What is a scar?
Scars form after a wound or an injury. They are a natural side-effect of repairing damage quickly, but not efficiently. We usually think of a scar as a mark on the skin, but scar tissue can also be found inside our bodies when our organs are damaged.
1 in 3 people in the UK have a scar – that’s around 20 million people. 5 million of those have scars that cause physical or emotional distress.
Types of Scars
Scars look different person to person. The final look of a scar depends on many factors, including things like the type of injury, your age, and your skin type.
Scars can be pink, red, purple, white, brown, skin-coloured, or darker than the surrounding skin.
There are different categories of scar, depending on what the scar looks like.
Fine-line Scar
Can be slightly raised to start, but usually flattens and fades over time without treatment.
Atrophic Scar
Appears as deep, small holes in the skin or a sunken patches. Atrophic scars often occur as a result of acne or chickenpox.
Keloid Scar
Usually raised, hard, and smooth, keloid scars are characterised by their size – they are bigger than the original wound. They do not usually flatten or fade without treatment. People with more melanated skin, like Black or South Asian people, are more likely to develop keloid scars.
While they aren’t any more harmful than other types of scarring, their size can make people self-conscious and anxious about their appearance.
Hypertrophic Scar
Usually raised and firm like a keloid, but it does not grow bigger than the original wound and usually flattens and fades over time.
Contracture
These scars feel tight and constricting. They usually occur when a large area of skin is damaged and lost, like after a burn.
Internal Scarring (Fibrosis)
Some conditions can create scar tissue inside the body. This is known as ‘fibrosis’. Some conditions that are associated with fibrosis include pulmonary fibrosis, cirrhosis, and Crohn’s disease.
Nearly 45% of deaths in the developed world can be attributed to fibrotic conditions.
What is Scar Tissue?
Scars are a natural side-effect of healing. When our skin (or other organs) are damaged, the cells in our body try to repair the damage as quickly as possible to prevent infection. But this process is not perfect.
To understand what scar tissue is, we need to understand collagen. Collagen is a protein that acts as the primary building block of your body’s skin, muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments and other connective tissues.
Collagen has lots of jobs in our body, but it’s best known as a key part of our skin. It gives our skin structure, strength, and stretchiness. As we age, we produce less collagen and the collagen we do have breaks down faster. That’s why our skin wrinkles and sags when we get older.
In healthy skin, collagen fibres cross over each other in a random basketweave pattern. This makes them strong, but flexible. When skin is damaged, special cells called fibroblasts close the wound by producing more collagen, very quickly.
Instead of forming in a basketweave pattern, this new collagen forms in dense parallel lines. The result is tight, inflexible tissue – a scar.
Why do we scar?
There is still much we don’t fully understand about the healing process. While we can’t entirely stop scar tissue from forming, we do know there are key factors that impact how effectively a wound heals and the final appearance and texture of the scar.
Wounds may take longer to heal for various reasons:
- Pre-existing health conditions
- Whether the wound is infected
- The type of injury
- Tension on the skin
- What genes you have
Learn more about our research into the reasons behind why we scar: Our Research Strategy
Can I Get Rid of a Scar?
You cannot get rid of a scar, but most will fade over time.
Most scars will fade over time but there are some things you can do to improve the appearance of a scar. Speak to a GP or pharmacist to find out the best options for you, or visit the NHS website for more information.
As a medical research charity, we cannot provide medical treatment, recommendations, or support. If you are looking for guidance or advice, please visit our Help and Support page for contact information of charities that could help.
