How Time & Nutrition Affect Scars

A scar is what is left behind from a trauma to your skin as tissues repair themselves. Your scar can appear flat, raised, lumpy, sunken or colored. The final scar appearance will depend on where your injury occurred, your age and the type of skin you have, the University of Chicago Medical Center reports. Time will heal your wound and change the appearance of your scar, and nutrition plays an important role in how quickly and well you heal.

Types of Scars

You could have scars for a variety of different reasons, including injury, infections and surgery. The type of scar you have will determine how long it takes to heal and what it looks like when the healing process is finished. Keloid scars form outside the edges of a wound and are rounded and irregular in shape. Hypertrophic scars grow within the borders of an injury and may be red or elevated. Contractures are scars that form over a large area of damaged skin and pull the edges of your skin together as they heal.

How Time Changes Your Scar

As time passes, your wound will heal and your scar will fade. Brigitte Mars and Chrystle Fiedler, authors of "The Country Almanac of Home Remedies," note that your skin is resilient and is quite capable of healing itself after injury or surgery. Following the wound, the skin will begin to regenerate itself in order to close the wound. After this has occurred, the scar may fade from dark red or pink to a pale shade of red or pink, and some scars eventually fade to white. Time may also reduce the inflammation associated with scars so they are not as noticeable.

Foods That Benefit Scars

Certain nutrients have the potential to encourage faster healing so your scar is not as prominent. These vitamins and minerals may also reduce the appearance of your scar so it is not as noticeable. Vitamin C, a major component of your skin, is crucial for collagen repair. Citrus fruits, bell peppers and berries all supply this important vitamin. Foods with vitamin A, such as carrots, apricots and sweet potatoes, also encourage proper healing. Protein and zinc from lean meat and vitamin E from nuts are additional foods that can heal your scar more quickly.

Tips for Minimizing Scars

Eating a nutritious diet is one of the healthiest ways to encourage wound healing and minimize the appearance of your scar after you have finished healing. Fruits, vegetables, lean meat and whole grains are nutritious choices to include in your healing diet. Topical vitamin E oil is also beneficial at reducing the appearance of a scar, note Mars and Fiedler. Medical or dermatological procedures, including dermabrasion, chemical peels, collagen injections, punch grafts and surgery are additional options that can help you reduce the size and appearance of a scar.