Scars! We all have them. Most we can live with, but some we would dearly love to be without. They can be distracting at best and horribly disfiguring at worst. Why do we get scars and how can we make them better?

We know from recent scientific research that, amazingly, foetuses do not form scars. Wounds made while a foetus is still in the womb heal perfectly, so it is impossible to see where the wound was. Unfortunately, from the time we leave the womb our wound healing process becomes gradually and inexorably more imperfect. The wound healing process has been referred to as nature’s ‘Band Aid’. As long as a wound is open, the body is at risk of infection. Nature’s imperative is to heal the wound quickly, not perfectly. Hence we end up with a result that is not the skin we had before, but a less organised and efficient patch that we call scar tissue. This patch doesn’t have the normal blood supply, so it eventually appears pale and hairless. It lacks the normal nerve endings, so it doesn’t exhibit the usual range of sensations. Scars often stand out as ‘proud flesh’, i.e. they are lumps of tissue that result from overgrowth of new skin. In their worst form they are known as keloid scars.

What to do about them? Well, the gold standard treatment for improving the appearance of scars is silicone sheet technology. A sheet of silicone occludes the scar, softens it and allows the normal process of reorganisation that goes on continuously within our skin to work its magic inside the scar tissue. The scar becomes less noticeable and more like the surrounding skin.

What works for scars also works for other conditions such as stretch marks and even fine lines and wrinkles. After all, these are just manifestations of the same age-related imperfections in tissue reorganisation that lead to scarring.

Silicone sheet technology is available from your pharmacist. Silicone is also available in gel form and in other forms, such as a cream that can improve the suppleness and tone of skin and a serum that can smooth out those fine lines and wrinkles. Ask your pharmacist about them and start ridding yourself of those scars, blemishes and signs of ageing that you would rather be without.