Once “scarifying” youths was a part of the passage into adulthood. This is reflected today into the piercings and tattoos of youth as they pass into adulthood and claim the ownership of their own bodies. Still there is a part of our society which wishes to pass into old age with a perfect complexion, and a thick head of hair. For these people there are many ways to spend, invest, or waste their money.
If you search the web looking for scar removal, you will find hundreds of websites that offer the “miracle” of removing acne scars, or surgical scars, or skin discolorations, with this simple cream or that secret ointment. Charlatanism is alive and well on the web, and there are many phonies and fakes out there.
Despite this, there is hope for people who have scars, and wish to remove them. There is a legitimate reason to want or even need to remove scars. Some scars are even considered rightly to be socially debilitating.
Current practice of medicine includes such tools as lasers to remove discoloration, (and even tattoos), and even to remove scar tissue. Well trained medical specialists practice in specialty clinics which treat scars and conditions which may be considered to be scars by the people who bear them. An example of such a condition is a condition called “spider veins.” Theseveins appear close to the surface of the skin of the leg and are considered to be unbearably disfiguring by the people who have this condition. The condition responds very well to laser treatment.
As with many other medical/cosmetic conditions, if you search the web you will surely find the holistic/homeopathic/naturopathic treatments. The benefits of some of these treatments include that there is no need for a prescription for most of them. These preparations are not considered to be medicinal and are not marketed as medicines. This exclusion from the category of medicines also eliminates the Federal (USFDA) supervision of contents consistency of recipe, and also the veracity of the claims. The truth be told, the United States has been cracking down on claims for the abilities of cosmetic preparations and food supplements. This toughening of enforcement has brought a loosening of the claims of many of these products.
As an example, a preparation which previously claimed to make lines “disappear” may be reporting that “many people who use this product claim amazing improvement in their condition.” The ancients used to say caveat emptor; the web savvy say the same thing; “let the buyer beware.”