Tag: Scar

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This $12 Scar Cream From Amazon Saved My Skin After a Facial Gone Wrong


About a month ago I had a really wonderful facial that suddenly took a very dark turn. After a thorough consultation and what was perhaps the best face massage of my life, my aesthetician moved on to extractions. Now, extractions are never fun, but these were particularly painful because of congestion and an under-the-surface breakout on my forehead that required a lot of picking and squeezing.

I wasn’t surprised to have quite a bit of discomfort, but I was surprised by what felt like a needle (I had my eyes closed the whole time and my brain was in spa mode, so I wasn’t paying attention) picking and slicing at a milia (hardened pus trapped below the skin—very chic) close to my left eye. I left my facial with the glow I was promised, but I was also covered in red spots, the biggest being a dark wound where the milia was extracted.

I tried not to cry while tipping my aesthetician, and immediately canceled my plans for the evening. As soon as got home, I wiped away my tears and buried myself in research on what to do to fix this mess.

The damage before using Hiruscar

Bella Cacciatore

If it seems like I’m being a touch dramatic, let me give you some background. For some reason, my skin is a delicate flower that holds on to redness—like the temporary one you get after a facial—for years. I’ve been told by my dermatologist that this is postinflammatory hyperpigmentation, not scarring. But still, it’ll linger. At 22, I’m still working on marks I have from high school breakouts. That’s why I wasn’t thrilled to have a large wound right by my eye, which was all but guaranteed to become a red spot.

Deep in the comments section of one of my favorite sites, I came across a scar ointment from Thailand called Hiruscar. The reviews convinced me this could fix my problem, but to be safe I cross-checked with some other sites. MakeupAlley? Glowing reviews. Amazon? Tons of five stars. I’ve never clicked one-step checkout so fast.

Two days later (bless Amazon Prime in these situations), the tiny tube arrived at my doorstep. Hiruscar is a clear gel that has a very slight oniony smell (more on that in a second) and absorbs quickly. It’s not greasy or oily. For the best results, the brand recommends using it three times a day, but I’ve only been using it once.

According to Hiruscar’s website, the gel’s healing powers come from its six key ingredients. That onion smell I mentioned? It can be attributed to allium, a compound found in garlic (remember when Instagram had us rubbing garlic on pimples?) that has microbial properties that can help reduce redness in inflamed skin. Hiruscar also has aloe and vitamin E, which are well-loved for their healing and redness-reducing properties; vitamin B3, which hydrates and can improve skin elasticity; allantoin, which provides moisture and helps with cell turnover; and mucopolysaccharide polysulphate (MPS), an anti-inflammatory compound.

That was about a month ago. I’ve been applying the gel on the spot on my eye once a day, every day, and it has all but vanished. I first noticed it lighten after about a week of using Hiruscar. It’s still a little pink, but that’s still much less noticeable than my usual postblemish pigment. I’ve started using the gel on some older spots on my cheeks, in conjunction with my usual acid regimen, and have noticed a bit of lightening—nothing too dramatic, but I’ll happily take all the help I can get.



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The Best Acne Scar Treatments, According to Derms


So your zinger of a pimple finally went away. (Congratulations!) But before you put away your concealer, look again. You might be dealing with some side effects, like a new dark spot right where the offender in question was. It’s an acne scar, and it’s like your zit’s final kiss-off.

Dermatologists would first like us to know that what most of us consider acne scars—that is, the residual marks following a popped pimple—aren’t always scars (since scars imply permanence). Most derms refer to the subsequent discoloration as stains, marks, or blemishes. And the good news? These are usually temporary.

“Red marks or blemishes are the result of smoldering inflammation left behind by the active pimple,” says Kenneth Howe, M.D., a dermatologist at Wexler Dermatology. “These marks will fade, but that can take a long time, and it’s frustrating.” Popping your zit will definitely lead to marks even darker than this (think purple) that last longer, too. So if you’re prone to them, consider it yet another reason to keep your hands off. Another common stain are dark spots, or hyperpigmentation. These crop up more often in those with darker skin tones—and, similarly to red marks, get worse when you squeeze them. But even that’s not enough to avoid them. “Deep cysts can cause pigment, even if you restrain yourself from touching,” says Howe.

True acne scars, on the other hand, permanently alter the texture of your skin. They’re usually divvied up into three categories—boxcar, rolling, or icepick—which denote the shape of the dent in your skin. Usually, “the only effective treatments are in-office procedures,” says Howe. And if you’re thinking lasers, like Fraxel and Accupulse, and surgical procedures, you’re right, and possibly psychic.

That doesn’t mean it’s a lost cause. Certain topical ingredients can address discoloration, minor textural scars, and, in some cases, both. Click through to see what the derms recommend if you’re going to DIY it.



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Mufasa and Scar Aren't Actually Brothers in 'The Lion King'


PHOTO: Everett Collection / Everett Collection

If you’re a ’90s kid, you’ve seen The Lion King at least 300 times. You can probably recite the entire script from start to finish, but for the three people who haven’t seen it, here’s a quick summary: A diabolical lion named Scar kills his royal brother, Mufasa, in order gain control of the Pride Lands, which causes Mufasa’s son (Simba) to run away. While stranded in the middle of nowhere, Simba meets a friendly meerkat (Timone) and warthog (Pumbaa), who help him get his stride back. After years of confidence-building, Simba returns to the Pride Lands to battle Scar and reclaim his father’s title. It’s standard, Disney tearjerker stuff—and we love it.

But we’ve all been getting a fundamental component of The Lion King wrong for two decades. As it turns out, Mufasa and Scar aren’t brothers—not by blood, at least. The sleuths over at HelloGiggles found this out after interviewing the 1994 film’s director (Rob Minkoff) and producer (Don Hahn).

“[While making the movie] we talked about the fact that it was very likely [Scar and Mufasa] would not have both the same parents,” Hahn said. “The way lions operate in the wild…when the male lion gets old, another rogue lion comes and kills the head of the pride. What that does is it causes the female lions to go into heat [to reproduce], and then the new younger lion kills the king and then he kills all the babies. Now he’s the new lion that’s running the pride.”

So, in other words, Scar was just a strange lion who sensed Mufasa was getting old, so he swooped in and killed him. Harsh, right? (Actually, maybe this isn’t as harsh as your own brother murdering you.)

“There was always this thing about well, how do you have these two [male] lions?” Hahn continued. “Occasionally there are prides that do have two male lions, in an interesting dynamic because they’re not equals [since they don’t have the same parents]. One lion will always kind of be off in the shadows. We were trying to use those animal truths to underpin the story so we sort of figured Scar and Mufasa couldn’t really be from the same gene pool.”

If you pay close attention to the movie, Scar actually confirms he and Mufasa aren’t birth brothers—but it’s subtle. “I’m from the shallow end of the gene pool,” he says at one point.

Mind blown, right? What bombshell are you going to drop next, Disney? That Elsa and Anna aren’t sisters?! I feel bad for even putting that in the universe.

Related Stories:

Disney Gives The Lion King and Frozen 2 Official Release Dates

9 Bonkers Disney Fan Theories That Will Keep You Awake Tonight



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