Sometimes scar tissue will go away on its own; though at other times it could stay for life. Waiting for an acne scar to disappear on its own isn’t a great strategy, especially if it’s having a negative impact on your social life.

So what should you do if you have acne scars? Here are a few of your options.

Steroid Injections

Steroids can help stimulate the growth of new healthy muscles and tissues. If your acne scar’s inflammation is abnormally high, steroid injections might be your best shot. These injections are typically used in areas of high friction, such as in the eyelids or behind the ears.

Steroid injections work relatively quickly compared to other treatment methods.

Collagen Augmentation

Collagen or fat augmentation can help you radically improve the appearance of how your acne scars look, making them virtually disappear overnight.

Essentially, collagen or fat is inserted into the scarred area to smooth over how your face looks. The procedure is painless compared to other procedures and works quickly with almost no recovery time.

Unfortunately however, this procedure doesn’t address the underlying tissue. It doesn’t actually “cure” your scars, it just masks them cosmetically. Your body will eventually absorb or disperse the injected fat and another injection will be necessary to keep up the same appearance.

Often time’s collagen augmentation is used in conjunction with another procedure to get the best results. You can use another procedure for longer term effects, while using collagen supplementation to help improve your appearance immediately.

Chemical Peels

Chemical peels, more technically known as chemical exfoliation, is a very dynamic procedure that works on several different kinds of scars.

There are superficial peels, moderate depth peels and deep tissue chemical peels.

These peels use a number of different chemicals, depending on what kind of scarring you have and what kind of results you’re looking for. They can include glycolic acid, salicylic acid, Jessner’s peel, TCA peels among others.

Patients will require a recovery period after using a chemical peel. Wearing sunscreen to protect the skin after peeling is mandatory. The deeper the peel, the longer the recovery period.

Chemical peels for scar tissue removal are available exclusively through dermatologists, not over the counter as they contain dangerous chemicals that shouldn’t be applied without supervision.

Laser Treatments

Laser treatments are another proven method of treating acne scars. There are many different kinds of laser treatments you can choose from.

For deep tissue scarring, you can use a CO2 (carbon dioxide) laser. The laser essentially strips off the upper layer of the skin to reveal the scarred tissue, which it can then burn off.

Unfortunately, this procedure is extremely invasive and can lead to other complications, including potential infection, sunburn and even acne.

Instead of this procedure, many patients opt to use non-ablative lasers instead. Instead of burning away skin and scar tissue, non-ablative lasers are non-destructive. Instead, the lasers focus on the inner skin and stimulate collagen development near the scar tissue.

Another common laser treatment is the pulsed-dye laser. This laser is used primarily to help reduce redness in the scarred area. It’s a long treatment that can take up to 3 months to complete.

For deeper tissue scarring or more difficult cases, there are still more specialized lasers that you can choose from.

Microdermabrasion

Microdermabrasion literally means “mini skin scrubbing.” The root “micro” means small, “derma” means skin and “abrasion” means to scrub or tear. The process of microdermabrasion is the mechanical process of removing dead surface skin.

Microdermabrasion is a non-invasive procedure that can be used to treat more surface level scars. It can also be used for excessive redness, also known as hyperpigmentation that comes as a side effect of scarring.

If your scars are just surface level, you might see results in as little as two sessions. For moderate scars, as many as ten or more sessions might be required.

The actual technique used is similar to sand blasting, though the actual material used is usually some sort of crystal, such as aluminum oxide crystals or sodium chloride crystals.

Final Words

These are a few of the most common options for scar tissue removal. Remember to consult a dermatologist to go over the best options for you, depending on your scar tissue type, desired result and budget.

In addition to getting rid of scar tissue, it’s also important to develop habits that prevent acne from recurring again. Clean your face regularly and try to reduce your blood acidity level by eating healthier meals.

While many of the techniques discussed will work for catching other kinds of garden pests and rodents, moles are different. Moles bury below the ground and can go quite deep, depending on where the worms that they eat are.

Unlike rodents, they aren’t attracted to trash. They can be hard to predict and can often hide out far enough underground that you’d think they’re gone – When they’re really just being dormant.

The reality is, there are really only two ways to catch moles: Traps and poison.

Poisoned Worms

Poisoned worms are one of the most effective ways to kill rodents.

The synthetic worms created by scientists both look like worms and smell like worms to moles. Moles will be attracted to these worms and more or less can’t tell the difference between them and real worms.

The worms are laced with some sort of poison that’s lethal to moles but relatively harmless to humans, usually Bromethalin, though sometimes other poisons are used.

Sprinkle these worms near mole tunnels and where you know the moles tend to come out or bury in from.

Keep up the process for longer than you think is necessary, as there could be more moles hiding underground even after you’ve killed a few of them.

Setting Traps

Don’t use mouse traps for moles. Instead, opt for one of the specialized traps designed especially for catching moles.

The two most effective traps are scissor traps and harpoon traps. Scissor traps are best for moles that are deep under the surface, while harpoon traps are better for moles that are closer to the surface.

You can find these traps at local hardware stores. Note that often these two traps will be surrounded by other traps and tools for catching moles, most of which are ineffective. Just ignore most of the other available tools and focus instead on just the traps and the poisoned worms.

To set the traps, first spend a few hours, perhaps an afternoon or two just observing the moles. Watch where they come out, where they burrow and where they tend to run.

Look for paths that they often run. Some places they come out of are used just once or twice to catch food when it’s there. Other paths they’ll run more frequently. Think of these as their highways – It’s what they use to get from place to place. You want to identify these highways and lay traps on those highways.

Try to lay your traps where the tunnels are straight rather than where they’re curved.

The Last Resort

If you can’t use either of the above techniques to get rid of moles, there’s one last technique you can use that’s more time consuming and gruesome. You can do it by hand.

Go out into your lawn and flatten all the existing mole mounds. Walk your yard inch by looking for mole tunnels and stomp them in hard.

Then, with shovel in hand, wait. Perhaps get out a lawn chair and a book or some music. Now that the lawn is flat, you’ll be able to see when moles are tunneling as the grass or dirt will move.

Whenever you see the dirt or grass moving, pick up your shovel and stick it in where the mole is. You’re essentially killing the mole by hand, using the shovel.

Rinse and repeat this process until your lawn is free of moles. You might have to do this a few times until they’re all gone. You can also try using some poisoned worms near where mole tunnels used to be to get any moles that pop out when you’re not around.

The most important thing to know about treating stretch marks is that the earlier you treat it, the better. You should start treating stretch marks as soon as you see them appear. Once they’ve turned white, they become much more difficult to treat.

Here are a few different ways to treat stretch marks.

Moisturizing

Moisturizing products can help reduce stretch marks if they’re massaged in on a daily basis.

Two products that have been proven to work are cacao butter and wheat germ oil. You can purchase these moisturizers at your local health food store or pharmacy.

Massage it into the stretch marks on a daily basis. Note that this has been proven to be effective only in the early stages of stretch marks.

Supplements for Collagen Production

Another approach is to take supplements that help in the production of collagen.

The two most effective treatments are glycolic acid and vitamin C.

Glycolic acid is fairly well known in wellness circles for its rejuvenating properties. It’s one of the best options for boosting collagen, which has been repeatedly shown to help reduce stretch marks. The easiest way to get collagen is through a certified dermatologist.

A slightly less effective over the counter treatment is vitamin C supplement tablets. These also help stimulate the production of collagen. If possible, combine it with glycolic acid for the best results.

Other Solutions

There are many other solutions on the market for stretch marks. In the pharmacy, you might find several supplements tailored specifically for curing stretch marks. Online, you’ll likely find many stretch mark removal creams that claim to be able to make stretch marks disappear overnight.

Unfortunately, many of these treatments haven’t had clinical trials, nor have they been proven to be really effective in the treatment of stretch marks. The reality is, the treatments outlined above are really the most consistent treatments currently known.

Laser Treatment

Finally, if your stretch marks get really bad, you have the option of using laser treatment.

Laser treatment won’t actually heal the tissue below the surface, but instead just makes the stretch marks nearly invisible to the naked eye.
These are the options on the table for treating stretch marks. Again, the most important thing for getting rid of stretch marks is to begin treatment as early as possible.

Here’s how to get rid of roaches.

Keeping the House Clean

The first thing you need to do is get in the habit of keeping your house clean. Cockroaches are attracted to small bits of food, so small that you might not even notice it. They’re attracted to water, dirty dishes, crumbs on the floor and just about any form of dirtiness.

After each meal, clean all the dishes immediately. Don’t leave any dirty dishes in the sink. Make sure you wipe down the sink and the stove after cooking each meal.

Make sure the bathroom is clean as well. Wipe down all surfaces regularly.

If you have kids, make sure you get them involved in the cleanup routine as well. Explain the situation to them: you have roaches and to get rid of them, the house has to be kept spotless for a while.

The same applies to cleaning up after pets, especially when it comes to pet food. Don’t leave crumbs of pet food around.

Killing Roaches: Round 1

The first thing you need to do once your house is clean is to kill off all the cockroaches once. Now, this won’t keep them from coming back again. In fact, killing them just once isn’t enough, as there will be more hiding in the walls as well as unhatched eggs. Instead, you’ll have to kill them off in waves.

Killing roaches can be done a number of ways. Start by identifying all the cracks, nooks and crevices that the roaches tend to come out of. Try to find all their hiding places.

Once you’ve figured out where their likely hiding places are, you can choose to either use commercial solutions or home made ones.

Commercial solutions include adhesive pads, poisoned food and pesticides. Generally poisoned food is your best bet, as roaches will carry those back to their hiding places with them and feed it to hatchlings. Spraying pesticides into where roaches are hiding can work, but only if you really know where all their hiding places are.

Adhesive pads are a great supplementary strategy, but won’t get the job done all on their own.

If you want to take a home made route, go to the pharmacy and buy some boric acid. Mix it with some plain sugar and a little bit of flour. The sugar will bring out the roaches and the boric acid will slowly poison them. The flour helps make sure the mixture doesn’t blow away.

Keeping Them From Coming Back

As mentioned earlier, roaches tend to come back in waves. How do you keep them from coming back?

Apply the mixture described above, or a commercial pesticide concentrate to surfaces near where roaches tend to come out. Reapply the mixture or concentrate every 1 to 2 weeks. This will prevent roaches from emerging from their hiding place and from finding food in the house.

Anytime you do see a roach, kill it as quickly as possible. Use commercial insecticide sprays, or a simple spray bottle with soap water inside. Soap water kills roaches by preventing them from breathing through their skin.

If you follow these tips, you have a very good chance of being able to get rid of cockroaches once and for all. Make sure your house is clean before you being the cleaning mission, then diligently kill each wave of roaches as they come and coat the entrances to your house with one of the chemicals described above.