Bio-Oil explores the psychological impact of scarring and launches campaign to support women on their journey to scar acceptance.
Fashion and Beauty on Female First
For many women, a scar doesn't just leave a physical impression on their skin, it also affects them emotionally and has a real impact on their day-to-day life. According to a new study[1], almost two thirds (62.4%) of women say that their scar has affected their body confidence and worryingly one in 10 (9.2%) feel their scar has become more visible than their true self.
The new research conducted by skin specialists Bio-Oil found that first and foremost, 40.7% of people with scarring want to feel like they don't have to hide. For one in three, not hiding away a scar is fundamental in the process of coming to terms with it, yet more than half of women (59.5%) are hiding away their scars, choosing to conceal them with clothing or camouflage make-up.
"A scar can serve as a reminder of an often traumatic experience and accepting a scar is an important part of coming to terms with this experience. If a scar is affecting someone mentally then their instinctive reaction can be to cover it up, when it's out of sight it's out of mind. But in order to move on, it's important to acknowledge scars rather than simply hide them away."
Psychologist Jo Hemmings explains.
Bio-Oil is on a mission to help people with scars feel as though they don't have to hide with the launch of their new Scars Uncovered campaign with the support of Psychologist Jo Hemmings. The campaign previews with a video that brings together five women who all share their own journeys to scar acceptance. The video aims to bring to life the real impact of living with scarring so that people can better understand what living with scars is like and to empower others with scars on their own journey to scar acceptance, helping them feel they don't have to hide and instead feel proud of who they are. The progress the women make in the video
Watch the Scars Uncovered campaign video from Bio-Oil in which five brave women share their scar stories and one very courageous lady, Laura Todd, makes significant progress in her journey to acceptance - watch to the end to find out.
Julie Lardieg, Senior Brand Manager at Bio-Oil, explains "For people living with scarring, the struggle is real. Hiding their scars is not only stopping them from coming to terms with their scars, our survey shows it affects their self-confidence and relationships with partners too. The video we've created brings this to life by demonstrating that a scar can even affect something as simple as the clothes they choose to buy and wear. It's an upsetting reality that women with scars feel they have to hide, so we want to empower women to talk about and feel proud of their scars."
Bio-Oil is a product that has been helping people with scarring in the UK for over 10 years, with two in five (40.6%) women having used Bio-Oil on their scar.
"Massaging a scar with a product is therapeutic; the physical act of touching the scar is a form of acknowledgement, which plays an important part in the journey to accepting a scar," psychologist Jo Hemmings explains.
As part of the campaign, Bio-Oil is supporting the Look Good Feel Better charity LGFB).
Bio-Oil Senior brand Manager Julie Lardieg explains "We're so pleased to be supporting Look Good Feel Better with our campaign this year. The work they do as a charity helps many women to rebuild their confidence and come to terms with changes in the way they look, which plays an important role in helping women accept their scars."
Ian Daniels, Look Good Feel Better explains "Bio-Oil's Scars Uncovered campaign is all about empowering women and helping them to feel more confident, which is exactly what we do at Look Good Feel Better. The money donated will enable us to help even more women and teenagers combat the visible side-effects of their cancer treatment."
You can get involved in the Scars Uncovered campaign in the following ways:
- Share the video to help us reach as many people as possible who may need support on their journey to scar acceptance
- Share your scar journey progress on facebook.com/biooiluk to help others in the Bio-Oil community