Best creams or oils for healing scars?

[Justice]

Hey guys I wasn't sure where to post this but I just had a tripple spinal fusion (S1-L4) and I was wondering what would be the best cream or oils to use once I heal to reduce scaring. I have a 6 inch scar from my sacrum to my L4 vertabrae and another 3.5 inch scar where they harvested my bone for grafting on the right side of my back. Great news is it's only been 10 days after surgery and I feel great. I am walking without barely any pain, I can do stairs and pretty much take care of myself without any pain medication. I feel better now then the day before surgery. I was wondering if you guys had any experiance with the healing of scars? I researched some like Bio Oil and Vit E Oil but I haven't seen any positive reviews, any ideas boys? I wasn't sure where to post this but I figured this forum best applied to my question.

 

[JohnnyBuddha]

Not 100% sure but I'd look into Aloe Vera if I were you. You can buy pretty much pure A.V. ointments or even get a plant or two and apply the stuff.

 

[tommyp]

Hey guys I wasn't sure where to post this but I just had a tripple spinal fusion (S1-L4) and I was wondering what would be the best cream or oils to use once I heal to reduce scaring. I have a 6 inch scar from my sacrum to my L4 vertabrae and another 3.5 inch scar where they harvested my bone for grafting on the right side of my back. Great news is it's only been 10 days after surgery and I feel great. I am walking without barely any pain, I can do stairs and pretty much take care of myself without any pain medication. I feel better now then the day before surgery. I was wondering if you guys had any experiance with the healing of scars? I researched some like Bio Oil and Vit E Oil but I haven't seen any positive reviews, any ideas boys? I wasn't sure where to post this but I figured this forum best applied to my question.

vitamin E oil worke very well for me. The key for me seemed to be to rub it in prety vigorously. Just dabbing it on is does not really work but when i created some friction it helped smooth out my scar and make it heal better.

 

[Chaos Mitten**]

MEDERMA

 

[stylesbjj**]

I heard wonders about biooil

 

[Vice]

Speaking from direct experience...

Mederma is great. Expensive little bottle, but each dab goes a long way. Mederma will help reduce the redness in the scar. Actually, you may notice that the area will itch a little and turn bright red (worse) at first but give it some time. Directions suggest using 3-4 times a day. That is unrealistic for most people, but you must try and be very consistent.

Massage. Many say that part of the effectiveness with Mederma is that application involves rubbing it in on the scar. The massage aspect of that stimulates the healing process. Even when not applying Mederma, massage the area. Massaging your skin will naturally lead to temporary discoloration, but it is worth it. Be consistent with this and you should see results.

Also, silicone sheeting is very helpful. That is actually what the doctor recommended to me. The silicone sheet will stick to your skin and you can wear it until it loses its 'stickiness'. The silicone sheet will apply consistent pressure to the scar and help flatten it out. Recommendation is to where the sheet for more than 12 hours at a time. 24 hours is preferable.

The sheet will stick to you very well. It kind of 'sucked' on me so well that i noticed weird dimples when I took it off. All part of the process, not to worry.

12-24 hours of wearing this sheet at a time is also unrealistic for most people. I wore mine for almost entire weekend (besides showers) at a time and all day (except for training) during the week. Store it in a ziplock bag when taking it off. There will be a plastic film that you peel off to apply it. I kept that film and stuck the sticky side to it when taking it off.

So I reccomend a good silicone sheet (do research and get a brand that 'sticks' well, there are a few) and I also reccomend Mederma. Suggested usage is manageble but not entirely realistic to follow exact when you have a life (work, social, training, etc...).

I am following a combination of reccomendations from both and have experienced some very good results. Scar is flatter from silicone sheet application. Scar is blending more to skin tone with Mederma. I follow recommendations for both AS MY LIFE ALLOWS.

Hope this helps. The most important thing I reccomend is patience. Healing a scar just takes time no matter what, but these products will help you a great deal.

Good luck.

 

[Justice]

any idea how long after surgery I should apply these creams? Thanks for the advice in advance guys.

 

[ronin0352]

I used vitamin E oil on my scars after shoulder surgery as soon as the scabs were gone. However as soon as the scar stopped being painful and tight I started to neglect it so I can't tell ya how well it worked. I only used it for maybe a couple weeks.

 

[physicaltherapy]

Hey guys I wasn't sure where to post this but I just had a tripple spinal fusion (S1-L4) and I was wondering what would be the best cream or oils to use once I heal to reduce scaring. I have a 6 inch scar from my sacrum to my L4 vertabrae and another 3.5 inch scar where they harvested my bone for grafting on the right side of my back. Great news is it's only been 10 days after surgery and I feel great. I am walking without barely any pain, I can do stairs and pretty much take care of myself without any pain medication. I feel better now then the day before surgery. I was wondering if you guys had any experiance with the healing of scars? I researched some like Bio Oil and Vit E Oil but I haven't seen any positive reviews, any ideas boys? I wasn't sure where to post this but I figured this forum best applied to my question.

wow...that sucks.... How old are you? Did you have spondylolisthesis?

 

[Wild Dan Hibiki]

damn i've had scars on my hands for about 3 months now, i've been applying vitamin e cream and stuff and no luck in getting rid of them... boo it looks a bit better but still very visible

 

[gogoGomi]

Would the products mentioned here be effective on older scars? Say 10 year old scars?

EDIT; I see that Mederma says for old and new scars.

 

[Justice]

wow...that sucks.... How old are you? Did you have spondylolisthesis?

I'm 25 and yes I do, amoung other things. I had a <3/4 inch slippage and some bones that were causing some serious leg pain. I was born with it actually, the defect was on my L5 pars. But I am doing amazing only 11 days after surgery I can't wait to get back to fighting. I may never be able to improve my 2-0 record in mma but I think I can do something like boxing. The doc says recovery takes 4 months and I will make a complete recovery. I still can't believe it that I had a tripple fusion, L5 decompression and a bilateral bone graft on my L5 just 11 days ago. I am in next to no pain and I can do everything for myself, its simply amazing. I am so glad I decided to get it done, I would of had to either way but it made sense to do it while I was young, in shape and I'm, a non smoker so I had everything going 4 me.

 

[Bry]

Vitamin E and coconut oil!

Bry

 

[M o A]

The problem with these products is that theyll take at least 3-4 months to start taking effect, it can put an individual off applying something for a week or two and not see any success. well for me anyway.

 

[fortitude]

vit e oil with tea tree oil added in

 

[Justice]

well I plan on using it for about a year, I want to reduce the scars as much as possible.

 

[Reloaded]

+1 for vitamin E.

also, it sounds like you haven't had the surgery yet... there are some fantastic homeopathics that you can take BEFORE surgery to help with recovery and healing. I'm pretty sure Arnica will fit the bill but there is another one I am missing.

Try to find a health food store that sells homeopathics and ask to speak to a naturopath or homeopath that works there, they'll be able to help and homeopathics are cheap, don't interact with any other meds and highly effective when taken correctly.

Best of luck to you and God speed in your recovery.

 

[Masakatsu Funaki #1]

Cocoa Butter

 

[filthy_frank]

vitamin E worked great on my shoulder. i believe it works best when the incision is healing. it had very little effect on my 10 yr old incision.

 

[Justice]

+1 for vitamin E.

also, it sounds like you haven't had the surgery yet... there are some fantastic homeopathics that you can take BEFORE surgery to help with recovery and healing. I'm pretty sure Arnica will fit the bill but there is another one I am missing.

Try to find a health food store that sells homeopathics and ask to speak to a naturopath or homeopath that works there, they'll be able to help and homeopathics are cheap, don't interact with any other meds and highly effective when taken correctly.

Best of luck to you and God speed in your recovery.

nope, had the surgery 12 days ago and I'm feeling awesome. I feel better right now that before the surgery. I am walking, doing stairs and I can't pretty much do everything for myself. My pain is minimal, it only hurts when I wake up because of laying on my back all night but other that I feel really good.