© United Shades of Skin 2024
Sometimes our life experiences can become etched into our skin and leave an everlasting impression. Sometimes we’d rather not have these reminders stick around. Scars and stretch marks can come in many different forms and appearances, and with so many considerations, they can feel impossible to rid yourself of permanently.
Scarring occurs when a wound fails to heal completely or heals ineffectively. This is usually due to significant amounts of inflammation, or infection, throughout the healing process. Stretch marks occur due to a sudden or extreme stretching of the skin, which causes damage to the connective tissue of the skin.
Given the complexity of scar tissue and stretch marks, treatment options have been historically limited, however at United Shades of Skin we are always choosing the most advanced options for our patients. Depending on your specific case, you may need a combination of treatments in a series to achieve the desired result.
Both scars and stretch marks can be flat or have some texture, as well as being darker (hyper-pigmented) than your skin, or lighter (hypo-pigmented) than your natural skin tone. The texture can either be raised or indented.
Scarring occurs when a wound fails to heal completely or heals ineffectively. This is usually due to significant amounts of inflammation, or infection, throughout the healing process. Atrophic or indented scars are a result of “too little” healing.
Scarring occurs when a wound fails to heal completely or heals ineffectively. This is usually due to significant amounts of inflammation, or infection, throughout the healing process. Hypertophic or raised scars are the result of “too much” healing in response to the injury.
When connective tissue is stretched, collagen bonds and elastin fibers break and cause the tissue to retract and collapse. Stretch marks can come as a result of genetics, growth spurts, weight or muscle gain, and most commonly, with pregnancy.
Results largely depend on the type of scar or stretch mark that you have, as well as the treatment selected. Most patients will see an improvement to the overall appearance of the scar or stretch mark, even if they are older than one year. The best results occur when treatment of a scar is done within six months of formation.
Also known as Collagen Induction Therapy, microneedling works by stimulating your skin to naturally produce new collagen and elastin, and increases the skin’s cellular renewal rate.
For more aggressive skin resurfacing, plasma resurfacing treatments may be ideal. Plasma Resurfacing with the Opus platform is highly customizable to your needs.
© United Shades of Skin 2024
