If you have sustained any sort of cut or wound, one of the first things to cross your mind may be whether or not it will leave a scar. You may have heard that you should keep a cut covered in order to prevent a scar. However, the truth is that there is no way to prevent scarring. Scarring is the body’s natural response to injury; it’s how the body heals itself. In addition, almost all scars are permanent.
However, there are certain things that you can do to speed a scar’s healing and minimize its final appearance. Keeping the cut covered as it heals is a good idea, but the reason it works is at least threefold. First of all, keeping the cut covered helps protect it from germs that can cause infection. If a cut does become infected, healing will be delayed and the scar will most likely be worse than if the cut does not get infected.
Read: What Affects Wound Healing?
Second, keeping the cut covered keeps it out of the sun. This is important because a scar that is exposed to UV rays will likely become darker and redder, often permanently. Even after the cut is healed and you no longer keep it covered, you should use sunscreen or keep the scar out of the sun to prevent darkening of the scar. Contrary to popular belief, getting a tan will not help you camouflage a scar; it will more likely render the scar even more visible.
Read: Does Tanning Fade Acne Scars?
Finally, keeping a cut covered helps keep the area moisturized. Moisture is an important piece of the scar healing puzzle. And studies have shown that a wound that is kept moist will heal much faster than a wound that is allowed to dry out and form a scab.
So, is it myth or fact that keeping a cut covered prevents a scar? Myth. If your skin is cut, you cannot prevent a scar from forming. However, for the reasons above, keeping a cut covered can indeed help minimize the appearance of the scar.
Overall Wound Care
This is most effective as a component of good overall wound care, the important first step in reducing a scar as much as possible – and this is true whether you have a scrape, an accidental cut, a surgical incision, or even acne scars. Besides keeping a cut covered, you should also be sure to keep it completely clean. If a scab does form, you should not pick at it; you may reopen the wound and worsen the final scar. Picking at scabs also increases the risk of infection.
Once the wound does heal, there are still steps you can take to ensure the scar heals as light and flat as possible. Continue to keep it out of the sun. Try a silicone based product that also contains proven scar healing ingredients like aloe vera and vitamin C. And in the meantime, try using a concealer if you feel you need to cover up as scar while it is healing. But make sure the concealer also contains sunscreen – or use both products.
Have a question about your scar? Leave a comment and we’ll be happy to answer.
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