What are the 3 types of scars?

What is the most common scar?

Hypertrophic scars are one of the most common forms of scarring. Although they look similar to keloid scars, hypertrophic scars are caused when there is too much collagen in the skin, giving it a raised appearance.

What are the stages of scars?

However, there are three distinct stages to healing and your scar will have a different appearance during each stage. The three phases to healing are the inflammatory stage, the proliferative stage and the remodelling stage.

What are the two types of scar?

What are deep scars called?

A hypertrophic scar is a thick raised scar that's an abnormal response to wound healing. They more commonly occur in taut skin areas following skin trauma, burns or surgical incisions. Treatments include medication, freezing, injections, lasers and surgery. Appointments 216.444.5725.

Scar and Keloid Management | Andrew Vardanian, MD | UCLAMDChat

What scars are permanent?

For the most part, scars are permanent, but they can be faded using clinically-proven scar therapy products. Raised and discolored scars are the product of collagen buildup during the proliferation and maturation stages of wound healing.

What body part scars the most?

Areas such as the chest and shoulders tend to scar worse than other areas. Scars in these tension areas are often thicker and more pronounced. You'll also find thicker scars occurring on elbows and knees due to their high tension qualities.

What different types of scars look like?

A scar may appear flat, lumpy, sunken, or colored. It may be painful or itchy. The final look of a scar depends on many factors, including the skin type and location on the body, the direction of the wound, the type of injury, age of the person with the scar, and his or her nutritional status.

What is a trauma scar?

Traumatic scarring is one of the most common complications after soft tissue injury caused by burns and trauma, which affects tens of millions of people worldwide every year. Traumatic scars diminish the quality of life due to disfigurement, symptoms of pain and itch, and restricted motion.

What is a flat scar called?

Keloids are sometimes confused with another more common type of scar called hypertrophic scars. These are flat scars that can range from pink to brown in color. Unlike keloids, hypertrophic scars are smaller, and they can go away on their own over time.

What does a healthy scar look like?

When a scar first develops on lighter skin, it's usually pink or red. Over time, the pinkish color fades, and the scar becomes slightly darker or lighter than the color of the skin. In people with dark skin, scars often appear as dark spots. Sometimes scars itch, and they may be painful or tender.

How long do scars take to fully heal?

It can take up to 12-18 months after your injury or operation for a scar to heal. A normal scar will become darker initially and after a period of time this will start to fade. Dark scars can remain for years or indefinitely in people with darker skin.

What should a scar look like after 6 months?

During the scar healing process, the color of the scar will fade and its volume will decrease. This stage lasts for an average of 3 to 6 months. The scar then enters its final phase when it begins to become paler and softer (remodeling).

What color is a healthy scar?

Scar tissue is usually red at first, then pink for 3-6 months and then fades to a slightly lighter than normal skin color. Exposure to heavy sunlight may cause a scar to heal darker.

What is a large scar called?

A keloid scar is a thick raised scar. It can occur wherever you have a skin injury but usually forms on earlobes, shoulders, cheeks or the chest. If you're prone to developing keloids, you might get them in more than one place.

What are abnormal scars?

What Is Abnormal Scarring? When skin is cut or injured, the body heals itself by forming scar tissue. If the body makes too much scar tissue, abnormal scarring results. “Hypertrophic scars” are usually raised, red fibrous lesions, and keloid scars extend beyond the edges of the original cut or wound.

What do scars tell about a person?

A scar always represents pain endured. Pain is part of what it means to be human, and scars become silent proof of that humanity. For some, scars symbolize that life is full of pain and suffering that must be endured with strength and stoicism. It's no exaggeration, therefore, that to be human is to be scarred.

What does a hypertrophic scar look like?

Hypertrophic scars are usually raised, although rarely elevated more than 4 mm above the skin; red or pink in color; hard; and pruritic. Additionally, these scars do not extend beyond the general geographic margins of the wound and tend to regress over time.

What causes emotional scars?

Emotional trauma is the end result of events or experiences that leave us feeling deeply unsafe and often helpless. It can result from a single event or be part of an ongoing experience, such as chronic abuse, bullying, discrimination or humiliation.

What type of wounds leave scars?

Hultman says, “Scarring can come from cuts — these are the most common injuries. But scrapes and burns can leave scars as well. Scars are more likely in injuries where the skin is not just cut but also crushed or otherwise damaged. Clean cuts can heal very well if they're washed out and treated to avoid infection.”

What type of scars can be removed?

For surgical scars in particular, laser scar removal is an effective, noninvasive option for scar treatment. Dermatologists use intense light to reduce the size, color, and shape of a scar. Different kinds of laser removal are more effective in treating one type of scar over another.

What makes a scar light or dark?

There are a few reasons why a scar might turn dark. For example, if a scar was exposed to sunlight during the healing process, there's a good chance the scar tissue will become pigmented. Dark scars can also be caused by inflammation, poor healing, or the genetics of your skin and how your skin heals.

What happens to scars as you age?

“When we're younger, we secrete more SDF1 into the blood stream to form scars, but as we age, we lose this ability, which allows tissue to regenerate.”

Do scars get bigger with age?

Scars tend to fade over time, but some people may have scars that grow larger. These types of scars are known as keloids. Learn more about keloid scars so that you can get the treatment you need if you suspect you have one.

Do scars look worse as you age?

Depending on the location of the scar, acne scars can appear more severe as you grow older because of collagen depletion in the skin. Depressed acne scars or atrophic acne scarring will usually look worse as your skin loses natural volume as part of the natural aging process.