its a steroid. But by many accounts, did wonders for brothers who were concerned about keloiding.

Me, I got prescribed silicone but caught heck gettin ahold of it here for less than a kings ransom. And, since I've seen a lot of my scars fade pretty well (we all have a good idea what kind of scarring we do) I've been "au naturale". But again, its a matter of how you scar. Areas that raised for me, a year later are flattening out and fading. The doc even swears its cuz I actually used the silicone like he instructed me to

[Guest Joe Joe]

yeah Evan....Im going the silicone route....with a little manuka honey thrown in...i actually have a WHOLE metrosexual kinda regimen im gonna do...snickerin...you know i can be real vain. LOL