Two years ago I was bitten by a spider on my lower thigh. This wouldn’t have been a huge problem except after the itchy mark went away it left an ugly dark scar. This scar has been a pain because I am one who loves to show my legs. The only good thing about the scar is that it has made me an expert on scar removal creams, lotions, gels and bandages.
I first tried the Mederma scar removing gel. It was about 15.00 for a 20gram tube. On Mederma’s website it describes it’s product as “It’s a greaseless, pleasant-smelling, topical gel that’s formulated to improve the appearance and feel of just about any kind of scar. Whether you have stretch marks from a pregnancy or a scar from surgery, Mederma® can help make your scar appear softer and smoother. No matter if it’s old or new.” It is greaseless but I thought the smell, smelled like the inside of a hospital which is not too pleasant to me. The instructions say to apply the gel 6 times a day! Which was a pain during my busy days of chasing children and cleaning house. I rubbed the gel as much as I could when I remembered everyday which was about 3-4 times, for about 3 months but alas my scar held on tight.
The next thing I tried cost me a pretty penny. But I liked how the scar removal happened while under a bandage, that way I didn’t have to worry about constantly applying some gel. I paid a little over 30.00 for the Neosporin Scar Solution Sheets. These sheets are described on the CVS pharmacy website as “Helps prevent the formation of scars on newly healed wounds. Does not contain antibiotics. Neosporin Scar Solution contains 28 silicone scar sheets that are indicated for use on raised and discolored scars. Each sheet is thin, self-adhesive and fabric-backed, which makes Neosporin Scar Solution convenient to wear under clothing.” I was excited that this one box provides a 12 week supply and that you can wear one bandage for 3-4 days, except I began to find out that the adhesiveness of these bandages are not very strong. I was constantly fishing these scar sheets out of the bottom of my pants or off of the floor. They barely stayed on! I stopped trying to use one sheet for a couple of days and used just one per day but still I didn’t notice any effectiveness. I gave up just short of 12 weeks with no improvement.
After a long angry break, I got sick of looking at this ugly scar mocking me on my thigh so I decided to try again. I found Nadinola’s skin discoloration fade cream for about 6 dollars. According to the jar it claims to fade dark spots for a more even skin tone. I figured that would help fade my dark scar on my thigh. Per the instructions, I applied twice a day. This extremely thick white cream took about five minutes just to rub in and then I began to wonder was it being rubbed in my scar or into my hand? I got so sick of rubbing my thigh! I continued to do this for about two months and noticed a minor lightening of my scar but not enough lightening to continue. I still had about half a jar left but this thick cream was wearing on my patience.
So I finally decided to listen to my mother and try good ol’ cocoa butter lotion. Used to fix all skin ailments back in the day. I bought the Palmer’s Cocoa butter stick and rubbed it on my scar as much as I could whenever I would remember. I noticed that my scar actually was improving after a month! I continued to rub and noticed that my scar was fading away. This Cocoa butter stick only cost me one dollar. One! If I only listened earlier…
In conclusion, after spending collectively about 50.00 for scar removing products that didn’t work, I ended up spending one dollar on a product that did. To those of you who have scars and haven’t yet tried any products, you can thank me later.
