Advice for helping a three-year-old's facial scar fade

[Coldcoffeekindamorning]

DS who is 3 years old had an accident a couple of months back and now has a scar on his face. At A&E they put those clear sticker stitches on and said it would scar and at the time I was just relieved that DS was ok. Fast forward a few months and the scar is very red and I was wondering if there is something I can put on it to help it to fade. I have been putting SPF on it every day (even on cloudy days) and bio oil at night but DS is so pale that the scar is still very red. Can anyone advise on something to help?

My DD had a surgery on her face at around the age of 1. Scar was very red for several months. Her surgeon said not to put anything on it except sunscreen - they really emphasised the importance of protecting the area from the sun. Took about a year to eventually settle down. Totally invisible now. Children’s skin heals really well and I’m sure your DS’s will too. Just give it time

My child had a deep facial cut at age 3 and we were advised by a plastic surgeon (at a children’s hospital) to use silicon plasters (or silicon gel) for several months. It didn’t matter that the scar was already several weeks old by the time we got an appointment with her. I opted for the silicon plasters (you cut them to size) as they also protected the scar from sunlight (which is essential). 8’ll try to remember the brand name. Child had to wear the plaster all the time, we removed it to wash, then replaced the same one (could wash it under tap). Just cut a new one when it lost its stickiness. This was all advised by the surgeon.

The scar is still visible 6 years later but very subtle.

It was these:

https://www.medisave.co.uk/products/mepiform-self-adherent-dressing-5cm-x-7cm?currency=GBP&country=GB&variant=49547599970587&stkn=34c6ddfaad06&msclkid=db5702f830b91ebe412568cf204a7ebf&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GB%20-%20Smart%20Shopping%20Campaign%20-%20800%20-%20GSF442156%20-%2020230511145251&utm_term=2330483615026883&utm_content=Ad%20Group%20GB%20-%20Smart%20Shopping%20Campaign%20-%20800%20-%20GSF442156%20-%2020230511145251

Sorry, don’t know how to do small links!

Kelocote silicon gel worked wonders on 2 very long thin scars on my DDs skin. Didn't know about the silicon plasters- agree with @ReallyIsThisStillGoingOn that covering entirely for the sun protection would be even better.

Is the scar raised or atrophic? If the latter, silicon strips nor Dermatix will help.

If it is a groove (concave) scar then you can laser or microneedle when older for sure

The scar is slightly concave...

Do these hurt when you remove them? DS hated getting his plaster off (the dr said to take it off after 7 days post accident) and now he won't even have a normal plaster on a glazed knee. The scar is on his brow too so it means that it will pull his eyebrow hair...

DD has a scar running from her hairline to her eyebrow, acquired at the age of 2. She’s now 25. Sometimes it’s almost invisible, other times it stands out quite clearly (red and raised). It does not bother her at all. When she was in Y8 or 9, the school photo airbrushed it out and she was actively angry - it’s part of her.

So even if the scar remains (and a few months on is no time at all), it doesn’t mean it will bother your son.

How long did you use this for?

I have a facial scar from an accident in my early twenties. time is a wonderful thing. It was very visible for 3/4 years but now people don’t realise I have it, I’ve pointed it out to people when the accidents come up in conversation and they wouldn’t have spotted it otherwise

Did you do anything specifically to help it fade?

They didn't hurt at all to come off skin - the adhesive is different to normal plasters. I can't comment re eyebrow hair but perhaps you could temporarily keep it shaved whilst using the plasters?

Ah, if it’s concave then if the rest of his face tans, the scar will likely remain white.

My son has a concave flat/wide scar on his face and it bothered me greatly. Having spoken to three dermatologists and/or surgeons they’ve all said: don’t underestimate how well a child’s skin can heal.

Wait it out for a few years!

This!
It’s a war wound. It’s part of who the child is and their lived experience.

Kelocote gel also prescribed for a facial cut one of my DC got from a fall when very small. Advice was to use it for two years after, nightly, and as pp have said to always use sun block. They're older now and it's barely noticeable. You can buy it but it will be cheaper to ask your GP to prescribe it.

You will be amazed at how much it disappears over time. Key to this - and something I just hadn’t realised - is that the scar remains the same size but the rest of their face grows. So the scar DD had which was about 2.5cm used to be across most of her forehead but is now just a portion of it. And it has faded so
much. It’s now most obvious at the end of the summer as it doesn’t tan (or get freckles!) when the rest of her face does but, even then, its not obvious. She is now a 16yo and you can imagine how into appearance she & all of her friends are. I mentioned something about it the other day in front of her best friend from secondary school and she just hadn’t noticed.
We did apply bio oil every night. This was going back a few years so there may be better products now

I’m at the other end of life - definitely an old lady - but I have formed keloid scars in the past. After recent surgery a physiotherapist told me the key thing was massage and to use a neutral oil. I used bio-oil. My scar at one year post op is not invisible, but better certainly much better than earlier experience.

I had a nasty accident when I was 4 and ended up with a scar on the bridge of my nose. My mum applied eucalyptus oil and it really helped with the appearance.

Give it time to fade @Coldcoffeekindamorning it will. However, DS badly cut his forehead just above his eyebrow aged three. It is white and slightly concave. Not very noticeable. It is part of who he is and and his history. We still occasionally titter about when he put the big ride on carnon top of the big terracotta flower pot to climb the fence and fly because I told him off so it was also my fault. Will never forget the amount of blood.

He's 31 and doesn't give a stuff a about it.

Another one to say you may/will be surprised by how it fades over time. DD had a nasty cut scar on her cheek when she was 7 and I was really upset about it. At 17 it doesn’t show at all, unless I looked really close with my glasses on in a v bright light and then it’s tiny. No one would know it’s there. I didn’t put anything on it.

Time is your friend. I have a scar on my forehead that you can't see any more and my sister had to have a plastic surgeon sew her face back together in surgery after a bad fall. You can barely see her scar.
It takes about 2 years for a scar to go through the full process of healing and for you to see what it might look like long term

Every evening for about 2 months, remembering about 95% of the time. By then the scars were so faded it was hard to see where to put the gel! They were very thin from a needle gone haywire during immunisations when my DD moved violently.