You could say I know a thing or two about surgical scar healing to say the least! I was in a severe auto accident and besides having my body damaged from the impact, I also had to endure dozens and dozens of surgeries to put myself back together. And of course as a result I developed a plethora of scars from head to toe.

I’ll share with you some things I learned during the process:

1. Vitamin E
We’ve all heard about the vitamin E skin benefits. But what you may not know is that rule doesn’t apply before and immediately after surgery. This is why most doctors tell their patients to not consume vitamin E in the two or three weeks before surgery (assuming your surgery is a planned one). Why? Because it has anti-platelet qualities. This means that it inhibits the health type of blood clotting which is necessary.

So why do some claim it is good for scarring? While, it evidence points towards it definitely being beneficial (usually in the topical form) but that is not immediately after surgery. Rather, doctors usually don’t recommend that for a few weeks after. Consult your doctor though to find out for sure, because I’m not a doctor.

2. Healthy Diet
When you are going through your healing process, your skin needs the right building blocks to repair itself properly. Due to various medical conditions some of us have different dietary needs, so check with your doctor to find out what is optimal for you. For most of us, this consists of an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. And no, supplements are not a replacement for those! You see they use synthetic forms of vitamin C and others, so it’s best to consume them in the natural food form.

3. Using Scar Removal Treatment
Once your doctor says it’s okay to do so, you will want to start on a regimen of some sort of scar remover. There are many different products on the market – from silicone scar sheets to scar cream – and to be honest there’s no “one size fits all” answer. What’s work good for some people may not work best for another.

So your best bet will be to ask your surgeon what he or she recommends. The two most popular ingredients nowadays seem to be onion bulb extract (allium cepa) and silicone gel or cream. No one knows exactly why those things work, but they do for many people.