We know how it feels like. You’ve been bothered by your stretch marks, scars, or other permanent marks for a long time. Sometimes you feel better about them, but other times, it just eats at your self esteem.
And then you see that ad.
‘Make your scars DISAPPEAR.’
‘Stretch mark oils to fix your skin’
‘The hyperpigmentation Serum that WORKS’
‘ERASE your blemishes’.
Show these product to any doctor or dermatologist, and you will probably receive a disapproving eye-roll in return. They are likely to tell you this… Not only are these ads false promises, but in some countries, these ads flirt with the borders of advertising legality. The simple truth is that scars and stretch marks don’t tend to disappear fully once formed. At least, with the current state of our science. As a clinic that focuses on scars and stretch marks, with many of our staff suffering from theses skin issues ourselves, we wish that we could tell you this was not the case. However, we don’t like to lie.
Stretch marks and scars tend to be permanent because our skin is unable to reform its original structure once damaged. Whenever your skin is injured, the dermis (middle layer of the skin) is damaged, and the body produces collagen fibers to repair the injury. However, the collagen produced during this healing process is not arranged in the same way as in normal skin, making the scar look and feel different from uninjured skin. Similarly, stretch marks form when the skin is stretched rapidly. The dermis tears, and this creates scars as the skin heals.
All forms of solutions for scars and stretch marks on the market -- be they lasers that costs hundreds of dollars, revisions that cost thousands of dollars, to radiotherapy options that cost tens of thousands of dollars, attempt to make your scars/stretch marks less visible. No technology exists to make them disappear, but the ‘camouflage’ effect can come pretty close visually.
But, you may ask, the the creams and oils are the least expensive option. Can they make my scars/stretch marks less obvious too?
A quote from WebMD: “...there’s little proof that any of these products really work. “
Unfortunately, no. There is no compound, herbal or synthetic, that has been scientific proven to improve the look of scars once applied. There is evidence that silicon tapes and gels are able to aid in the healing of NEW scars, but some dermtaologists say that the effect is no greater than a regular moisturizer. After all, our wounds heal best in moist conditions, and silicone is a great way to trap moisture in the skin. Some of the moisturizers you use probably contain silicone themselves, and at West Coast Paramedical, we do support using silicones compounds to aid the healing of skin.
What breaks our heart is not the fact that patients spend $100 on these creams and oils. We know that this is probably not a huge amount in the grand scheme of things. It’s the hopes and expectations that were unreasonably raised, and then crushed, all for a quick profit by the manufacturers of these products.
Since the beginning of our clinic, we have made a promise to ourselves to underpromise, and overdeliver. We do not manufacture false hope, and always work with each patient to set the expectations correctly for his/her case. We do not charge per session, because too many clinics depend on the patient coming back for more sessions. It brings us great joy that even so, many patients report feeling pleasantly surprised by their camouflage results.
We cannot tell you through this article if you will be one of these ecstatic patients. We can tell you, however, that some patients will see better results than others, due to to type of scars/stretch marks that they have, or the way their skin responds to treatment. We can also tell you that we have never treated a patient who has not seem at least some type of significant improvement, compared to before the treatment. If you would like to know how your scars/stretch marks/hyperpigmentation might respond to our treatment, please use our contact form to find out today. Our clinic staff will respond to you within 24 hours, with a personalized solution.
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Covering your scars is more than a cosmetic procedure. It’s a step towards restoring your confidence, loving your body, and supporting your mental health.
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