|
Sign up for our newsletters!
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy       Subscribe to O, The Oprah Magazine
Scar
Photo: Thinkstock

Quickest Way to Make Your Scar Disappear

"If the cut is all the way down to the fat layer, you can't make the scar go away completely," says Charles H. Thorne, MD, NYU School of Medicine associate professor of plastic surgery. "You can only make it as inconspicuous as possible." The skin on either side of the wound needs to be lined up; use butterfly bandages to keep the two sides in place and keep tension off the stitches (if you needed them).

Thorne says that although you want to avoid tension (the force pulling the wound apart), for best results you want to apply downward pressure on the wound itself with medical tape. Topical steroids may make a wide or raised scar less visible but can also thin your skin—so use them sparingly. What doesn't work, says Thorne, are vitamin E or aloe products or patented botanical extracts.

From the December 2007 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine
Loading...
Advertisement
Advertisement
IN THE CURRENT ISSUE
Find joy in every day! The July issue brings you 20 ways to appreciate your life more, as well as Oprah's instant mood boosters, easy makeovers and our guide to the best books of summer.
see all new stories
Advertisement