Skin S.O.S. - Scar Remedies

Question about the lugol's iodine staining....how bad does it stain and can the stain be removed later with say alcohol or something else or do you just have to wait till the stained skin cells sloughs off?

Thanks MBJ. I have a little scar on my knee that I am going to try it on.

DiDel, another lady who had a mx before me recommended Vitamin E oil.  I bought it at Walmart for about $5.  I had my mx in September and my scar looks great.  My onc and RO both commented on how good my scar looked about 2 months out.  As soon as the incision healed I rubbed the oil in every morning as soon as I got out of the shower.

Susan

I've been slathering up with 99% pure Aloe Vera Gel (Trader Joe's store brand) during radiation therapy. It seems to be minimizing the appearance of the scars.

I haven't posted here for a long time, but I wanted to say that I've been using ScarAway silicone strips for three months on the mastectomy scar where I had previously had radiation and am extremely pleased with the results. The scar has flattened from being very raised and hard, and the red color is completely gone. I'll be having scar revision on the other side soon (had a BMX last September), and plan to use the silicone strips on that side as soon as the incision has healed.

Hello ladies and thanks for starting this thread

Just came from ps office and he recommended a product called "Kelo-cote" and gave me a pamplet which describes it as a silicone gel. I have been checking the reviews online and they seem to be very favorable so I am going to try it.  He also thinks vit E is helpful

Maybe Q-tips? Or one of those little sponge-type craft brushes?

How's the Lugol's working?

Jeskachi:  Q-Tips are best to not get it all over your fingers.  If you don't get results on the raised ones you might have to switch to the scar gel or a combination of the two.

Cameron

How long was it before you could tell the silicone scar tape was working?

I used it for several months and did not see any improvement.

I started noticing improvement in my scars very quickly, under a month even.  The key is getting good contact on clean skin. The silicone softens up with your body heat and if the contact is good, it acts like a second skin and promotes healing on the uppermost (outer) layer of skin.  My scars are SO flat on my right side, I am encouraged!  I do need scar revision on left side due to excess skin so I haven't tried as hard on that side. I try to leave the scar tape on at least 24 hours; I think the longer it's left the more benefit.  I have a handheld shower so I creatively don't get the silicone tape wet.

I don't know why it works for some but not others? I haven't had my exchange yet but wanted to heal up smooth, and I do get great contact between the silicone and these coconut shells.

I actually use a lot of products, now that the tape has flattened the scars I am laying off it in favor of less expensive products like Bio-Oil, Palmer's cocoa butter, Aquafor, etc. The more you moisturize the happier your skin will be.

 I use Aveeno with SPF every day, all over. Very important to keep UVA/UVB rays off the scars!

And this draws my infomercial to a close, operators are standing by, order now and we'll double your shipment plus you'll get a free salad spinner. 

thanks MBJ...laser is what I am going to ask my PS about when I see him in July...August first will be 2 yrs for these scars. The ones on my shoulder blades. They are raised and still red.  Sometimes I feel a pain shoot through one of them.

Tropol still has its Facebook page, but I couldn't gte their link to the website to work either.

My new thing to try is Emu Oil. Very rich in fatty acids, which are anti-inflammatory. I have a thick, red, raised rope of a scar on one side, and a naturally healing scar on the other (my radiation side, believe it or not!) We'll see what this stuff does. Got it at Vitamin Cottage, not too expensive. My problem is consistency. Whether it's scar tape or oils, I don't seem to use them every day, for months at a time. I did use scar tape for a couple months, almost every day, but couldn't see a difference. I'll probably go the laser route in another year...

Does anyone who has used the tropal active know what the active ingredients were?

Jean, I think you're ultimately right. Time heals. I've had many surgeries and many scars. I keep spending $$ on products to lighten, flatten, etc. But I know when I get a ropy scar it takes at least two years to fade and flatten. My others take about a year. I think rubbing on oils is fine, it helps keep the skin all supple. And the tapes reduce some of the inflammatory process, certainly, but they sure work better for others than they do for me. Or is it the time factor that's really doing the work...

Tara, I'll look for my tube of tropol when I get home from work...

Tara, I pulled out my tube of Tropol-Active-S. And then dug out the magnifying glass to read it . It lists the active ingredients as: Elastatropin® (tropoelastin), Hyaluronic Acid (HA), Matrixyl-3000® (butylene glycol, polysorbate-20, palmitoyl oligopeptide, & palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7), Argireline® (acetyl hexapeptide-8), and Prolisel® (selenomethionine)

Hope that helps!