Scars are made up of connective tissue that develops in order to shut rapidly an opening in the skin.

Not all scars have the same appearance. Hypertrophic scars are raised scars. Keloids are similar in that they contain extra scar tissue, however, as they are not confined to the original wound, are much larger and can keep growing. The body's response to wounds often overcompensates and produces too much connective tissue. Getting rid or smoothing out scar tissue is the focus of keloid and hypertrophic scars treatment.

Other scar types might fall under the umbrella of atrophic scars, meaning those that leave depressions in the skin. These valleys or pits are due to the loss of tissue. The majority of acne scars are atrophic and can have wide-ranging appearances. To raise or un-tether these types of scars, collagen or other types of injections and excision methods are used. Most scars don't require medical attention but most feel that they are not pleasing to the eye. After a wound has occurred to the skin, both skin cells and connective tissue cells (fibroblasts) begin multiplying to repair the damage. The fibroblasts form a framework upon which the skin cells can migrate into and fill in the wound. It is the balance between the rates of replication of fibroblasts versus skin cells that is important here. When fibroblasts replicate faster than skin cells, the resulting scar is raised. If skin cell and fibroblast replication is equal, less scarring appears.

What can be done to minimize scar formation?

Unfortunately, scars are permanent. Despite this, you can still find an effective scar treatment to remove scar tissue and decrease the visibility of your scars.

Try checking out the rapidly emerging natural scar therapy market. These solutions combine functions. As an example, silicone scar therapy only attacks the treatment of keloid scars in one way: it reduces the extent of the protrusion by flattening the scar. It is logical then to find the best scar therapy as one that combines different methods that have been found successful: a scar healing treatment that regenerates healthy skin tissue as well as one that digests or eliminates excess scar tissue. This is especially important for treatment of acne scars, as the majority are depressed atrophic scars.

The most exciting scar removal products contain mucin, a natural regenerative substance produced by garden snails. This complex product, thanks to antibiotic and skin regenerating peptides, glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans, will digest excess skin tissue, clean pores, fend off infection and repair scars.

What it does:

* Produces glycosaminoglycans, restoring firmness and elasticity to skin,

* Increases production of glycosaminoglycans, resulting in better water holding of the skin,

* Skin blood vessel microcirculation improvement,

* Improves natural defense against oxidation, and

* Fixes damage at the protective skin layer.