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Stop scar hiding and start scar healing! ReJuveness pure medical-grade silicone sheeting is one of the few evidence-based therapies available for the management of hyper-prolific scars. It will actually heal hypertrophic and keloid scars. Applied over a scar daily as directed, ReJuveness softens, smoothes, and flattens scars and restores skin to a more normal texture and color. What's more, ReJuveness scar management relieves the burning and itching that so often accompanies scarring disorders and can even prevent this type of scarring completely. ReJuveness is painless, easy to apply, and economical Ñ usually only one sheet is needed for the duration of scar management. ReJuveness Scar Therapy Means Effective Scar Healing ReJuveness silicone sheeting manages scar reduction by indirectly facilitating the necessary interactions between numerous cell types that create the balance between scar proliferation and scar reduction. Recently, an international panel of scientists and experts on scarring, reviewing all the studies and literature on available scar treatments, determined silicone sheeting to be one of two evidence-based scar treatments for scar management and scar prevention. (See Mustoe, T.A.: "International clinical recommendations on scar management," Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 2002 Aug; 110(2):560-71.) Topically applied silicone sheeting has been shown to be effective in over 50 studies for scar therapy and scar prevention. New scar treatments may be on the horizon; but effective over-the-counter alternatives to silicone sheeting are not yet available. None of the so-called scar healing creams on the market claiming to provide effective scar treatment or scar removal (including silicone-based ointments as well as other compounds like Mederma) has been shown to be effective in scar reduction. Further, comparative studies strongly suggest that alternative non-silicone bandages are also ineffective in scar removal and scar reduction. The Science Behind Scar Treatment and Scar Reduction The physiology of hypertrophic and keloid scars is complex and remains confusing to both scientists and clinicians alike. Scar healing is a deceptively complex process that involves multiple interactions between numerous cell types. If the skin is damaged, whether through injury, surgery, burns, acne, or other trauma, the body naturally tries to repair this damage. When intercellular signaling with growth factors becomes imbalanced and adhesive bio-molecules become over-abundant, the scar healing process may become interrupted, and keloid and hypertrophic scars may form. Thus, such scars represent an abnormal medical condition that can only be corrected through a change in the physiology causing them. (For more information on the science behind scar formation and scar removal, see our scar management resources page.) Because of our limited understanding of the physiology of these types of scars, effective evidence-based treatments available for keloid and hypertrophic scar reduction are very limited. Surgical scar removal results in a reappearance of the problem scar 95% of the time. Studies show that when silicone sheeting is used after surgical scar removal, the problem scar does not return 95% of the time. During scar management, ReJuveness pure silicone sheeting is thought to stimulate repair of the dysfunctional top layer of skin covering hypertrophic and keloid scars, as well as decreasing the over-adhesive content found in their matrix. The way Rejuveness balances the complex cellular physiology to promote the proper healing of the problem scar may be indirect and mysterious, but the evidence of its effectiveness and results are clear News Articles Jan. 23, 2000 Brides Magazine Cosmetic Dermatology Magazine Better Homes and Gardens Elle Magazine Woman's World Weight Watchers Magazine Mirabella P.O.V. Magazine Black Elegance Walking Magazine New York Magazine Black Woman Magazine Family Life Magazine Diaspora Global Parent Guide Boston Globe New York Post Alameda Times-Star Standard - Speaker PA Sun Journal NC Tennessean
A bizarre purchase, made on a wing and a prayer, rationalized by the fact that I had probably forked out more for truly useless skin care junk at department stores, and... IT WORKS Nobody, but nobody, has been more scared by this than me. And it does better than advertised in some ways; read on! Scar the first: Small gash on the leg, made +/- ten years ago by a falling bit of china which magically managed to shatter mid-air and land in me. Ow, yes. This is still visible -- Rejuveness is good, but not a miracle -- but only visible to my highly skin-obsessed and neurotic eyes. It went from an obvious item with raised edges to a little white line. This took two-odd months, I think. Rejuveness is a pain to use for most scars: if it's large, the big patch of silicone isn't all that comfortable, and if it's small, it's just a fiddly pain. Also, you can't just rip it off and go if it's in a visible area; it takes a bit of time (depending on the area; facial skin takes longest) for the area to even out to match the surrounding skin -- this is not a major deformation, just something that looks like you had a waterproof bandage on, but still strange-looking... Scars the second: Facial depressions, battle-scars of youth: two acne; one chicken-pox Rejuveness doesn't boast much about acne scars, so I wasn't expecting much. Mistake. When I said "skin-obsessed" earlier, I meant it: I have gone through song-and-dances with dermatologists whereby I haul out a mirror and point out the only-visible-to-me scars. They are now gone -- again, not perfect, but I no longer crave laser resurfacing or similar silliness. Those with 'icepick' scars should probably look elsewhere, but minor indentations will be raised -- with patience. Would that this stuff was around when I was twelve (chicken pox) or thirteen (and onwards, the greasy-skin years). There is simply no other over-the-counter treatment that makes such a difference. This is where Rejuveness truly becomes an annoyance, though: you cut out little squares of the silicone, cut out little squares of the tape, fiddle with them at night, look foolish, and yank them off in the morning and try to find a place not to lose them. (Most of mine have been lost for me in the name of tidying up -- beware stray spouses et al.) The best advice I can offer is to sit down with scissors and cut out a good supply of appropriately-sized squares of the Rejuveness tape, so it's ready for you at bedtime and not an easy-to-ignore chore. (Do not try to cheap out and buy a first aid tape instead of the $10-per-roll Rejuveness brand tape: it's uncomfortable, and it doesn't work. Trust me.) Pseudo-scar the third: If you can catch a stretch mark in the process of establishing itself, and are diligent enough with slapping on the Rejuveness, you can forget about stretch marks. Eventually, 'Allure' or 'Vogue' magazine will pick up on that, and the price will skyrocket. In the meantime, I'm just...thrilled with the stuff. No, it's not cheap, but it beats 'professional' scar treatments, and it's paid for itself in releasing me from a twelve-odd year addiction to Retin-A... As a post-script: silicone sheeting for the same purpose is manufactured by other companies; I have no experience with it, but would bypass it unless it was substantially cheaper than Rejuveness -- I am that happy with the product. There are also silicone gels available for the same purpose, and I've found them to be less effective and very messy and difficult to use. Recommended Amount Paid (US$): 60 September 2002: Time for another update. See the bottom of this review. November 2000: It's been ten months since my surgery, and about eight months since I started using this product, so I thought it was time for an update. The new material is at the bottom of the review. I had surgery in February 2000 and was left with a big scar. It healed fast and well but was really ugly, red and angry, with hard, lumpy tissue underneath, and my vanity wouldn't allow me to just leave it be until it faded by itself - that might be years from now, and it probably wouldn't even really disappear. Several years ago, a friend was hit by a car and had extensive surgery, including three in one place on her shoulder and one on her knee. Both sites healed with big bumpy raised red scars. Her doctor told her about ReJuveness Scar Treatment, and I remember her telling me what a difference it was making. So I decided to try it myself. Just the facts... ReJuveness is a silicon sheet which is taped over the scar and left in place. You remove it when you bathe, wash it with mild soap and water, pat it dry, and re-tape it in place. You can use it for an unlimited time, and it will last indefinitely because it has no "moving parts" or ingredients to be depleted. It comes in sheets and strips of varying sizes, and you can cut it to fit your need, as long as it exceeds the scar in size by at least 1/4", preferably more. It doesn't cause irritation because the silicon is inert. The only side effects you may experience will be from the tape itself, if you're sensitive to adhesive as I am. It comes with a small amount of absurdly-expensive-to-reorder (about $8 for a little more than a yard of 1" tape, which isn't wide enough to cover the strip so you have to double it) "hypo-allergenic" tape, to which I almost immediately reacted. But I found that the hypo-allergenic, sensitive-skin paper tape from the drugstore works just fine and is a lot cheaper - about $5 for a 100' roll. The promise is that the surface scar will fade to a thin white line, which it would probably do anyway but would take years. ReJuveness takes a long time to do its work, but cuts the fade time in about half. It also promises to soften and flatten the hard tissue under the surface. Mine has softened somewhat, but I still have a long way to go. My friend's scar, though, is almost entirely flat. How does it work? OK, back to ME! My scar was long and narrow, so I bought a shorter, wider piece and cut it in half lengthwise. I use 2" wide tape, center the strip down the middle, and slap the whole thing onto my scar, patting the tape down to make sure it's fully adhered. I leave it there for 24 hours, until my next shower, when I remove it, peel the tape off, wash the strip, pat it dry, and reapply it. Every few days, I leave it off, to give my skin a rest from the tape, although I don't have a rash from it. My friend's huge shoulder and knee scars are reduced to thin white lines, and the lumpy, hard scar tissue under the surface is gone. My scar is still too new to have disappeared completely, but my doctor is impressed with how much smaller it is than similar scars left untreated. I plan to keep using ReJuveness for as long as it takes to reduce the scar to what I consider is an acceptable level of invisibility. More particulars... ReJuveness is supposedly available at selected drugstores, but I never could fine one that had it. You can get it from a plastic surgeon, but that might be more trouble than it's worth. So, on a hunch, I hit my search engine, typed in ReJuveness.com, and voila! - there's the website. Don't believe the list of pharmacies where you can supposedly find it - it's way out of date. Just order it off the site; it's easier and cheaper. You can also call the company and speak to their very friendly and helpful order-taker; the phone number is on the site. That's cheaper, not cheap. Be warned - this stuff is fairly expensive; I don't remember exactly how much I paid, but it was about $65 for a 4 cm x 12 cm strip. It comes in various sizes for varying applications, but most of the strips are about 4 cm wide. My scar was long and skinny, so I cut it in half and now have two strips 2 cm x 24 cm, which work fine. The comforting thing about the expense is that it's one-time-only; the product lasts practically forever, so you don't need to replace it. In a world of hype and puffery, it's nice to find a product that actually does what it claims to do, and is inert and harmless into the bargain. I recommend ReJuveness to any adult (check with your doctor or the order-taker before using it on kids, although it should be fine) who has a scar to reduce. I'm not aware of any other product for scar management; your doctor may know of something professional, but there's certainly nothing else out there for consumer use. So try this and pitch the Derma-Blend! UPDATES November 2000: It's now been eight months since I started using ReJuveness on my scar. The scar has faded to near-invisibility; it's a thin white line that you can hardly see. In that respect, the literature that comes with it is right. However, the lumpy, bumpy, gnarly tissue under the surface is still somewhat lumpy, bumpy, and gnarly. It isn't visible, of course, but I can definitely feel it if I press my fingers along the scar. My doctor has told me that there is a possibility that it will never completely smooth out, since some of it is muscle, rather than part of the dermis. But I'm going to keep on using the ReJuveness strips for several more months, just to see what happens. If nothing does, I can live with it, since the lumps aren't visible. September 2002: I had bunion surgery last June 26. A friend who'd had the same surgery in December '01 showed me her scar. It was raised and bumpy and looked irritated. She said that it was all those things, and moreover, it rubbed against the inside of her shoe, which just made it worse. So as soon as the doctor took the dressings off two weeks after my surgery, I cut one of my ReJuveness strips to the right length and laid it on top of my scar before putting on my pressure bandages. I did that for the next six weeks, until the doctor told me to stop wearing the pressure bandages. That was after he nearly fell off his chair in shock because my scar had disappeared. Yup, all I have is a smooth, fine white line, with no bumpiness or irritation. My friend was so impressed that I lent her my strip of Rejuveness. Unfortunately, she has to tape it in place, so it will probably show, but with fall coming, she'll probably start wearing socks soon anyway. ReJuveness has made another convert! Recommended Yes Amount Paid (US$): 65 ReJuveness is clinically proven effective
in the management of both old and new scars. Softens, smoothes and
flattens scars, and restores skin to its normal texture and color.
Clinically proven effective in the management of existing hypertrophic
and keloid scars. Used by plastic surgeons, dermatologists, physicians,
pediatricians, estheticians and burn centers worldwide. NEWS ARTICLES: - Chain Drug Review - New York Daily News - Jump - Psychology Today - Seventeen - Essence - Brides - Cosmetic Dermatology - Better Homes and Gardens - Elle - First for Women - Woman's World - Weight Watchers - Mirabella - P.O.V. - Black Elegance - Walking - New York Magazine - Black Woman - Family Life - Diaspora Global - Parent Guide - Boston Globe - New York Post - Parents Magazine - Alameda Times-Star - Lincoln Journal-Star - Standard-Speaker, PA - Chicago Tribune - Sun Journal, NC - Tennessean - Courier-Houma, LA - Pittsburgh Post - Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH - Sunday Journal, Albuquerque, NM TELEVISION - CBS Network, "CBS This Morning" -Fox News Channel: "Fox on Health Weekend" - America's Health Network: "Ask the Pediatrician" - Lifetime Television's "New Attitudes" - NY One News - KNBC - Los Angeles - KSDK - St. Louis - WMAQ - Keloid scarring and hypertrophic scars are characterized by a raised, lumpy appearance. Such scars have a reddish to dark-purple color and may often itch, or even be painful. In recent studies, thick hypertrophic and keloidal growth showed four times the amount of evaporating water loss compared to normal scars and skin. According to other studies, this excessive water loss (comparable to an open blister wound) is thought to be a possible signal causing the production of excessive scar tissue. . |
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