Despite the overwhelming satisfaction that our patients have with their breast enlargement results, one area that we often see concern around is breast implant scars. Our patients want to know exactly how much scarring they can expect, when the scarring will go down, and what they can do to help the scarring heal more quickly.
Fortunately, there are some recovery methods that you can use to help your breast surgery scars heal faster, and there are some things that you should avoid if you want to give yourself the best chance of having gentle, inconspicuous scars in the future.
Upon attending a consultation with one of our surgeons, you will be informed of the specific aftercare instructions that will apply to you. However, here are some aftercare guidelines for you to keep in mind in addition to your specific instructions.
Before reading this blog, it is important to remember that scars are an expected part of breast enlargement, breast reduction, and other major breast surgeries and will fade with time, but at New Birkdale Clinic, we do understand how they can cause insecurity.
How to Break up Scar Tissue Around Breast Implants
Aside from remedial surgery or therapy, there are some techniques that you can use to break up or aid the healing of scar tissue after breast surgery.
It is important to remember, though, that these techniques should only be used once your scars have healed. If you interfere with the surgical site too soon, you can disrupt healing and cause undue complications that can make the scars worse.
Some techniques that you can use to reduce the look of scars include:
Massage
Scar tissue massage is a commonly used technique by physical therapists, but it can also be performed independently.
When you massage a scar, you are aligning the collagen within the scar tissue to aid remodelling. This, in turn, helps the scar to heal and look more natural as time goes on, more closely resembling the skin surrounding it.
The reason massage helps break down scar tissue is the way our bodies form scars. While scars and our skin are both made of collagen, they are not created in the same way.
How Scars Form and How Massages Can Help
Scars are formed because our bodies are responding to injury. Our bodies have to very quickly produce layers of collagen to close up a wound or repair a muscle, and this means that it does not have the time to spend creating tissue that more closely resembles skin or muscle fibres.
By aligning the collagen build-up manually through massage, you are breaking down excess collagen within the scar tissue which helps the scar look flatter and less noticeable moving forward.
If your scars have healed, your surgeon may permit you to perform scar tissue massage a few times a day for a couple of minutes at a time.
Oil
There are a number of different oils that you can apply to your healed scar tissue, which may help reduce their appearance.
Some examples of the best oils for scars after breast surgery include:
- Vitamin E oil
- Hyssop essential oil
- Coconut oil
- Almond oil
More research is needed on the effectiveness of applying certain oils to help heal scar tissue. However, as moisturising scars is recommended, you may want to find a moisturiser that contains any of these oils to try and help reduce the appearance of your boob job scars in the future.
Prevention of Poor Healing
Some ways that you can prevent the worsening of the appearance of your scars include:
Importance of Aftercare
One of the best ways that you can help your scars look their best in the future is by preventing them from healing poorly in the first place. This is why it is incredibly important to follow your aftercare instructions to the best of your ability. Not caring for your scars properly for the first few weeks after surgery will be massively detrimental to their appearance for the rest of your life.
Effects of Lifestyle Choices
For example, smoking or drinking alcohol before or after surgery is prohibited because it can have an adverse effect on the healing process. This would then cause your scars to appear worse, and you would have a harder time dealing with them in the future.
Seeking Tailored Advice
If you regularly drink alcohol or smoke (or vape or use nicotine patches), inform us at your consultation, and we can provide you with more tailored advice to help you in the healing process.
Breast Augmentation Scar Healing Timeline
Breast augmentation scars will begin to heal at around the 2-month post-operation mark, provided you have followed your surgeon’s aftercare instructions closely. It is important to remember that this is only the beginning of your recovery journey, and your scars will continue to improve in appearance over the course of many months and even years.
What Do Breast Augmentation Scars Look Like After 6 Months?
By the 6-month stage, breast implant scars will start to resemble their final, mature appearance. You should notice them beginning to lighten in colour and gradually lose their raised texture. This is dependent on consistent aftercare, which includes avoiding direct UV exposure. If sun exposure is unavoidable, applying a high-SPF sunscreen to the scarred area is essential to prevent pigmentation and support the fading process.
When Do Breast Augmentation Scars Fully Fade?
Most surgeons agree that, for the majority of patients, breast surgery scars will have matured completely somewhere between 12 and 18 months post-surgery. While every patient’s skin heals differently, following your aftercare plan throughout this entire period gives you the best possible chance of minimal, well-faded scarring.
Regain Your Confidence With New Birkdale Clinic
While our article may have focused a lot on the severity of breast enlargement scars, we should also note that our patients often report that the happiness they feel with their results far outweighs having to deal with the residual scarring.
And what’s more, due to the location of the surgical incisions for breast implants, your scars will be very easy to conceal when wearing clothes, underwear, or a bikini.
For more information, see some of our other articles, such as how long can you expect breast implants to last, or how breast implants affect breastfeeding.
