Ingredient Beauty BenefitsScars
Marks left behind by acne and by surgery.
On scars, the first thing this site wants to record is what not to do.
Tocopherol (vitamin E) is widely believed to help scars. But in a 1999 trial on surgical scars, it had no effect or actually made things worse in 90% of cases, and 33% developed contact dermatitis. The authors concluded that its use on surgical wounds should be discouraged.
There is far more material on the procedure side — microneedling, fractional CO2, microneedle radiofrequency. But read those pages together and something odd appears: fractional CO2 is almost always the control arm, and no trial has compared it against doing nothing.
Centella asiatica
Centella Asiatica Extract
In a split-face trial of 30 people after laser resurfacing, the side treated with Centella extract gel showed a lower erythema index (coefficient −0.03, P = .046) and better crusting and wound appearance in the first days. Skin biophysics, though, did not differ between the two sides.
Tocopherol (vitamin E)
Tocopherol
In a 1999 double-blind trial that split each surgical scar in half, **vitamin E had no effect or actually made things worse in 90% of cases, and 33% developed contact dermatitis.** The authors concluded that its use on surgical wounds should be discouraged. In a six-month trial it **absorbed into skin readily but left the lesions unchanged.**
Clinical procedures related to this concern
Procedures are not listed alongside topical ingredients. They are not something you use at home.
- Microneedle radiofrequency Device-based
- Fractional laser (Fraxel, fractional CO2) Device-based
- Microneedling (dermapen, dermaroller) Device-based