Do scars tan?

SCogs18

I recently fell and now I have a 2.5 inch scar right down the front of my lower leg, it's not raised or anyhthing, but it's bright white and really sticks out.  It makes me really self concious.

I went to the beach and got some color, but my scar is still super white!  Is there any way to get it to darken to match my skin a little.  I don't think I could apply self tanner to just the scar, my hands aren't very steady.  If there is nothing I can do, any idea how long until it blends in naturally?

kikirst33

It will take some time for the scar to start to fade.  Depending on how bad it is you may find that it never totally dissappears. I have scars on my knees from surgery that I can barely see anymore however I have scars from having my Gal Bladder out that are very evident.

Are you worried about this for your wedding?  If this is the situation you could find some makeup to help cover it.   If this is just an every day concern it's something that you'll just need to learn to live with.  Don't let it stress you out.

rkw0717

Have you ever tried Mederma? It helps soften scars and actually does a really good job kind of concealing them. It works for all kinds of scars, even stretch marks.

christinamarie325

It wont help with the color, but after I had foot surgery, I applied the gel from Vitamin E capsuls onto the scar, and it really helped even things out a bit. It's still a little off-color, but not incredibly noticeable.

tamrahelmer

I have a large scar on my neck from a surgery I had about 8 years ago now. It was red at first, faded to white, and now is fading away and blending into the skin. I would recommend that you actually apply more protective sunscreen to the scar because the sun could make it worse.

For fading purposes, you can get vitamin E oil and apply directly to the scar as well as over the counter creams like mederma.

SCogs18

Thanks guys!  It's not a major concern for the wedding, but definitely for the honeymoon/life in general.  I will be sure to use extra sunscreen on it and try some OTC stuff on it.  I apprecaite the input.

catwine

i have several scars on my legs from cycling (i'm not a competitive cyclist, just one who is not very good) and i find they are even more white when i tan. i'm a fan of vitamin e gel (like for sunburns) for fading scars.  i applied it daily to my back and face for acne scarring and it disappeared.

jlmonpe

if you find something that works let me know! i have scars on my arms and was seriouslydebating on wearing gloves for my wedding because during the summer when i get tan they show up 10 times as bad .. ive tried mederma and it did nothing for me

Arturabeth

Cocoa butter is also a good one to help soften the skin of the scar. Several years ago I fell and hit my face on the concrete stairs in front of my house and I have a small scar on my check. I heard some hockey players rub cocoa butter all over their face after games to help heal any cuts and scars. I started doing that every night and after a few weeks it started to dissapear. Now it is barely noticable and it tans witht the rest of my face