What is it?
Following skin traumas such as burns, injuries, severe acne or surgeries, the skin regenerates itself to protect against infections and then closes and heals the damaged area. Healthy cells migrate to the wound and then multiply to complete the healing process. The latter can cause hyperkeratinization – the abnormal multiplication of epidermal cells, which results in a texture that is different from the rest of the skin.
Did you know?
Healing is possible thanks to the action of collagen, a protein known for its effects on the firmness and elasticity of young and healthy skin! Collagen reunites the skin fibres to promote the healing process.
What are the causes?
The healing process is carried out more or less quickly depending on our lifestyle, our age, the location of the wound and its degree of severity. Nevertheless, several factors influence the healing process and the long-term appearance of scars:
The immune system
Some drugs, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and immunosuppressants, and treatments, such as chemotherapy, and certain diseases such as diabetes and kidney failure affect the body’s immune system and healing capacity. Healing may then be more difficult and the appearance of scars may be accentuated.
Age
Over time, cells multiply and regenerate less quickly and collagen production slows down. This explains why children’s scars form quickly and why those of adults and older people form more slowly and tend to remain more apparent.
Lifestyle
Diet, physical activity, stress management, alcohol and tobacco consumption, as well as environmental aggressors such as cold and sun are all factors that influence healing. Lifestyle can have an impact on collagen production and skin cell multiplication, which in turn can slow down healing making scars more noticeable in individuals with unbalanced diets and sedentary and/or stressful lifestyles.
Skin Type
Skin type is an important determinant of how the scars heal. Darker skin types (IV and up) are more likely to heal with hypertrophic scars or keloids. Areas where there is a lot of movement such as around joints can result in a worse looking scar due to constant stretching of the scar. Hypertrophic scars are excess scar tissue within the boundary of the original scar, whereas keloid scars are excess scar tissue that goes beyond the original scar.
How to prevent?
In order to stimulate the healing process, the wound must first be properly cared for. This includes cleaning, disinfection, moisturization and the application of sterile dressings chosen according to the cause and severity of the lesion: healing should not be left to chance.
The new skin created by the healing process is thinner and younger than on the rest of the body; it is therefore more sensitive to the harmful effects of the sun. In order to reduce the appearance of the scar, it is essential to protect it from UVA and UVB rays by applying an appropriate sunscreen and covering it as much as possible until it heals completely.
How to treat?
Fractional lasers
Fractional resurfacing improves texture, spots and fine lines. This very safe procedure causes micro-perforations in the dermis which in turn stimulate the skin to repair them by producing new collagen and building a new skin structure. The new skin formed combines with existing skin to reduce the appearance of scars, whether caused by acne, injury, aging or surgery.