Removing your scars can be a complicated process, and there are many ways to help reduce their appearance. Whether you have small acne scars or pockmarks or larger, thicker scar tissue, you are likely familiar with the theories of laser treatment, dermabrasion and vitamin supplements to alleviate scarring.

For many people, a non surgical approach to scar removal is the most appealing, yet it is difficult to tell whether a certain product or theory will actually work when put into practise.

How can you be sure that you are not simply wasting your money? The trick is to understand the basic functions of your skin and how it repairs itself, and how vitamins and other supplements react with that process.

Scars are the product of your skin healing itself from wounds. In for any reason your skin has been damaged and torn open, a scar is likely to form over the area as skin cells grow and reattach the wayward edges.

The size of the wound and the age of the person involved has a lot to do with how the skin heals itself and the appearance of a scar. The smaller the wound, the less likely you are to develop a scar, and the younger you are, the more likely you are to develop a thick, obvious scar.

Older skin tends to form thinner, paler scars than more youthful skin, as younger skin cells often overcompensate for the damage and produce a thick layer of protective scar tissue over the wound area. Traditional scar removal focuses on grinding away or surgically altering the scar tissue itself, leaving a smoother, less noticeable patch of skin behind.

The so called natural supplement treatments aim instead at the chemical processes happening underneath the surface of your skin.

Vitamin supplements are used to initiate different chemical processes in the body, and in the case of scar removal they are used to commence the tissue repair process.

Supplements you will find on pharmacy shelves will tell you that the product helps skin repair itself and that you may use it on new and old scars to reduce the appearance. Oils and creams are also being sold with similar instructions and ingredients, all with the claim of topically reducing scars.

Is it true? It depends what you use it for. New scars are still in the healing process, and therefore can be manipulated with the right vitamin supplements and moisturising oils.

These supplements will indeed help your skin to repair itself more quickly and with better results than skin left on its own to heal, and good results can be seen with the use of topical products in these circumstances.

When it comes to rejuvenating the skin on older scars, however, the science breaks down. While vitamins are great for helping skin heal itself, they are of no value to skin that is already healed, as in an older, established scar.

Given the toughness of such scars, it can be helpful to moisturise the area with an oil based product so that the scar tissue is softened and perhaps will appear less rigid.

When it comes to old scars, however, you need to keep in mind that your body does not feel the need to repair that skin anymore, since it already dealt with it at the time you received the wound. Skin repairing supplements, in that case, will do you no good.

If you want to avoid surgery and unsightly scarring, it is best to consider the supplement and oil option early on. If your scars are already well established, you will only be wasting your money.