Advice Big Scar on Head of Bald Guy

[kevxu]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

....

From a practical stand point, you may want to rub Vitamin E oil on it every evening because in my experience that really does help cut down on scar tissue and aids in healing.

I've had a lot of scars from surgical incisions and cuts, as well as burns. And my experience has been the same of yours. Those I put vitamin E on every night at least healed faster and better than those I did nothing with....and some of these were pretty gross in the beginning.

And like I said, over time, most scars continue to become less and less noticeable anyway.

Yes, some of the ones from childhood and youth are virtually unfindable now that I am eighty-plus. Sometimes Nature overdoes it though. I have a long, wide scar down the length of one forearm. I got it in my early twenties and for decades it was bright red and very noticeable. But eventually it went to the opposite extreme and it is very noticeable now because it has no pigment. I am a pale person, but this big scar just doesn't look skin-coloured at all, and is a long white slash.[/quote]

Scars make people more interesting in my opinion. Capitalize on that!

Hmmm, just call me Mr. Fascinating then.

[silibran]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

I have several scars I've collected over the years, including one pretty significant one on my chin. But even that one has lessened over the years.

Anyway, my point is that I've simply never thought much about them and they have not impeded my life in any way - including but not limited to my dating life, I might add.

Scars are interesting, so you may have someone ask you about the scar occasionally but so what? Just tell them what happened - or make up some really heroic, crazy story and tell them that one first, and then after they are super impressed then say, "Nyahh, not really - I had a mole removed," and everyone can have a big laugh and then just forget about it.

From a practical stand point, you may want to rub Vitamin E oil on it every evening because in my experience that really does help cut down on scar tissue and aids in healing. I have two really cool matching scars on my two Achilles tendons from having to have surgery on both of them (wow, that was no fun but I digress). Due to you know, needing to wear shoes, I rubbed Vitamin E oil on them every night for about a year and I think it really helped.

And like I said, over time, most scars continue to become less and less noticeable anyway.

Scars make people more interesting in my opinion. Capitalize on that!

I know that vitamin e strategy. But after DH came home after bypass surgery we were told by hospital staff via printed instruction NOT to rub anything, including vitamin e oil on the scar. He was instructed to wash with plain soap.

I would be careful about doing anything to a surgical scar not instructed to do by surgeon.

[Zoisite]

Scars don't tan. If you tan your head the scar will stand out even more as a white patch on your head. Stay out of the sun and don't tan your head, it will just make more moles grow faster on your head and you'll end up having to have those cut out too.

[Schrodinger's Kittens]

Have you tried something like Scarguard? It comes as a liquid you paint on the scar, or as silicone strips kind of like a bandage. I had a mole removed and the dermatologist gave me a bottle of the liquid and told me to use it every night. It took
a while but worked well. Contact your doc and ask him if it's okay to use. And like others have said, use sunblock during the day too.

[ShakenStirred]

Originally Posted by RotseCherut

I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I unfortunately had a mole excision surgery and the Dermatologist really wasn't too good at explaining how large of a scar I would be left with. It is sad, because even though I am bald, I always had a nice Bruce Willis style round bald head. But, after my surgery it left me with this large 2 inch gnarly scar above my ear on my right temple area of my head. The worst part of it is that I grow hair around most my head except my patchy scalp, so it looks better shaved. The area with the scar now looks a little indented and there is no hair underneath where the incision was made. Basically , I got this nice looking round clean shaven sclap with a very ugly and noticeable scar on the side of my head right above my ear. It is not noticeable looking at my face, but if I turn my head it looks bad.

As much as I would like to look into getting plastic surgery or some other medical treatment to try to remedy the scar, I just don't have the money and my insurance really doesn't cover anything until I hit a very high deductible. I am battling other health problems right now such as sciatica from too many years of software work and have to prioritize how I spend my money. I'm trying to keep myself out of a wheelchair, so my facial beauty I guess comes last.

The worst part of it all was it was a tiny mole that they said may have been pre-cancerous (not cancerous) and they said they thought it was very unusual even though not cancerous and to remove it. If I would have known a tiny mole would have left a scar like this I would have left it and just monitored it frequently for changes. But too late!

Anyway, if my hair grows out it covers the scar, but then I left with this patchy bald hair. It is sad as I use to have very beautiful hair and always complemented on it until my crappy genetics kicked in. It wasn't so bad having the Mr. Clean head , but with this scar I feel very uncomfortable.

Of course, I tend to like wearing hats of all kinds, from baseball hats to those Italian/Irish style caps, but some times you cannot wear a hat like if you go to a nightclub.

Anyway, I am looking into oils, lotions, exfoliate scrubbers and such to help reduce the scarring, but I also wonder if just the indention from the Dermatologist suturing up the area and the lack of hair may make it as noticeable as the scar itself. I know its been a long healing process and most of the scabs fell off just after 4 months. If I massage it, it is still a little painful . I was told massaging it is good to help reduce some scarring and can help produce new skin cells.

I guess I just would like to know what others have done to try to hide or even better help fade or reduce a very annoying looking scar on their head or even face? The tricky part here is it is on my scalp that is surrounded by hair and my hair gets quite thick in that area. It is strange because even though I am genetically bald on top the rest of my hair still grows thick like wool and I have to shave it frequently.

I also think if I got my head more tanned it would help make it less noticeable, but I am told I need to avoid any sun exposure for over half a year if not more. Living in Denver the sun has so much UVA and is so strong that I fear exposing my head at all into the sun.

I appreciate people who can help give me advice on this issue and I feel sorry for others who have to suffer with scars like this. I know my older age and genetics are catching up with me and also am coming to terms that I am not really attractive anymore and may just throw the towel in on worrying about this stuff.

You need a good story, that's all. Like, you jumped into the middle of gunfire to rescue school kids, and one of the bullets grazed your head as you flung a little girl out of the way at the last second.

BOOM - Your scar is now ultra-sexy.

You're welcome.

SS

[Idlewile]

Mederma Advanced Scar gel DURING THE DAY.

Bio Oil AT NIGHT.

Every day and every night, be consistent!

Both available OTC at any drugstore/Amazon.

You can always look into laser therapy as your next step.

[RotseCherut]

Wow, I want to thank everyone here for the responses and you guys have helped make me feeling a bit more accepting and its nice to hear how other people have dealt with their surgical or other acquired scars. Ironically, after my hair grew a little bit out 4 days later, my scar is much less noticeable. It looked the worst the day I shaved it. Well, one issue Is I have a very small dent in the side of my head which may be a combination of the scar and also the fact I was almost beaten to death when I was around 19 years old, which I know left a little dent as that is where the scumbag who pummeled my head. I didn't live the best life when I was younger and regret the choices I made. The dent in my head is small, but when I was clean shaven it was unnoticeable until I had this surgery that just seem to push in my skin even more. However, soon as my hair grew out a tiny bit, the dent is gone, but I still have that 2.5 inch of scar (which is now becoming obscured by my hair) and the large area 0.25 in area of no hair. It's the combination of everything that made it look weird to me.

Well, the small indentation is almost worse looking than the scar itself. As well, it is also noticeable because there is a large quarter of an inch area underneath the scar that no longer grows hair. I have no clue why the hair won't grow there, but I see little specs of hair that just don't seem to want to grow out, but most of the area is un-scarred skin that they put the sutures through. I am thinking if I tanned my head, that area would tan and become less noticeable. The scar itself is actually less noticeable than the patch of hair that doesn't grow. It's hard to explain. But, the area around the side and back of my head has lot of thick hair; I'm patchy bald on top (with that typical Male Pattern Baldness hole in back of head) and even have some hair in front still.

I never allow myself to sun burn and generally only give my head 20 minutes of sunshine a day that allows me to gradually get a tanner color. But, I agree, I don't want excessive sun exposure as someone mentioned as this can bring more moles and G-d forbid they need to be removed , as I don't want to go through this procedure again. It is strange , because I tan all over my body and almost never get moles. I just got a couple new moles on my head and had one mole removed on my scalp that I was born with and left no scar at all because it was benign and was a shave biopsy.

Anyway, I am definitely going to try Vitamin E oil and may look into these silicone strips people are mentioning as long as I don't find out there is any potential bad side effects. Health is wealth and I understand I won't sacrifice my health for the sake of beauty. I also use coconut oil, jojoba oil and will look into cocoa butter to rub on my head. I always rub jojoba and coconut oil on my skin as well as take a lot of nutritional supplements that are good for skin like Collagen, Astaxanthin, Vitamin E, etc.

I appreciate the link the person shared with the fedoras. I had no clue that people could casually wear fedoras, but I think I may consider wearing those, as I love them so much. Being Jewish, I do get to wear them at the synagogues during service. I do like wearing hats, but sometimes you just cannot wear them; such as if you work a certain kind of job and must remain hatless.

As far as the war stories, I like it! In fact, considering I did get in my share of fights in my younger years, I guess I could just say, ohhh that scar??? Yeah, don't like talking about it, I got punched pretty good.. Not even 100% lie , actually Hahaha, yeah that does sound a bit sexier than , I had a unusual benign mole removed from my head.. LOL I have to admit the scar does look like a battle wound rather than a surgical scar. Ironically, I do have a scar on my hand that was acquired from drinking 4 pitchers of beer one night, blacking out and then punching open a window and almost dying. So, not my only big scar.. I actually love the scar on my hand, but scars tend to look nicer on your hand instead of your head.. That scar has been a reminder to me since my youth of how bad alcohol can be for your health and soul.


Anyway, I appreciate how uplifting people's comments have been and I know others have incurred their fair share of scars and things that affect their appearance. A lot of people here have a better attitude about things than me. I am currently going through some other health battles, including degenerate discs, sciatica, pelvic floor dysfunction among others. I guess everything combined just seems overwhelming. My 16 years working 70-80 hour weeks as a software developer caught up with me and messed up my body.

I would like to look attractive and work out again. Being short (by Colorado standards; even most women are taller than me here at 5,9, uggh ), bald, out of shape, partially disabled and financially struggling kind of doesn't make me a candidate for the dating world though. I don't have to pretend that I am attractive; I know I am the bottom of the barrel there. However, I don't want to give up hope and do have some faith I will rebound again in life. I may not be so beautiful like in my younger years as the curly thick haired, ripped bodybuilder. But, I rather have people appreciate me for who I am than my outside appearance.

I am a little rough around the edges now and I guess its time to embrace the new me. However, I will do what I can do hopefully reduce the scarring, but understand its going to be part of me and will have to work around it the best I can.

[silibran]

Originally Posted by RotseCherut

I am a little rough around the edges now and I guess its time to embrace the new me. However, I will do what I can do hopefully reduce the scarring, but understand its going to be part of me and will have to work around it the best I can.

There you go! Guys who are a little rough around the edges, but who are kind have their own attractiveness.

[Snowdog-Mom]

Originally Posted by RotseCherut

I really appreciate people's help and input here as well as the compassion. It was already tough battling all the injuries I have had for my work and going bald I always felt definitely took away a lot of my beauty. Now with the frankenstein scar on side of my head I am even more self-conscious.

But, like others said I just have to accept it. I've already pretty much thrown the towel in the dating world anyway; with the scar i just feel it is even more of reason to not worry about being attractive anymore. I worry it will scare women away.. Being 200lb bald guy I already felt like I could look intimidating even though I smile a lot and try to look friendly. I feel with the scar I will be just too intimidating looking. Picture a little chubbier (though been losing a lot of weight now, down to 36 in waist) and shorter version of Bruce Willis (assuming he actually is 6ft) with a big scar on side of his head.


I will maybe after a year start giving my full head sun exposure for short periods of time. I usually basque in the sun with my head 30 minutes a day and then cover it. A pale bald head doesn't look good anyway and I like getting it a bit darker gradually without burning my skin. I take a lot of collagen and other supplements and I don't sunburn very easily and tend to just gradually get darker, except in Colorado where the sun is brutal. Even then, I can tolerate the sun better than many people. I know if my head got tanned the scar would look much less noticeable.


I might also consider shaving my head and just leaving that little patch to grow out a little more. It will look weird, but not as weird as that big scar. The scar is still pretty red and has a little scabbing on it still. Maybe it will start to fade after a year. Some also tell me my patchy head looks better than when it is shaven, but most people say never grow out patchy balding hair..


I'm a hat wearer and even when I had a full set of hair I loved wearing hats. But everyone says people these days, especially women, hate men who wear hats. Although, Colorado ball caps are definitely vogue; I am not sure about the Southeast where I will be moving. To be honest, I love wearing fedoras, suits, sports coats and if I had more money and didn't live in Colorado (wear people dress really bad) I'd probably be much more dapper. Too bad fedoras are no longer in style, as I look real good wearing them, but they would just mostly get me chuckles when I wear one these days. I'm also Jewish, so I still have the luxury of wearing a fedora during services (which are very popular), but that is about the only time I am allowed or it is feasible to wear one.



Thanks again for people being compassionate and helpful

Rotse, as one poster suggested, invent a good story about the cause of the scar. And, if you look nice in hats, including Fedoras, WEAR them! I love hats on men as long as the style fits the man and he wears the hat with confidence. And 5'9" is considered average, isn't it?

[odanny]

You have more options that you think, but all carry risks, and you have to be aware of these risks, and do your due diligence, in order to avoid making your problem worse.

Much depends on where the scar is. If it is in the zone of hair you have not lost (the safe zone in the back of your head and around your ears) then you can add hair to the scar. A popular method of scar repair is transplanting beard hair into your scar. Yes, it works, there are a ton of patient photos of this being successful, but very few doctors who can successfully transplant it and get high growth rates. A world leader in this is Dr. Umar, of Redondo Beach, CA.

Also, there is SMP (scalp micro pigmentation) where tiny dots are tattooed onto the scar, and these mimic ones hair when shaved. This is a more risky procedure with a lower success rate, largely because there is no substitute for beard or scalp hair into a scar, and also because a lot of people are not good enough at it to produce the desired result.

Then you have a surgical scar revision, where doctors can make the scar thinner and flatter. If your scar is already flat and thin, you'd pass on this option.

Finally, there are non surgical processes, like Fraxel laser and Dermabrasion, which smooth out a scar and make its appearance less noticeable.