When life throws punches that leave you scarred – literally – it's less about the wound itself and more about the collateral damage left in its wake. As your body hustles to fix the hurt, fibrous tissue swoops in - a bunch of collagen-packed repair ninjas. Visible scars are often the aftermath of skin drama that reached past surface-level scratches and broken into deeper layers. If by some miracle your skin heals without leaving a scar behind, well, let's just say you're a rare breed.

Scarring is almost as certain as taxes. If you've lived a good, adventurous life (the kind that involves actual cuts and scrapes, not just those of the emotional variety), you probably sport a few scars. Heck, an international study in 2022 found that 22% of people had a fresh new keepsake (read: scar) less than a year old.

Contrary to your sun-worshipping friends' beliefs, hiding those battle scars from the sun can help fade them. Fresh scars can react badly to harsh ultraviolet radiation, leading to hyperpigmentation – the same thing that gives you tan lines, only when it hits a scar, it roughens, darkens, and thickens it.

Now to the more important part: How do you deal with those scars? You'd be surprised at the number of ways you can wage war on your scars. A quick visit to your local drugstore can serve you well with silicone-based scar treatment options that don't require the advanced medical degree you never got around to pursuing.

Sometimes though, over-the-counter doesn’t cut it. That's when you'll want to seek refuge with steroid injections, which can help reduce the prominence of raised scars. Radiotherapy uses X-ray radiation to help reduce keloid scars, although you might want to leave that to the pros.

There are other treatments too, some of which share names with DIY home projects. Dermabrasion, for example, is not a weekend project to give your living room a facelift. Instead, it's a procedure to sand away the outermost layer of your skin. Soft-tissue fillers work much the same way your favorite face-plumping Instagram filter does, helping improve the appearance of sunken scars.

Microneedling, with a name that's probably your worst phobia, is not something for the faint of heart. It uses lots of tiny needles to puncture your skin, potentially improving the look of your scars. Cryosurgery − which may sound like a 'chill' procedure − uses extreme cold to treat tough keloid and hypertrophic scars. Then there's scar removal surgery and laser therapy for those considering radical steps towards scar improvement.

To avoid worsening the situation, it's good to know how to take care of your wounds in the first place. Spoiler: It's not by slathering them in hydrogen peroxide. This commonly used disinfectant may disrupt wound repair and worsen scarring, according to some studies.

In the end, scars are just your body's history written on your skin. They can restrict movement or affect your mental health. In such cases, seek help. Ultimately, taking care of your wounds and preventing scars are as much a part of the healing process as is acknowledging the badass you are for enduring whatever caused them in the first place.