The dangers of sunburns are well known, especially the increased risk of skin cancer. However, one little known effect of sunburns is scarring. Scars form any time there is injury or trauma to the skin, and sunburns can harm the skin enough to injure it and form scar tissue. However, you can prevent and treat sunburns to avoid scarring.
What Kind of Sunburns Cause Scars?
Not every sunburn will cause a scar, but a bad enough sunburn will lead to scarring. The biggest risk factors for scars caused by sunburns are peeling and blisters. Peeling is part of the natural healing process the skin goes through after having been damaged by the sun’s UV rays. Once your skin begins peeling, it is tempting to pull off the peeling skin; however, this increases the risk of scarring. Severe sunburns also lead to blisters, and blisters that do not heal properly can cause scarring.
Read: How Does the Sun Affects Scars
How to Prevent Scarring from Sunburns
The best way to prevent scarring from sunburns is to avoid getting one. You should wear a high SPF sunscreen anytime you go out into the sun, especially if you plan to sunbathe. You should wear sunscreen and protective clothing even on cloudy days, as cloudy days actually increase the risk of sunburn. You can also prevent scarring by correctly treating your sunburn.
The Best Way to Treat Sunburns
If you do get a sunburn, then take care of the burn to support the natural healing process. One of the best treatments for sunburns is aloe vera, especially for the first few days. This soothes the burn, while also helping the skin to heal. After a few days, you will notice that your skin begins to peel. Do not force the skin to come off. Instead, let the skin fall off naturally. If you do want to help the process, soak in a lukewarm bath. Then, gently wipe your peeling skin with a soft washcloth. This avoids harming the layer of healthy skin underneath. While your skin is peeling, never rub it with anything harsh, including a towel. This can irritate the skin and increase the risk of scarring.
Treat blisters with care to ensure they heal properly. If they are unbroken, then simply protect it with a loose bandage. If the blister is very large and painful, then you might want to carefully break it with a sterilized needle. When the blister is opened, be sure to keep the area clean and treat it with antibiotic cream and cover it with a bandage.
What to Do if Your Sunburn Does Scar
If you notice that your sunburn does begin to scar, then you can treat it with scar cream to reduce the appearance of the scar and enhance the continued healing process. When you search for a scar cream, be sure to find one with the best ingredients, including vitamin C, aloe vera, silicone and licorice root extract.
You can prevent and treat the scars caused by sunburns. The best treatment, other than prevention, is just allowing your body the time to heal itself. You can enhance the body’s natural healing process with scar cream, but it will still take time to fully heal and minimize the appearance of scars.
Have a question about your scar or dark spot? Leave a comment and we’ll be happy to answer!
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The information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. Please speak to your doctor to treat any medical condition. Information on this site is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.
