Kathy’s question…I have been a devout reader for quite some time now, and I must say that I love your blog! Anyway, I was wondering about the effectiveness of cocoa butter on stretch marks. I was reading an article in Vogue about a woman who went on a mission to erase her scars of a once heaver self through laser treatments. However, being the average woman that I am, I simply don’t have thousands of dollars to spend of expensive cosmetic procedures. My sister recommended that I take a stick of pure cocoa butter and rub it on my stretch marks every night before bed, but I have yet to see any change.
The Right Brain responds:
As we’ve pointed out before, we’re not dermatologists or cosmetic surgeons. However, we were skeptical that ANY kind of cream could help scars or stretch marks. After a little research we’re still somewhat skeptical, but we have learned a thing or two about treating scars.
There are many types of scars but “keloid” scars are the type that people are usually concerned with. We’ve found at least one dermatologist who says that the right kind of cream can help. Apparently, certain creams can soften the scar tissue and promote healing by realigning the collagen fibers. Massage is helpful in this process because it breaks up the scar tissue. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find much info on specifically what kind of creams are most effective in this process. Nothing in the literature we found indicates that conventional materials, like cocoa butter, will help. But we did find a reference to “extracts” that might be useful but it looks like more research needs to be done before any definitive answer can be given.
On the bright side, dermatologists do seem to agree that you can reduce the severity of scars by covering the healing wound with silicone, either in the form of a sheet or a cream. Check out this link and this link for more on scar prevention.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
If you want to get rid of a scar, your best bet is to take care of the wound as it heals. While there is some data that suggests that creams MAY help improve the appearance of scars that are already formed, there’s no definitive answer on how effective these creams really are.
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depending on what kind of scar you are talking about and how big, sometimes those pads that you wear 18 hours a day will help. I had dog-bite scars on my wrist and needed to fade them before my wedding – the pads by curad worked to help them fade a bit. I still have the scars, but they are not red or pink, definitely much less noticeable.
Kendra asked if acne scars are the same as “regular” scars. They are a type of scar – we suggest reading this link:
http://www.skincarephysicians.com/
acnenet/scarring.html
Just remember there are 3 things that can happen whenever you use some kind of treatment.
1. The scar gets better
2. The scar gets worse
3. The scar doesn’t change
But if you do nothing to a scar the following 3 things can happen.
1. The scar gets better
2. The scar gets worse
3. The scar doesn’t change
Just because you wore the pad for 18 hours and it got better doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t have gotten better on it’s own.
I have found that the Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula does aid in reducing and virtually eliminating any scars. I cant say too much about stretch marks though, but it works wonders on scars. But you have to apply it everyday and be consistent until it goes away, and it will. And it does a take a while, but they do go away. As far as keloid, massaging does help because it worked for me on one that i had. I never fully continued but if you take something like the ball of an empty deodorant roll, put some cocoa butter and roll it over your keloid scar. An OT taught me this trick and it reduced significantly. Can’t comment if it does take it away because I was too lazy and never continued, but it helped.
I’ve had pretty good luck with my acne scars by doing at-home peels, like 35% Glycolic, and AHA, and I had great results from a Fractional CO2 session with a dermatologist. Those are pretty intense treatments though. I haven’t tried them on stretch marks or injury scars yet.
i have a scar on my face from a car wreck,right in between my eyes.i also have keloid skin and was worried about how it woild heal.i faithfully used those silicone pads and they do work.it flattened the scar and made it less noticeable.i also used mederma..the scar is still visible but it looks more like a burn than a keloid scar from a cut
I have had sever acne in the past and was left with unattractive scars on my face.
I purchased the Dr. Max Powers Scar Serum from their website online – it was medium expensive for a scar cream – because I needed a solution. The Max Powers Scar Cream does work well, but don’t expect to see results instantly. You need to apply it regularly and consistently for about a month in order to see results. It really does work though.
My scars are much more toned down and less visible.
I got that buddies, I just read your comments If you want to remove your scars, Stretch marks and …. in your body you need to be patient.. Like me I use palmers cocoa butter cream..its like a month before it totaly got the reactions of it. anyway, I just want to share this with you. the palmers were involved in an action suit. To know more about this please visit palmerssettlement.com you can file a claim there
Not sure what the obsession is with Palmers cocoa butter. I’ve used different brands of cocoa butter and it all helped some. But you have to be faithful to it.