Tried and True: This Is the Best Scar Treatment We Have Found
BY ROSE THEXTON
“If you can forgo a nice dinner out to invest in this serum, you must do it.”
16 MAY - 2022
“I’ve seen the hype and let me tell you this brand lives up to it, which I find can be rare with social media excitement!”
Last you heard from me, I’d undergone breast reduction surgery that took me from a G cup to about a C cup. It was life-changing - particularly in the small things like wearing a seatbelt, preparing food, exercising, buying clothes that actually fit me, and sitting at a desk for long durations of time. Big boobs are glamourised in the media but unfortunately, owning them is the furthest thing from glam.
I lived with constant neck and shoulder pain, daily headaches, and had a few visits to the hospital because of my debilitating back pain. I didn’t know that my quality of life could be such a stark contrast, all because of a heavy and cumbersome pair of breasts. Before surgery, it was a love/hate relationship - following my surgery, I’d like to say that everything was 100% better and I was consistently over the moon with joy, but it wasn’t quite as simple.
Along came the body issues and dysmorphia much later than I was expecting them to. Going from an hourglass to a pear was a mindf**k, to say the least. I was unused to looking small up top and it completely warped my view of my hips, which obviously hadn’t changed at all. Seeing my lower body easily was a totally new experience and I had to adjust to that, while learning to love my new shape. It was BIZARRE and unpleasant, not recognising oneself in the mirror or windows as I passed by. My chest size was everything I wanted, yet suddenly, I was thrust into that teenage feeling of not knowing or liking my body. It was a major ick.
Rose's Scars Before Using Tronque Scar Concentrate
Dealing with Scars
If you’ve ever had surgery or burns or acne, you’ll understand the mental toll that comes hand in hand with having visually dominating scars. Although I love my day-to-day life with average-sized boobs, dealing with my scars required a hefty amount of mental and physical processing.
As you can see from my ‘before’ photos, my scars were a deep, dark red that was striking against my porcelain skin. And you probably can’t see the dimension to them but the scars on my chest were lumpy and hard, which is normal but unsettling and definitely not conducive to feeling sexy or attractive. I loved my old areolas - they were perfect circles and now… not so much.
Changing what is acceptable to you and for you is a whole other level of self-love. Don’t get me wrong, my surgeon has done an amazing job and I’ve recommended him to a dozen or so people in similar situations - it’s just a lot to go through. My breasts didn’t look or feel like MY breasts.
My scars could be covered with a top and I would forget about them during the day. Every time I stood in front of the mirror, they felt foreign and my mind was struggling to fight off that negative self-talk we all suffered through as teens.
It’s so frustrating to find your mental health has regressed 15 years to that of your teenage self. I know better than this - why am I being so mean to myself?! I have a good decade of experience teaching myself kind thoughts, but it’s as if I time-warped back to when I was in high school, hating my hips and wishing I looked different or like someone else. I’m sure you all remember the days when everyone had to be stick thin to be pretty. All that work I put into loving my big boobs now had to be applied to my hips and my new shape. I’m currently going through mental boot(y) camp to get back to being a 30-year-old who loves themselves.
I’m usually the biggest advocate and practicer of self-love but this was a new low for me that I hadn’t experienced as an adult. Navigating through it was incredibly difficult. Yes, my surgery was a success and my body isn’t in physical pain anymore, but that internal voice was such a bully. I showed Sophie my scars and told her about how unhappy and confusing it was to deal with them. The good thing about having a bestie like her is that she is solutions-driven and gave me a product that would fix all my woes.
Trial and Testing
Since late February, I’ve been trialing the Scar Concentrate Serum from Tronque. I’ve seen the hype and let me tell you this brand lives up to it, which I find can be rare with social media excitement! That’s one of the reasons I’m so passionate about Chatty Chums - protecting us from the bullshit and teaching us what is actually safe and effective to use! There are a few KEY reasons I love this product: texture and absorption, ingredients and ethos, and the most resounding impact is how it has changed my relationship with my new body.
I am well acquainted with breast and chest scars as I worked in post-mastectomy breast care for over 3 years. I already knew about bio-oil being just about the worst thing you can put on scar tissue, as it’s something we had to warn women about in their respective recovery journeys. You see, doctors prescribe Bio-oil as ‘the solution’ to scars but as Sophie likes to put it - it’s just ‘petrol in a tube’ - and I wholeheartedly agree.
My scars are so much happier already and it’s only been 6 weeks since these ‘after’ photos were taken.
I care deeply about what I use on my skin as I’ve had all the fun issues in my time since I was a child - eczema, psoriasis (thankfully only as a teen), broken barrier issues, acne, cystic acne, and now, scars.
Firstly, Tronque uses natural, non-hormonal, ingredients that are potent and actually work. I know this sounds like a fluffy press release *eye roll* but it’s true. Tronque’s founder, Tanne Snowden, created the brand out of necessity when she was sitting in the hospital, unable to find any products that were clean and worthy of the human body post-surgery. Because Tanne suffers from endometriosis, she needed something that wasn’t going to disrupt her hormones. However, if you’ve dipped your toes into ingredient-reading, you’ll know that finding genuinely clean skincare is a near-impossible task.
Secondly, Tronque’s Scar Concentrate serum has a divine texture and doesn’t leave my hands coated in oil like others I’ve tried. I’d already tested a bunch of different natural oils - maybe half a dozen brands? Kereru, Trilogy, Glow Lab, custom naturopath oils… I stopped using them as soon as I tried Tronque’s serum for the first time.
I detest the feeling of having an oily film on my hands and body. Skin products that stay more on my hands than they do on the application area are a write-off to me! It’s also a very clear sign that absorbency is poor and that it’s filled with cheap and yucky fillers like silicone, petrolatum and mineral oils. BOO! It is such a game-changer having everything rubbed in completely and they’ve absolutely nailed it in this serum!
Thirdly, it doesn’t ruin clothes. You need a lot of hard-working actives in products that will be healing scars. I thought I was onto a winner with a bright orange, slightly fishy-smelling hand-pressed rosehip oil - it means it’s enriched with skin-rejuvenating vitamin A and omegas to optimise lipid levels in your skin barrier - but it was ruining my clothes!
Tronque’s Scar Concentrate Serum is a beautiful subtle colour - thank goodness for all our wardrobes; I’m still a paranoid gal and as it is an oil, I apply it only at night or when I’m lazing about the house - that way I can use the extra product, it all soaks in nicely, and I don’t risk getting any on my clothes. It is recommended that you use it twice daily, but even with my once-a-day application routine, the difference is mind-blowing.
After 6 weeks of using Tronque Scar Concentrate
The Results
My scars are so much happier already and it’s only been 6 weeks since these ‘after’ photos were taken. My skin texture has improved greatly and the pigmentation of my scars have changed to a much healthier pink. I’m not amazing with routines so I’d also like to add that by no means have I been applying it religiously, but to still see these results while using half as often as directed is so exciting! If you’re a routine based person, you’re going to have the most insane results.
I’ve also been using it on my face as an antioxidant-rich face oil as I suffer from dehydrated skin. Apparently, this is a beauty insider secret that I stumbled across while travelling as I ran out of my facial skincare. Tronque is all about reversing neck down neglect, but I can assure you that it is also effective from the neck up.
As that saying goes, knowing is very different from experiencing, and the same certainly applies to scar healing. It took quite a long time for nerve sensation to return to a normal degree and that was really affecting my relationship with myself. I actually saw someone about it out of concern, despite knowing that I was still within normal timeframes for healing of nerves. I had these blobs on my chest (that allowed me to live life the way I wanted) and yet, had no connection with them.
Using Tronque’s scar serum has really encouraged me to spend time massaging my scars rather than avoiding them at all costs, which has the flow-on effect of better sensation and healing - a positive circle!
Looking at yourself in the mirror while applying a product that is nothing but good for you has such a powerful impact on your mindset and mental health. It’s subconsciously telling yourself through your actions that you’re worthy and beautiful. This was fantastic for getting teenage me to shut the hell up!
My scars are looking better, my mind is feeling positive, and my body is the same wonderful body that carries me through my day and it no longer causes me pain. Nowadays, if I need a little reset, I have a shower and apply some Scar Concentrate. It’s how I remind myself that everything is going to be okay. This is a miracle in a bottle.
If you can forgo a nice dinner out, or save that extra dosh to invest in this serum, you must do it.
RELATED STORIES
GIVEAWAY
SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe to Chatty Chum's mailing list to receive the latest in beauty and lifestyle news, giveaways and the launch of our Editor's Collection boxes.