Caring for Your Surgical Scar: What You Need to Know

Why is Scar Care Important? Most surgical scars continue to mature for 6 to 12 months after surgery. During this period, scars might become red, raised, itchy, firm, or darker than the surrounding skin. Proper scar management can improve scar appearance, reduce symptoms, and decrease the risk of hypertrophic scars (raised scars) or keloids (scars extending beyond their boundaries) in susceptible individuals.[ 1 ] [ 2 ] Scar care should begin only after your surgeon confirms that the incision has completely healed; the scar routine needs to be followed as described in [ Table 1 ]. Never apply scar products to open or infected wounds. Table 1 Your daily scar care routine[ a ] Treatment When to start How to use Continue for Evidence Scar massage After complete healing (2–3 weeks) Massage gently using a moisturizer for 5 minutes, 3 times daily 3–6 months Improves scar pliability and symptoms Silicone gel Thin layer twice daily; allow to dry completely 6–12 months First-line therapy for hypertrophic scars and keloids[ 3 ] [ 4 ] Silicone sheet Wear 12–24 h/day 6–12 months Continuous silicone contact for raised scars[ 3 ] Compression garment[ b ] Wear 12–24 h/day 6–12 months Standard for burn scars and selected high-risk scars Broad-spectrum sunscreen (SPF ≥ 50) Apply every morning; after applying scar gel, reapply every 2 h outdoors. No need to apply during night, or when wearing silicone gel sheet or compression garment 12 months Reduces redness and pigmentation Abbreviation: SPF, sun protection factor. Note: Scar massage → Silicone gel sheets → compression garment. a Have to be used in the order of scar massage → scar gel → sunscreen (during day time). b Usually used together with silicone gel sheets in selected patients including burns, skin grafts, extensive scars, or patients at high risk of hypertrophic scarring. Publication History Article published online: 15 July 2026 © 2026. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Private Limited A-13A, Graphix Tower 1, 6th floor, Sector 62, Noida 201309, Uttar Pradesh, India