Many people faced with problematic scars turn to a scar cream to improve the appearance or texture of their scars. Scars can be caused by a variety of reasons: surgery, cuts, stretch marks and acne, to name just a few. These scars can cause embarrassment or social stigma, causing many individuals to seek treatment with one of a number of over the counter scar products.

The good news is that you don't need a prescription from a doctor for most scar products. The bad news is that most popular scar treatments are successful because of clever marketing rather than true science. Before you commit, research the ingredients to find out what science, if any, exists to support the claims made on the packaging.

Vitamin E, for example, is found in many scar products. Multiple scientific and clinical studies have shown that vitamin E does not help get rid of scars. In up to 90% of cases, vitamin E either fails to improve, or even worsens the appearance of scars. To add insult to injury, 1 in 3 people also find themselves being allergic to it. Contact allergy to vitamin E can cause redness, itching, swelling and flaking. Because of this, vitamin E is not the vitamin of choice for scar treatment and should be avoided.

Another common ingredient is onion extract. Here again, many studies have found this to be ineffective as a scar treatment and no better than plain petroleum jelly.

Vitamin C on the other hand DOES improve scar healing, as does silicone. Both help improve scar appearance and texture, fading and softening both old and new scars. Vitamin C acts by encouraging healthy collagen formation (rather than unorganized collagen), and improves orientation of collagen fibres within the scar. The exact mechanism by which silicone works is unknown but it is thought to draw moisture into the scar.

Most skin care products (including scar creams) contain water which encourages bacterial growth after the product container is opened and the cream is contaminated. There are about 50 approved preservatives to keep products "bacteria-free", but the market is dominated by just a handful: parabens, formaldehyde, metylchloroisothiazolinone, and methylisothiazolinone. This is bad news, since these chemicals are among the most irritating preservatives. About 6% of people have a contact allergy to preservatives and fragrances. Allergies to formaldehyde are as high as 9%.

It's not jut the picking the right scar cream that's important. Some people don't actually take care of the fresh wound as they should. Use an antibacterial, skin-friendly soap like Dial to keep the affected area clean and decrease the risk of infection. Fresh skin wounds should also be kept covered for the first few days. Half-strength peroxide works well to clean dirty wounds but should be avoided once the injury has been cleaned of all debris. This is because peroxide not only kills germs, but also the "good" skin cells needed for wound healing.

Once the top layer of skin is healed over (and any sutures are removed), start using your scar therapy of choice. Keep using it until you stop seeing an improvement. This takes some patience though. Even the most effective scar treatments need time to soften and fade scars.

Also protect newer scars (less than 2 years old) from the sun with sun block or clothing. Repeat, prolonged exposure to the sun can cause scars to become dark or more red, making them even more noticeable. Color changes are not as likely once the scar is more than 2 years old.

Finally, scar massage is a must. Most plastic surgeons recommend massaging scars firmly for several minutes a day (you can't overdo it) to help soften and flatten scars. This can be performed when applying the scar cream or lotion and may actually help the absorption of some ingredients by the skin.