Self injury can result in scarring. Scars may fade within the first two years, but scars are permanent.
Scar Biology

The skin is made up of two layers, the upper (epidermis) and the lower (dermis) on top of the subcutaneous [under-skin] fat. When we damage the dermis, scar tissue is formed from collagen. Depending on the severity / depth etc. of the damage, and the subsequent treatment received in the critical 3 week healing window, the scar will be minor or hypertrophic.

It has been observed that deep cuts often cause raised, hard, itchy hypertrophic scars; often as wide as the cut was deep.

Scar Treatments

If you do have a fresh wound, do consider hygiene; an infected wound has a higher chance of greater scarring.

Clean the wound as First Aid information suggests, and bandage or use a plaster.

For wounds that you do not expect to 'close' on their own, please consider visiting your hospital Accident & Emergency Department for assessment and possibly stitches. However, we fully recognise that some people feel unable to go to hospital with self-injury wounds, and in those cases we highly recommend 'skin closure' plasters, that can be purchased from chemists such as Boots in the highstreet, or from their website. See their Skin Closure page for details.

For fresh scars or even older scars you may find that Elastoplast Scar Reduction Patches help reduce the scar. They can be expensive and may require a month of treatment, please see the Scar Reduction Patch page at Boots.

• Accidents and First Aid from NHS Direct
• Scars from NHS Direct
• Treat your scar from the BBC

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