Best moisturizers for scars?

UndercoverGator · April 27th, 2006, 10:31 AM

As most everyone on the board knows I had surgery on three different sites on my right arm this January. One of the big things the physical therapists have been pushing are the scar smoothers like Maderma and other expensive brands. I didn't care much for the ones that were medically inclined so I've been experimenting, from the cheap to the wickedly expensive and I'll list which ones seemed to work best with my sensitive skin that is allergic to too many things. I was surprised to find that some of the cheaper things from the drug store seemed to work the best for me. I guess cost isn't that much of a factor.

My favorite was actually an old one I had that was from Mary Kay. But it was six years old and I had very little left. It contained silicon, rose oil and beeswax and originally ran about 11 bucks a jar. It's been discontinued, which is why I started hunting for something as good.

Listed in order of how well they worked for me and how much I liked them.

Palmers Cocoa Butter Jar - $3.89 for 4 ounces - best results on keeping the scarring loose and soft.

Tone Mango Body Butter - $5.99 for a 8 ounce tube - gave nearly as good a results as the Palmers but it's smell is a bit off putting. It's a mixture of mango seed butter, cocoa butter and vitamin E.

Palmers Cocoa Butter Vitamin E Scar Serum - $10.99 for an ounce - as great a results as their cheaper jar of plain cocoa butter. It rubbed off too easily and didn't absorb into the skin as quickly as the plain butter.

Burts Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Cream - $8.00 for 2 ounces - Sticky and hard, tended to make my hand/arm break out in rash if applied more than twice a day. Smells nice.

Mary Kay Intense Moisterizing Cream $11.00 for 1.8 ounces - fair to middling. Didn't absorb in quickly and wiped off too soon. Just sort of sits on your skin.

Queen Helene Cocoa Butter Creme - $1.99 for 4.8 ounces. A watered down cheap version of the Palmers. Had a harsh chemical undertone smell, was slimy and didn't easily absorb into the skin.

Estee Lauder Verite Moisture Relief Creme $50 for 1.7 ounces - average moisterizer, nothing to write home about and no reason to be spending that kind of dough on.

Bag Balm $5 for 8 ounces from the local farmers co op. A bit sticky and smells hella bad. Does soften the skin well.

Mederma $14.99 for 20 gms. Stiff consistency, chemical smell and not that much noticible improvement like with the ones listed above.

Lancome Absolue Body $98 for 200 mls. Not any better than the much cheaper Queen Helene Cocoa Butter. Disappointing for the price.

Sojiita · April 27th, 2006, 10:42 AM

I used to know people who swore by Bag Balm. They are all dead now though. But not from Bag Balm! Did you try Scarzone?

Tenaj · April 27th, 2006, 11:14 AM

I know people swear by Bio Oil for everything. Stretch marks and scars etc. I've heard fantastic reviews about it.

**NoDayButToday** · April 27th, 2006, 01:07 PM

I've found that I'm not a big fan of anything made by Burt's Bees with the exception of their cooling lip balm. My mom bought me one of those HUGE sampler packs and I gave almost every product a chance. The majority of the moisturizers felt greasy and didn't aborb-the coconut foot balm is the WORST. I felt greasy all day no matter what I did.

UndercoverGator · April 27th, 2006, 01:43 PM

One woman's poison is another woman's gold. That coconut foot ointment and sampler pack is the reason I decided to try the Burts Beeswax Hand Creme. I've fallen in love with the Lemon Poppy Seed Facial Cleanser, the Carrot Day Creme and the foot ointment. I even threw away all my Estee Lauder, Lancome and Clinique cleansers and facial moisterizers. That Burts stuff has given me the skin of a baby again. The scents are a bit too funky though..

Use Bag Balm on my hands when getting lots of cuts doing stained glass.

**NoDayButToday** · April 27th, 2006, 01:47 PM

My sister likes them too. She went and bought a separate tube of the foot balm that I can't stand. I wound up giving her all my leftovers from that set, I knew it would just sit in my makeup bag taking up space and never getting used. At least someone's enjoying them this way.

Glasgow53 · April 27th, 2006, 02:17 PM

I have great success with emu oil. I have a scar on my shin that has been there since a horse kicked me when I was a teenager, which was a long, long time ago. It had a big dent, and was red and nasty looking. I started putting emu oil on it, and even after all this time, it got so repaired it is hard to see the scar now.

Sojiita · April 27th, 2006, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glasgow53

I have great success with emu oil. I have a scar on my shin that has been there since a horse kicked me when I was a teenager, which was a long, long time ago. It had a big dent, and was red and nasty looking. I started putting emu oil on it, and even after all this time, it got so repaired it is hard to see the scar now.

Where can you get Emu oil and how much does it cost? I used scarzone on my head scar and it helped..but if this stuff can really help more I will be willing to try it.

SVZ · April 27th, 2006, 02:57 PM

emu oil is available at your local health food store...it can get a bit cloudy, but it's usually fine. i think its about 25 bucks for 200 mls? but you dont need much

Glasgow53 · April 27th, 2006, 03:24 PM

I get mine from an on-line shipper, their tn is 888 383-9513 or www.uniquelyemu.com. Cloudy or clear oil is ok, but the yellowish stuff is inferior. These people have a nice line of products, and you don't need much, so it is not so expensive as it seems. I love the stuff. Unfortunately it comes from emus, it is from the layer of fat right underneath their skin, but they do use most of the emu for other things, so I try not to feel too guilty about the emus. Plus it does wonderful stuff for me! Not greasy, nothing in it except the oil.

PaintTheTownRed · April 27th, 2006, 04:13 PM

I don't like Mederma at all, I've never met anyone who had luck with it. Palmers is yummy!! It smells so good. When my skin is extra dry I use Neutrogena body oil first when my skin is still damp too. Nothing gets rid of scars, but when they completely heal and turn white you can have them tattooed. Sounds weird but the same women that do tattoo makeup can match your skin and fill in the scar so it's not noticeable.