How long does it take for a scar to disappear?

It is common to see children’s skin covered in bandages and plasters, from the multitude of mishaps that befall them in the park, on the street or at school. However, older people also have little accidents and mishaps that mark their skin – sometimes for several weeks at a time. These could be in the form of a cut, a scratch or the after-effects of a surgical procedure.

At first, apart from being painful (on some occasions more so than on others), these wounds need caring for hundreds of times to help the skin get back to its natural state and keep infections away. With this in mind, in addition to proper cleaning and protection, it never hurts to apply a healing cream. But for how long?

Discover: When to apply a healing cream?

Wounds and healing

Wounds go through different phases before they finally heal and the scar disappears. First come the cuts, burns, scratches, scuffs, etc. And then everything else:

• Bleeding. This occurs at the point of injury. The amount of bleeding will depend on the depth and size of the wound. What should you do? Try to stop the flow, clean and disinfect.
• Coagulation/crusting. The body has already set to work and your blood gradually solidifies. So it forms a crust over the damaged area of the skin to protect it and prevent microorganisms from getting in. These first two stages take place on the first day of the injury.
• Immune response. For the next five days, your body maintains its protection. The wound is slightly pink, swollen, tender, and sometimes oozes.
• Tissue reconstruction. The next three weeks are focused on the recovery of the blood vessels. Red blood cells contribute to the formation of collagen; white blood cells maintain protection against infection; and new tissue starts to grow. The wound starts to fade…
• Healing. The scab falls off and the injury becomes smaller and smaller. The skin appears pink, tight and shiny (the scar) and is more sensitive than normal. It is important to pay attention to this area until it heals completely to avoid permanent marks. This involves moisturising it using regenerating and healing cosmetic products such as Bioxán, whose creams you can buy online.

So, how long does it take for a scar to heal?

Cutting yourself with a piece of paper, whilst very painful, is not the same as falling down in the middle of the street when skating. The total time it takes a wound to heal depends on the characteristics of the injury itself (depth, size, type of wound, etc) and the person’s immune system. The process can take from one month to two years. As for the scar, sometimes it will disappear completely whereas, at other times, visible scars remain on the skin – although smaller in size than the original wound. Regardless, it is important to take care of the wound through all stages to try to restore your skin’s appearance and condition. So don’t forget to use a healing cream to make the process easier.