Thursday 8 September 2011

Bio Oil

 Bio Oil claims on their website to be "efficacious in improving the appearance of scars". Brilliant I thought - the perfect way to decrease the appearance of my own. Not only does it state to work for scars, but through multiple daily applications, bio oil helps to reduce the appearance of stretch marks and uneven skin tone and for the price - £9 odd for 100ml I thought I was onto something. Perhaps I thought I had some liquid gold.

Think again. While i'm not here to slate Bio oil off, i think it's easy to get over hyped and thinking this is some form of miracle cure, perhaps that is half my fault of falling into advertising hype. To cut a long story short there was some scars I was more then willing to at least hide. Now these scars are about eight to ten years old; ranging in length from a centimetre to a couple of centimetres across, most are now white in colour and one, the longest is slightly raised. So that is what we were working with. 

Bio oil states it needs to be used daily for a number of months to reap any benefits, nevertheless other similar products claim they need to be applied twice and upwards for the effects to be obtained. I went with the belief that the more applications the better so i tended to apply the oil twice a day, if I was lucky [and remembered] three times after showering, waking up and before bed. It applies in little drips if your trying to get it from the bottle, holding it over the scar in turn gets more out, its very slick, and has a funny smell - but one that isn't offensive. You rub the oil in in circular motions across the scar and it's surrounding area. It doesn't soak in the best but nevertheless it leaves your skin smooth and soft.

And the results  - well i've stopped using it now, after my medical the purpose of why I was using it has ended but I lost heart with it within a month or two yet I carried on using it for a good four months. Yes it has had a tiny effect on the smaller scars [in the right light] to the point where they appear less "white" and therefore more blended with my natural skin tone yet to my eye I don't think it's worked or changed it to a noticeable extent. Perhaps my scars were too old, too formed into my skin and too marked to be changeable.

I've never had any problems with having my scars, they are what they are and they are a part of me and what got me to where I am today. I wouldn't change my past so I can't change my scars, but I would have liked them to be more blended in. Maybe I notice them more because I know where they are, what they are and where to find them. Maybe we shouldn't be reaching for products to hide things like that. 

Would I use it again - probably not, maybe for stretch marks because i've heard better reviews for using the oil in that regard. But for scars, i'll just learn to live with them.

Have you had any good/bad or indifferent experiences with Bio Oil or similar products?

The image was found visa google images and all thoughts regarding this product was my own after purchasing the product myself. It has nothing to do with the company, just little old me. 

16 comments:

  1. For my old acne scars I tried Bio Oil but was really disappointed, especially for the price! I've since turned to pure vitamin e oil, and I've only used it for a few weeks but I think I'm seeing signs of improvement! xx

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  2. Its good to hear that at least my thoughts were too way off! The Vitamin E sounds interesting x

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  3. I bought this once and basically went off using it as I didn't really like the smell or the fact that it didn't absorb quick enough for my liking. But fair enough it seemed to help with stretch marks :)

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  4. I bought this with the same hope as you for reducing the scars I have. I have also had the same results. I used it religiously and found that it had absolutely no effect. Maybe I will move on to Vitamin E, or use the rest of it up on my stretch marks...Glad to know I'm not alone in my experience xx

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  5. Used the Superdrug (and much cheaper) equivalent for dry skin patches and it was very good!
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

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  6. @ Claire Louise - the smell is a bit funny isn't it, really hard to know what it smells of, it's just an old smell!

    @ Hazzlenut - yeah it's a bit of a disappointment really especially seeing its not really cheap. Gah.

    @ Liz - see I was debating over getting the Bio oil and the superdrug version, but I was thinking stupidly the more I paid the better it might be. I was perhaps wrong.

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  7. thank you thank you for this review! I've actually been considering trying this. My scar is only a few years old but its about 2 inches long. I'm thinking I'll pass on this product.

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  8. I wonder if Bio-oil is more meant for when your scars are healing rather than when they're a few years old. I know I used some stuff on my leg when I cut it (I blogged about it a while ago) and I'm really impressed with how well it's healed - it was a pretty damn bag scar and now it's smooth, still darker than my skin but it's only a few months old.

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  9. Oh thats such a shame. I was literally just about to go buy some and introduce it into my routine to get rid of a few unsightly red scars. WIll have more of a think about it and maybe try something else.. Thanks for this great review!
    George | frecklie.blogspot.com

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  10. @ Lucy - I thought that too but i'm not sure, I think to a point age of a scar will be affecting the outcome yet they make no considering to this upon their website so it has you thinking it will work regardless of age. Who knows!

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  11. I had a surgical scar that went keloid and despite all the odds Bio Oil made it into a normal scar! Totally unbelievable as 9/10 medical professionals reckon once you're keloid that's it! I've been using Bio Oil on my surgical scars (I have 7, only one was keloid) for 10 years now and I love the stuff. You really have to persist though - I spent ~5mins x twice a day massaging the oil into the scars until its totally absorbed and it works wonders for me!

    Elspeth xxx

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  12. Hey Elspeth! It's great to hear a positive review about the bio oil! Perhaps I didn't massage it in for long enough or didn't use enough, who knows!

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  13. i used bio oil after hearing the hype on its removal of acne scars, tried it for like 3 weeks and it made my skin so freaking oily and gross i had to stop using it, still scarred. Thanks for your comment on my blog, following you! Xx

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  14. I can very much believe it would have that affect Char, I was surprised about how greasy it was when I was applying it. For some reason I wasn't expecting it for a higher end product that bio oil can demand price wise.

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  15. I use Bio Oil every day. It started after I had an op on my right ankle after my nerves and tendons got damaged in the Tsunami 2004. I was very aware of the massive (well it was to me) 4/5 inch very angry purple scar down my ankle, so I started to use Bio Oil as soon as it was safe to do. At first I used it religiously and like you I wasn't convinced for ages but I persisted and I continue to use it but not as regularly. I am very pleased with how my scar is looking now. It does still notice but I am convinced that it's not as angry looking as it could have been. I also use bio oil on my face every night as part of my going to bed routine and I think it does help with with wrinkles etc as I am not as "old" looking as I should be for my age. Maybe it works for some and not for others as with all other products?

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  16. hi all, I just started on bio oil I have a 33 year old scar on my cheek from a car crash, now I as starting to notice as I am the bit older, also I have a scar on my knee this is why I am trying it, so hopefully( please) it might work even a little bit for me. I will let ye know in about 5 months time. thanks

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