Okay, so I'm considering getting a brand. However, I have seen pictures of many brands that ended up with large keloiding and of the bubbly type, similar to cigarette burns or intentional ash rubbing.

Well, I don't want that, but I would also like to get a nice deep scar pattern, which means I can't let it heal right away. What methods do you know that cause/do not cause large bubbly keloids?

(I'm not sure if it's keloiding or not, but after I got my nice road rash scars, the ones on my shoulder blades scarred up into a cool, fibrous kind of patch, almost like fabric or threads - I would LOVE to see that happen on my brand but I'm not exactly sure what caused it in the first place.)

Thanks in advance! This place is great for newbies (me) who don't know what they're doing!

"Scars from burn wounds can take a year or more to 'mature'; that is, to finish healing. A scar goes through several stages during this time. While the scar is maturing it gradually changes in appearance. The color will usually become less red and may return to the color of normal skin. Ideally, the surface of the scar will have a smooth texture and the same height as the normal skin it is next to. However, some scars grow above the height of nearby skin and are known as hypertrophic scars. Keloids are scars that grow not only above surrounding skin but beyond the borders of the scar. Yet other scars are the same height as nearby skin but have a rough surface that is noticeably different than normal skin".

There are LOTS of variables to how a scar will end up looking. aftercare, nutrition, your genetics, location of the wound and depth all play a part. You can never guarantee what you are going to get. One person may irritate the shit out of their brand and it ends up healing flat and pale. Another may give it the best aftercare and they end up with a keloid. Remember, you don't want that. People do like the look of hypertrophic scarring but that remains within the border of the scarring.
Your current scar could give a good indication of how your body heals but you could have a brand where half has healed normally and half has gone hypertrophic (like one of mine - still 'healing' going well into year two).

It's a gamble at the end of the day - you can just assist the odds in your favour.



Edited by noxious - September/10/2008 at 7:03pm

It would be great if people would post the longer term pictures of brands, to show the variety of outcomes (for those planning to have a brand to view). I researched the subject after getting my first brand and was surprised at the different 'aftercare' advice. Some say LITHA (leave it the hell alone) based on the idea that the brand is 3rd degree and that has done the damage. Others suggest a variety of irritating methods, or coverings to prolong healing or ointments/natural oils.
I subsequently found that there were locations on the body that would naturally be more prone to abnormal scarring and black people were more likely to keloid that other ethnic types. It wasn't all about aftercare.
I am surprised that the main people saying "there is no guarantee" on how a scar will look are surgeons doing scar revision. I think brand and scarification artists should always make it clear that the 'final result' is dependent on a lot more factors than how the healing wound is 'cared for'.