by Minas Chrysopoulo
If you have marks on your face, you've probably tried everything to make them go away. While nothing can completely erase a mark—even with surgery or lasers—there are ways to minimize their appearance and keep your confidence.
You don't have to cover up completely or use a makeup foundation that is two shades too light for your skin tone, either!
While marks are a natural part of the healing process, they shouldn't be taken lightly. Marks are caused by damage to the skin, such as cuts, burns, or acne. When your body senses that there's been an injury to its tissues, it sends out chemical signals that trigger inflammation at the site of injury. This causes blood vessels in nearby tissues to dilate and clotting factors to activate -- all in order to prevent further damage and control bleeding.
When the inflammation subsides after 48 hours or so (depending on where you're healing), collagen in your skin starts being laid down by your body as part of its repair response -- giving rise to your skin tissue.
Looking after your facial mark with the right cream or oil is essential. It will lessen the marks but you need to consider what type of marks.
By following these tips and learning how to take care of marks, you can put your best face forward every day.
One of the best ways to heal facial marks is using a moisturizer or scar cream. These products contain ingredients that help reduce inflammation, improve skin tone and texture, and prevent new skin tissue from forming. They also contain ingredients that are soothing and anti-inflammatory, which can help reduce redness and swelling in the healing area.
Our InviCible Primer + Dark Spot Corrector is a great option for healing. Our product has many of the ingredients you will need to keep your face moisturized and to reduce the appearance of marks, such as vitamin C and aloe vera.
It’s important not to pick at scabs or pop them too early because this can increase your risk of developing hypertrophic marks (raised red areas). Marks are permanent once they form, so it's important not to damage them further by picking at them or popping them before they have healed completely.
The best way to reduce the appearance of facial marks is by using gentle cleansers and moisturizers. This will help keep your skin healthy, making it appear more evenly toned. Also, it's important to protect your skin from sun damage with sunscreen every day.
Sunscreen not only protects you from damaging UV rays, but it also helps slow down the aging process and reduce wrinkles.
These procedures can reduce the look of severe scars. They remove the top layers of skin to get rid of surface scars and bring deeper scars closer to the surface. When the skin peels off, the new skin may temporarily be reddish, sore, or swollen. It can take a week or more for that skin to go back to normal.
Chemical peels can be used to treat mild scarring. The chemical solution dissolves the outermost layer of the skin to help increase cell turnover and reveal a smoother, less irregular complexion.
This treatment works better for people with lighter skin. Aesthetic professionals normally carry out chemical peels.
If you have darker skin, a glycolic acid peel may be more effective. Azelaic acid is also a good option for treating acne and pigment on the face.
Regardless of skin tone, make sure you use sunscreen daily and reapply if you’re exposed to the sun, as peels make the skin extremely sensitive to light and ultraviolet (UV) rays.
Microdermabrasion isn't a miracle treatment, though, and there are limits to what it can treat.
Like chemical peels and dermabrasion, laser therapy is for severe scars. But unlike those other options, laser therapy is more targeted to the scar. The lasers target specific blood vessels. The procedure usually leaves skin swollen and red for about 5 days. You’ll probably need to do this several times. Many people get three to five sessions of laser therapy. It can be pricey, so check to see if your insurance will cover it.
Also referred to as laser skin resurfacing or laser scar revision, laser therapy targets blood vessels that can reduce the appearance of a scar.
While it can’t eliminate the scar completely, the pulses of light can make the scar flatter, reduce redness, and lessen pain and itchiness.
Laser therapy is carried out by a doctor or an aesthetic professional.
Microneedling uses a roller with tiny needles to poke very small holes into your skin’s top layer. This process spurs your skin to make collagen, which plumps your skin and improves the texture of scars. The area will be red afterward, probably for a few days. And you may need several treatments. People often get four to six microneedling sessions to reduce scars.
Microneedling can be used on a whole host of scar types.
As the name implies, the treatment uses microneedles to prick the skin and create microchannels. This stimulates collagen production, which helps to restructure the skin and reduce the appearance of scars.
Aesthetic or dermatology clinics normally offer microneedling.
Aloe vera is known for soothing many types of skin problems, such as psoriasis or sunburns. Early tests in lab rats show it may reduce the appearance of scars. But there’s been little research on this in humans, although people have traditionally used aloe vera on the skin for centuries. It’s probably safe to try. Sometimes scar tissue can feel tight; aloe vera may keep the skin more supple to help ease that feeling.
Linoleic Acid (Safflower Seed Oil) and Oleic Acid (Sunflower Seed Oil):
- Regenerate lipid biolayer crucial for skin moisture
- Improve skin elasticity
- Lighten dark pigment (hyperpigmentation)
- Control production of prostaglandins, one of the skin’s main “building blocks.”
- Improve skin healing
- Strong anti-inflammatory particularly important for acne-prone skin)
- Accelerates skin renewal
- Lightens dark pigment and brown spots including melasma
- Anti-acne effects (prevention and treatment)
Dimethicone silicone hydrates, moisturizes and protects the skin, and provides the ideal base for foundation and makeup. It also helps fade, soften and flatten unsightly facial marks (raised, firm, red or dark).
Dimethicone silicone is non-comedogenic and is, therefore the ideal moisturizer for acne-prone skin.
This tropical oil has several skin benefits. It’s a moisturizer, plus it has fatty acids - particularly monounsaturated fatty acids, that encourage cell reproduction.
Marula oil has antimicrobial and antibacterial properties. This makes it a great natural remedy for marks because it is lightweight and readily penetrates the skin's topmost layers, where bacteria and inflammation tend to happen without blocking your pores.
Marula oil has been used in Africa for centuries as a beauty staple to soften, nourish and protect the skin and hair.
- Rich in Vitamin A, B, C & E
- High in omega 3 and 6, natural antioxidants & minerals
- Maintain healthy skin
If you have a burn, cut, scrape, or another wound, lavender oil may help speed up the wound-healing process. In a
To use lavender oil on small wounds, mix 3 or 4 drops of lavender oil together with a few drops of Marula oil. Apply the mixture to your wound with a cotton ball.
Silicone gels and sheets can be used on healing skin, not open wounds. They’re soft- and flexible-style gels or sheets that are applied like a self-adhesive dressing. They’re designed to help soften the skin and flatten the scar.
Worn daily, they can be washed and reused for up to 3 months. You don’t need a prescription — they can be bought over the counter at your local store.
Even though it will be difficult at first, the mark on your face can become something that you see as a part of yourself and not an imperfection. Embracing your mark is not just about learning to love the skin you're in, but also learning to love yourself for who you are and what makes you unique. You may never feel completely comfortable with it but if you learn to embrace it, others might too!
There's no need for you to put up with a mark! Using the tips in this guide, you can at least make it less noticeable.