Silicone has fast become the starchild of scar removal products. Silcone is made from the combining of oxygen and silcon atoms. This ingredient retains moisture and creates a protective barrier. The Food and Drug Administration has approved silicone in over-the-counter drugs as an antimicrobial, antifungal, pain relieving and skin protecting ingredient.
Notwithstanding, many OTC scar treatments contain 5% silicone as the "active ingredient". The problem with these OTC drugs is that a mere half ounce of this treatment can cost between $20 to $35US.
Other forms of silicone include common cosmetic ingredients like cyclomethicone. Cyclomethicone is used in high concentrations in hair care products like hair glossers and frizz reducing serums. But unlike pricey vials of scar serum, hair glossers may cost a reasonable $0.50 to $2.00 per ounce.
Alternative silicones at a reasonable price
Products that contain high amounts of silicones include hair glossers made by Proclaim, ic (Inter Cellular) and John Freida. What's more, almost every hair care product manufacturer has released a generic frizz reducing gloss whose primary ingredient is a member of the silicone family.
These products are easy to spot because the ingredients list will start with items like cyclomethicone or dimethicone. Most silicone derived ingredients will have the "one" ending.
How to get the most from silicone as a scar removing agent
While silicone is a superb skin protectant, some scientists have contested it's claim to fame as a scar removing agent. Bad results from using a silicone based product to reduce the appearance of scars most likely comes from using silicone in unproven ways.
For example, most silicone studies are done on new wounds or recent burns. In other instances, the silicone is used beneath band-aids. So, if you want to use silicone on a two, four or five year old scar, you probably will not like the results because your scar is hidden from the silicone by layers of dead skin cells.
How silicone reduces the appearance of scars
Here's the issue- wounded skin, burned skin and band-aids allow silicone to better penetrate and moisturize the skin. In fact, one theory goes that silicone is an ideal scar reducer simply because it "hyper-moisturizes" the skin.
Using hair glossers for scar removal
So, if you are going to use a silicone-family based hair glosser to treat your scars, here's how to do it right.
For scars on the face1. Cleanse your face
2. Smooth a glycolic acid toner over your skin. You can find such toners in drug stores now for less than $8US. This step is key because the glycolic acid will mildly "burn" the upper layers of the skin. This step will allow the silicone to better penetrate the skin, hyper-moisturize it and thus diminish the appearance of the scar(s).
3. Apply an almond-sized amount of silicone to your entire face. Reapply the silicon-based moisturizer twice daily. Ideally, you would use a facial mist on your skin before applying the silicone to boost the moisture level of your skin.
4. Repeat steps one through three twice daily, once in the morning and once at night to reduce the scar's appearance.
Silicon-based hair glossers typically will not leave you skin oily or clog your pores. In fact, the hair glosser should be so readily absorbed by your skin that with within 15 minutes of application, there are no visible traces of the moisturizer.
For scars on the body
1. Repeat steps one and two from above. Use the glycolic toner only on the scar.
2. Apply the hair glosser to the entire scar.
3. Now place a band-aid over the scar.
4. Repeat steps one through three daily until the scar has diminished to your liking.
Tip:
You can also use hair glossers as a therapeutic moisturizer to significantly reduce your skin's healing time after deep facial peels and improve the overall cosmetic results of the treatment.
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