Scars

Summary

A scar is a permanent patch of skin that grows over a wound. It forms when your body heals itself after a cut, scrape, burn, or sore. You can also get scars from surgery that cuts through the skin, infections like chickenpox, or skin conditions like acne. Scars are often thicker, as well as pinker, redder, or shinier, than the rest of your skin.

How your scar looks depends on:

• How big and deep your wound is
• Where it is
• How long it takes to heal
• Your age
• Your inherited tendency to scar

Scars usually fade over time but never go away completely. If the way a scar looks bothers you, various treatments might minimize it. These include surgical revision, dermabrasion, laser treatments, injections, chemical peels, and creams.

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Specifics

• Acne Scars Cleveland Clinic Foundation
• Keloids American Academy of Family Physicians
• Keloids and Hypertrophic Scars American Osteopathic College of Dermatology

Find an Expert

• American Academy of Dermatology American Academy of Dermatology
• American Society for Dermatologic Surgery American Society for Dermatologic Surgery
• Find a Dermatologic Surgeon American Society for Dermatologic Surgery
• Find a Dermatologist American Academy of Dermatology
• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Images

• Before and After Photos: Treatment of Hypertrophic Scars American Society for Dermatologic Surgery
• Keloid VisualDX

Teenagers

• Can Acne Scars Be Removed? Nemours Foundation
• Stretch Marks Nemours Foundation

Treatments and Therapies

• Chemical Peels American Society for Dermatologic Surgery
• Dermabrasion American Society for Dermatologic Surgery
• Laser Resurfacing American Society for Dermatologic Surgery
• Proper Wound Care: How to Minimize a Scar American Academy of Dermatology
• Scar revision – series — Normal anatomy Medical Encyclopedia
• Scar Revision: Understanding Facial Scar Treatment American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Skin smoothing surgery – series — Indication Medical Encyclopedia

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Cicatrix National Institutes of Health

Patient Handouts

• Dermabrasion Medical Encyclopedia
• Keloids Medical Encyclopedia
• Scar revision Medical Encyclopedia

Journal Articles

• Scars

Start Here

• Scars American Society for Dermatologic Surgery

Children

• Scars (for Kids) Nemours Foundation

Related Issues

• Scars and Wounds American Cancer Society