Cover up Scars
A scar on your body can be embarrassing. It can affect your self-confidence and even make you shy away from social situations. Luckily, several options are available—from minor cover ups to more permanent treatments—to reduce the appearance of scars.
Contents
Steps
Changing Your Hairstyle or Wardrobe
- Try a different hairstyle. If the scar you are trying to cover is on your forehead or even some areas around your ears or neck, then you can simply try a hairstyle that conceals it. Keep an eye out for styles on fashion blogs, or you can also consult your stylist who will likely have suggestions on a style that suits you as well as covers the scar.
- Wear different clothing. When it comes to arms and legs especially, your choice of clothing can make it easy to hide scars.
- Add some jewelry. When it comes to scars around hands or wrists, the solution might be as simple as jewelry. A wristwatch, bracelets, or rings can hide scars easily, and you can have fun owning a variety of them.
Using Makeup and Creams
- Apply a medicated, scar-reducing cream. For recent and especially light scars, you should begin with creams proven to reduce the appearance of scars. Flat scars less than two years old are the best candidates for these creams.
- Pick a product containing healing ingredients such as quercetin, petrolatum, and vitamin C.
- Equally as important is minimizing a scar’s exposure to sunlight. Scar tissue does not react to sunlight the same way as normal tissue, so exposing a fresh scar to sunlight can permanently darken a scar, making it more apparent.
- Apply concealing makeup. There are various makeups available on the market that can temporarily hide a scar. Choose a proper color to match your skin tone and test the makeup or cream on your skin to see if you need to blend any colors for the desired effect.
- Matching your skin tone can be a challenge for someone who isn’t familiar with the process. Try asking a consultant at a department or specialty store’s beauty counter for tips.
- Learning how to apply concealer can also take some practice. Follow the steps outlined at Apply Concealer to learn how.
- Apply a scar-camouflaging kit. For deeper scars or instances when you need longer-lasting concealment than regular makeup may provide, you can look into specialty scar-camouflaging kits that contain a mixture of adhesive creams and powders.
- These kits form a paste that you can use to cover up a scar and can last much longer than regular makeup. You can often find these kits sold at any beauty supply shop, drugstore, or salon.
- Use concealing or micropore tape. Some thin, skin-tone specific concealing tapes are on the market as well. These products are best used by cutting the adhesive to match the general shape of your scar so that it blends in with the rest of your skin.
Undergoing Cosmetic Surgery
- Consult a dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon. Certain older scars and especially raised or keloidal scars may require more effective cosmetic surgery to remove or reduce. A cosmetic surgeon will likely have several suggestions during a consultation.
- Consider camouflage tattooing. With advances in technique over the last several years, camouflage tattooing is a solid way to reduce the appearance of scars. The process is highly similar to that of getting a normal tattoo, but the surgeon uses a pigment to match your skin tone, often with imperceptible results.
- Scars should be at least two years old before undergoing camouflage tattooing to ensure they are fully healed.
- If conventional tattoos are more your style, you can cover scars with those as well. Consult your tattoo artist for the best type of design to cover your specific scar size, location, and color.
- Consider a chemical peel. A chemical peel is a basic procedure wherein a chemical mixture is applied to the effected area, causing several of the top layers of skin to dry up and peel off. The skin peels over several days, and it is considered a minor procedure.
- This is an especially effective method for reducing the appearance of acne scars.
- Consider microdermabrasion. Like a chemical peel, this method removes the outermost layer of dead skin from the abraded area; however, instead of a chemical mixture, the process is completed with a flow of fine, medical-grade crystals. The finished product is a subtle difference, but it is effective against acne scars as well as the discolored hyperpigmentation of some other scars.
Tips
- Some makeups may not have the correct color to match your skin tone, so you may need to mix darker and lighter shades of various makeups to get the perfect shade.
- Many camouflaging kits containing thick, waterproof creams that can provide the best temporary coverage.
- When using makeups or creams, products such as cotton balls, cotton swabs, and cosmetic brushes and puffs can assist you in effectively blending the makeup onto your skin.
- Offices specializing in cosmetic surgery have various brochures on their treatment options that you can review for additional information. If you have questions, consider a consultation.
- Always clean and dry the affected area(s) before applying any makeups, creams, or adhesives. This will prevent the makeup or adhesive from coming off easily.
Warnings
- Do not allow any hair or clothes to rub against the cream or makeup. This may smudge and ruin the effect.
- Do not apply any cosmetics without testing them first for any allergic reactions.
Related Articles
- Camouflage a Scar
Sources and Citations
- Videos provided by Zabrena
- ↑ http://www.dailymakeover.com/trends/makeup/how-to-cover-scars/
- https://healthonline.washington.edu/document/health_online/pdf/Scars_Healing_5_11.pdf
- ↑ http://www.artisticcosmeticsolutions.com/scar_camo.html
- ↑ http://www.cosmeticsurgerydallas.com/med-spa-services-dallas/chemical-peel/
- ↑ http://www.cosmeticsurgerydallas.com/med-spa-services-dallas/microdermabrasion/
