Burns are usually caused by accidental exposure to chemicals, intense heat or electricity. When the burn is a mild skin burn it can be easily treated, however, if it is severe it could be life threatening. It is common for moderate and severe cases of burn scars to leave behind extensive scar tissue.

The severity of any scar will depend on its location and extension. Usually scar therapy begins even before the wound has completely healed. This is generally the case with fire burns.

Treatment Options Applicable for All Types of Scars

The right burn scars treatment will depend on the severity and location of the scar. There are several treatment options, here are some of the most common ones:

*Surgery (excision and grafting)

*Steroid Injections

*Compression Therapy

*Resurfacing Techniques

Usually more than one procedure is used to treat severe scars, however, this time around we will focus on resurfacing techniques such as laser therapy, chemical peels, dermabrasion and microdermabrasion.

Laser Therapy for Burn Scars

When trying to treat burn scars you can choose from ablative or non ablative laser therapy. The first type of laser treats the upper layer of the skin, and requires a certain period of recovery. This is necessary because it can cause erythema, edema, and serous discharge.

Non-ablative lasers bypass the epidermis and treat the dermis. Because of this it requires less down time than ablative laser therapy. It does cause redness in some people, but this effect will usually subsides after a couple of days.

Burn Scars and Chemical Peels

This procedure uses chemicals to remove certain layers of the skin. This technique encourages the production of collagen and the growth of new cells.

The lightest chemical peel is done with alpha hydroxy acids like glycolic acid and lactic acid. The skin will redden and might flake so you'll require some recovery time, if any.

Phenol acid is used for deep chemical peels while more moderate versions use trichloroacetic acid. Both treatments will usually produce swelling, redness and scab formation. Pain is a common denominator in both cases; this is why you will usually be prescribed pain medication.

Dermabrasion and Microdermabrasion for Burn Scars

Dermabrasion is similar to chemical peels in that it removes the outer layers of the skin to promote collagen production and new skin cell growth. In the case of dermabrasion, micro crystals are used to abrade the surface of the skin. This procedure usually produces redness and some pain.

Scar removal with microdermabrasion is only possible if you want to get rid of a minor burn scar. This is because microdermabrasion is too gentle to deal with moderate and severe scarring.