How can one fade scars?

vitamin e. i've used it for years and it's made a big difference for my surgical scars, although they don't sound as big/severe as yours, and i've heard the same from others. it's really good for your skin, no side effects i know of, so no matter what you can't loose by trying it (except some $ i guess).

get the pure stuff. it's pricey but worth it (maybe $15 for a two-inch bottle? i haven't bought it in a long time). the stuff with fillers is NOT as good from my experience. you can find little bottles of pure vitamin e oil at natural-ish grocery stores (even safeway i think), some drug stores, and i'm sure other places. beauty places maybe. and a little bottle can last surprisingly long. if you can't find it, you can also get the vitamin pills (still read it well to get the pure thing) and pop them open with a needle. that's actually pretty convenient sometimes, but it's smaller quantities than you might need.

just put it on the scars and a little around them when you have time to leave it there at least a few hours. i often do it before bed. it is oil, so it's sticky and will get on clothes, etc, so you have to work that out. but literally when i wake up in the morning i SEE the difference. if you keep to it (daily, every couple days, whatever) over time it could really help your skin.

another more intense method is laser surgery. i had it done once but i can't remember well the difference it made (it was many years ago). i think like the stripping it can work or not. you could look into it.

besides that, i'm sure you've been told the usual -- try to keep the scars from the sun, keep them well moisturized (i recommend aloe vera and oils), and massage them whenever you think of it to bring blood flow and your body's attention to the area.

Thanks for the help, I am certainly going to try it out.

Retin A

Yep. Basic moisturizing and time. Lots of time. Scars take time to fade. The bigger the longer they take. Patience will be your best friend.

I had spine surgery a few years ago and the thing my surgeon recomended for the scarring is silicone strips. You can buy them at Walgreens, and boy do they work miracles. "Specifically, the application of silicone after surgical resection has been shown to help prevent the development of hypertrophic scars and keloids in 75% to 85% of cases. Although its exact mechanism is unknown, silicone's prevention of wound desiccation and inhibition of fibroblast production of collagen and glycosaminoglycans, appear to be contributing factors."

I used silicone strips as well as Mederma.

The best thing for scars is time :/ But if you want, you could always see a dermatologist and they may have some options for you as far as prescription creams go. Or they might even have a specialist who deals with scars and has a special machine that can remove them. They might be pricey though, so dont jump into it.

My mom used Mederma, it is now available over the counter. She had surgery on her arm a few years ago, and in a few places the scars got very thick and bumpy. It helped tremendously. Good luck ;)