Beautyfact of the month: making scars disappear is possible without surgery too!

Dr. Janig explains which types of scar there are and how they can be gently removed.

Scars are closed wounds which people sometimes want removed for emotional reasons. Sometimes also for medical reasons, such as pain or itching, or simply because they are felt to be cosmetically disturbing.

However, people do not want to undergo an operation again for that reason, since this is often the cause of the scar in the first place.
But there are also other ways to remove scars and restore a beautiful skin appearance.

Dr. Janig is a dermatologist; she is familiar with the various types of scar and knows which treatment is suitable.
Here she explains the different types of scar and shows three of the non-surgical removal options.

3 different types of scar

Hypertrophic scars
These scars are bulging and are confined to the original area of injury or surgery. This type can also recede spontaneously.

Keloids
This type of scar is an overgrowth which extends beyond the area of injury. With such scars, restricted movement can even occur in some circumstances.

Atrophic scars
With this type too little connective tissue is produced, so that a depression forms in the skin. A well-known example of this are acne scars.

There are various treatment methods, and often several methods are used for certain scars. Here are a few examples:

• The Skin Pen is a needling method and is used, for example, for acne scars.
• Chemical peels are available in various strengths and with different substances, such as fruit acid, vitamin A, salicylic acid and others.
• With a microdermabrasion the uppermost keratinised layer of skin is removed in a controlled and gentle mechanical way. By delivering an intensive jet of water, overreactions and irritations of the skin are prevented.