Skin and Scar Tissue

Scar tissue will develop in areas where skin endures injury.  Examples of trauma that will cause scarring include surgery scarring from incisions, burns, and skin tissue related injuries. Scarring happens nicks and tears happen to the skin.

Simply said, scars will never disappear completely.  There are methods available to everyone to assist in reducing the size and appearance of the scar.

For small scars that are located in areas that are easily concealable, scars will likely not phase a person one way or another.  Everyone ends up with some type of scar throughout a lifetime.  Scars fade in color and intensity as years pass.  If the scar is large and located in a highly visible area like the facial area, then a scar can be a devastating condition.

Scar Tissue Formation

The formations of scar tissue is the way the body deals with an injury and is a natural healing process. The size of the scar is dependent on the size and depth of the wound.  The location on the body as well as the personal traits of the individual. Facts such as age, ethnicity, and heredity all contribute to a person’s healing abilities.

Type of Scar Tissue

Scar Type – Atrophic

Characteristics of atrophic scars: The area has a sunken look and the tissue is thin and weak.  It is typical of acne scarring.  Atrophic scars are caused when there is insufficient collagen in the wound.

Scar Type – Normal

This is when the body heals under optimum conditions.  Most of the time this is the case for the young and healthy.  The young heal better and faster and hence develop scar tissue that is usually substantially smaller than the size of the original wound.  The color also fades nicely over time and blends into the color or the surrounding healthy skin.  Even the thickness of the scar will be close to the thickness of the surrounding skin tissue.

Scar Type – Hypertrophic

Hypertrophic type scars develop when the rate of the collagen production exceeds the rate of breakdown in the wound.   People that tend to develop this type of scar, most likely inherited the trait.  A typical place for hypertrophic scars is next to a piercing. In time, hypertrophic type scars will fade and become less raised.

Scar Type – Keloid

Keloid scars are the most unsightly of the scar tissue types.  They are typically large, raised, and have an uneven appearance that often will extend beyond the size of the original wound. This type of scar tissue forms when the rate of collagen production exceeds the rate of collagen breakdown.  Then the collagen fibers align in a random pattern.  Keloid scars will also increase in size over time.

I hope this explanation easily breaks down the different types of scar tissue.