Question: I was told to cover a recent scar with sun block for 6 months. Why?
Answer: The sun can damage recent scars in 3 ways:
- Disrupting collagen in the skin. This will make a scar thicker and wider.
- Damaging the veins in our skin – red scars have lots of tiny veins that are part of the healing process. These veins disappear when healing ends, but sun on these veins damages them, so they may not fade and may permanently widen.
- Darkening the scar – this is a real problem in any dark scar. We want a brownish scar to fade, but it cannot if it is exposed to the sun. The UV rays of the sun will increase the activity of the melanocytes which are making the scar dark.
What to do? The easiest approach is to put a tinted zinc oxide/titanium dioxide sun block over any recent sun-exposed scar from spring through the fall. Since the sun can reach scars that are under our clothes – especially the thin white and light colored clothes we wear in the summer – apply the sun block under your clothes if you go to the beach or on a cruise where you’ll be in the sun for hours at a time. Here’s a hint for dark scars – hydroquinone does not fade scars easily after surgery. However, 100% cocoa butter soap really can help. It is sold on-line and is the only cream that Dr. Morgan has found effective.