Healing and Covering Scars

I have a 1.5 inch long, 1/2 inch wide scar on my left arm. It is two years old and I am doing everything in my power to rid myself of it and/or cover it up. It is slightly raised and might be a hypertrophic scar. I have had cortizone injections, used silicone sheets, alpha hydroxy acids and copper peptides to try to lessen the scar tissue. So far copper peptides have been the most effective, but I'm still far from it being something resembling normal skin. My cousin is getting married next week and I'm a bridesmaid. Thus I am desperately searching for a concealer to cover up the horrible shint texture of the scar. I will provide updates of both my attempts to heal my scar and cover up with make up.

Very soon I plan to have my scar surgically excised and then begin the skin remodelization process again with a skinnier, smaller scar. I am doing this because the first time I got the injury I did not get stitches. I want to reinjure the scar and have more optimal wound healing conditions. Because as it is now this scar is waaaayyyy too shiny for me to live with. I think having it excised will leave a better scar. My scar is mostly flat right now but when I first got it, it was slightly raised. It was not a keloid because the swelling never extended beyond the borders of the original scar. So there's always the chance that if I get it surgically excised the new scar could be worse than the old one. It could become hypertrophic or even worse become a keloid. Its a danger I am willing to take. I hate my shiny scar. I just want a scar that I can live with. And then use Dr. Pickart's copper peptides to remodel that new scar. The only problem is that surgical excision is expensive and I currently am helping to support my mom and sister as our house has recently gone into foreclosure. That is why I have started this website to raise money as well as share my experiences, so that others who have to deal with scars can learn from my trials.

I have tried and am currently trying dermablend, colortration, smartcover, tattoo camo, derma color and covermark. The problem is that my scar is so shiny so its not just a matter of covering up a skin discoloration but also hiding the shine. Most of these concealers are oil based which I am guessing isn't the best for my shiny scar. So far I am experimenting with using a combination of skin plastic by dermacolor and then a concealer of my choice. Dermacolor skin plastic works good at covering up the shine and then I have to choose a concealer that does not add to the shine. I am looking for the perfect combination.

So yesterday was the big day, my cousins wedding. And I was a bridesmaid. I spent the whole being stared at by 200 guests, taking pictures, and greeting everyone whilst wearing a strapless pink dress that revealed my two inch long shiny scar on my left arm. For two years I have stocked up on long sleeve shirts to cover up this sucker and now I was obliged to wear a dress revealing it to the masses. I had no choice. I couldn't tell my cousin "Well thanks for thinking of me but I'm sorry I can't be in your wedding because I have a great big scar on my arm. Maybe next time."

So for the past three months I have been in overdrive to help my scar look better any way I can. At first I just hoped to use copper peptides religiously to actually make my skin improve, but three months is not enough time to get the results that I wanted. So for about the past month I've been trying out a variety of concealers and foundations to coverup not just the discoloration of the scar but also its shiny, irregular texture. Most concealers cover up the discoloration but make the scar even shinnier and more noticeable. The exact opposite of what I was trying to do. So this week I have been searching for water based, oil free concealers and foundations that will cover up the darkness of the scar but not make it shinnier. Furthermore I actually wanted to find a product that reduced the shinniness.

So the night before the wedding I spent two hours trying out the various different combinations of makeup. In the end I couldn't cover it up 100% but I did succeed in covering it up enough so that I wasn't stressing out the whole day that everyone was starring at my scar. My boyfriend was actually very surprised and shocked at how well I had covered it up, and he would know because he's one of the few people that ever sees my scar. Yesterday I was able to feel normal again. Like I was out of my prison. You could still tell that my scar was there, but the funny thing was that no one was starring at it. They were just telling me how pretty I was and that felt wonderful after two years of feeling like I was so ugly. No one pointed it out to me or asked me about it. They all saw the whole me not just my scar. Its really helped to rebuild my confidence, and in the end the wedding was an amazing exeperience. They all loved me despite my scar.