Help How long do burn scars last?

[ivllis]

I'm looking for new self harm methods and one I wanna try is burning. I just wanted help with how long I should hold the fire if I want scars or if I don't?

 

[Division Day]

Can be forever (or until you get a skin graft) and I think burns are easily infected.

 

[Engström]

Speaking from my experience of being burned against my will by my brother when I was growing up, I turned 40 in May and I still have burn scars on my right hand.

He would lock me in the bathroom and set markers on fire, and then fling the flaming ink onto my skin. I vividly recall clawing at it desperately to get it off while he laughed sadistically. My right hand in particular was burnt the most - probably from trying to shield my face and other parts of my exposed skin.

He once set fire to the sleeve of a sweatshirt I was wearing and I frantically threw myself against the family station wagon to put the fire out. He laughed there again.

Once I was away from him, after I had moved out of state and was "safe", I got a tattoo to cover the scars. A black sparrow covers most of it, but even under the tattoo ink, the scarred area is still risen above the rest of my skin.

 

[ivllis]

Speaking from my experience of being burned against my will by my brother when I was growing up, I turned 40 in May and I still have burn scars on my right hand.

He would lock me in the bathroom and set markers on fire, and then fling the flaming ink onto my skin. I vividly recall clawing at it desperately to get it off while he laughed sadistically. My right hand in particular was burnt the most - probably from trying to shield my face and other parts of my exposed skin.

He once set fire to the sleeve of a sweatshirt I was wearing and I frantically threw myself against the family station wagon to put the fire out. He laughed there again.

Once I was away from him, after I had moved out of state and was "safe", I got a tattoo to cover the scars. A black sparrow covers most of it, but even under the tattoo ink, the scarred area is still risen above the rest of my skin.

OH MY GOSH??? I'm so sorry that happened to you:(

 

[Engström]

OH MY GOSH??? I'm so sorry that happened to you:(

I want to say something like "it's alright" but it wasn't. That said, I very much appreciate your empathy. It's a difficult thing to talk about, write about - what happened to me. I don't know what happened to my brother to cause him to be as sadistic as he was/is. I've tried to understand, and I even have sympathy for him at times. But when I look at my right hand…well, that's why I got the tattoo, and especially of a sparrow, it comforts me. I feel like the sparrow protects me, which may sound foolish to some.

If one can somehow make peace of their scars, I feel it's a gigantic step forward. Doesn't necessarily have to be via tattoo. Some scars, self inflicted - they have purpose as strange as that may seem. It's one thing to have control and choice, but for someone to burn another against their will - that's a different type of thing altogether.

Wishing you peace ♡

 

[ivllis]

I want to say something like "it's alright" but it wasn't. That said, I very much appreciate your empathy. It's a difficult thing to talk about, write about - what happened to me. I don't know what happened to my brother to cause him to be as sadistic as he was/is. I've tried to understand, and I even have sympathy for him at times. But when I look at my right hand…well, that's why I got the tattoo, and especially of a sparrow, it comforts me. I feel like the sparrow protects me, which may sound foolish to some.

If one can somehow make peace of their scars, I feel it's a gigantic step forward. Doesn't necessarily have to be via tattoo. Some scars, self inflicted - they have purpose as strange as that may seem. It's one thing to have control and choice, but for someone to burn another against their will - that's a different type of thing altogether.

Wishing you peace ♡

Wishing you the best!!!

 

[letmegetout]

Engatröm I am so so sorry that you had to go through that

The depth of burn and location are what dictates how long the scar last. I used to burn over ten years ago, was close to needing a skin graft- but didn't, and still have the scars.
The thing that stops me burning is the itching that follows, the itching is something I can't explain, a deep nerve end itch that nothing stops. I used to use ice packs which helped but only when they were still on and numbed it.

 

[suffocatingseraphim]

For me I only had minor burns, but it depends on where and the severity of the burn.
I have a branding scar on my stomach from holding cutlery there I'd heated up over a flame. I still have the scar, but my minor ones from burning with lighters or incense sticks as a kid are more or less gone

 

[AerialBoundaries]

Depends on the degree. Don't do that. There's fates worse than death and disfigurment is one of them.

 

[R_N]

Forever but maybe it is my skin. I got scars from nearly anything but they aren't that visible at least. Even when I cut my wrist once. You can see the line but it doesn't poke your eyes.

 

[Engström]

The thing that stops me burning is the itching that follows

Ah, when you mention the itching it reminds me very much of how I'd claw at the ink. It would be so hot and the ink (he used the big Sharpies) would be varied - some of the flaming globs would land like heavy syrup, then as the marker would wear down it would turn to almost a spray of flecks - that spray, I cringe to remember it. It would settle and I'd feel my skin all bumpy and think I'd never get the ink off.

I appreciate your kind words. When you burned, did you cut as well? If you've been able to stop burning, I'm glad for you

 

[Wopnik_Yas]

I used to sub myself with cigarette butts. The last time I did it was in May last year and till date the scars still remain.

 

[ForgottenAgain]

Speaking from my experience of being burned against my will by my brother when I was growing up, I turned 40 in May and I still have burn scars on my right hand.

He would lock me in the bathroom and set markers on fire, and then fling the flaming ink onto my skin. I vividly recall clawing at it desperately to get it off while he laughed sadistically. My right hand in particular was burnt the most - probably from trying to shield my face and other parts of my exposed skin.

He once set fire to the sleeve of a sweatshirt I was wearing and I frantically threw myself against the family station wagon to put the fire out. He laughed there again.

Once I was away from him, after I had moved out of state and was "safe", I got a tattoo to cover the scars. A black sparrow covers most of it, but even under the tattoo ink, the scarred area is still risen above the rest of my skin.

My god that is so terrible...traumatic forever to say the least. I'm so sorry you went through that, it's despicable

I think the sparrow tattoo is a beautiful thing to do after such horrible events. I hope you're okay...as one can be...

 

[Engström]

My god that is so terrible...traumatic forever to say the least. I'm so sorry you went through that, it's despicable

I think the sparrow tattoo is a beautiful thing to do after such horrible events. I hope you're okay...as one can be...

I appreciate you, thank you for kind words and empathy.

I did develop a strange relationship with the bathroom for a while. I would need to use it but I didn't want to go in there and sometimes I would hold off until it was truly painful. Many years of that, I do wonder if it has any connection to the colon cancer I now have.

Definitely ties into the PTSD. I still walk around my apartment as if I must not wake anybody or even risk making noise that would let anyone know I'm here.

When I was confronted about my disordered eating, I remember very well my brother saying I was like a ninja in that I was able to slip in and out of the bathroom to purge with little notice.

We are estranged now - have been for almost 2 years. There was a brief break when he and my SIL were having a baby and our mother died. Prior to that we had been estranged for about 2 more years.

My sister and I are close and we've talked about our fears for their daughter.

I hope she is safe - it makes my stomach turn to think "What if…" or "I hope he's not…"

Turns into a spiral, as you can imagine.

 

[ForgottenAgain]

I appreciate you, thank you for kind words and empathy.

I did develop a strange relationship with the bathroom for a while. I would need to use it but I didn't want to go in there and sometimes I would hold off until it was truly painful. Many years of that, I do wonder if it has any connection to the colon cancer I now have.

Definitely ties into the PTSD. I still walk around my apartment as if I must not wake anybody or even risk making noise that would let anyone know I'm here.

When I was confronted about my disordered eating, I remember very well my brother saying I was like a ninja in that I was able to slip in and out of the bathroom to purge with little notice.

We are estranged now - have been for almost 2 years. There was a brief break when he and my SIL were having a baby and our mother died. Prior to that we had been estranged for about 2 more years.

My sister and I are close and we've talked about our fears for their daughter.

I hope she is safe - it makes my stomach turn to think "What if…" or "I hope he's not…"

Turns into a spiral, as you can imagine.

That makes a lot of sense. It's the physical scars plus the mental and emotional ones...

I can't imagine being close to someone sadistic like that, it's sad to be estranged from a sibling, that happened to me with my sister, but in that situation it's such a damage beyond repair...

I'm sorry to hear about the colon cancer, you really don't deserve that, not any of what happened prior for that matter.

Hopefully nothing will happen to their daughter, maybe he is over that phase of his or maybe because she's his daughter, he can't lift a finger. Some people are like that.

You're incredibly resilient for having endured all that and being here to tell the tale, even though it's a suicide forum, it just goes to show how much someone can withstand against all odds, and not everyone can take so much.

I know this is a place for a certain finality but I really wish you find peace and happiness, ideally in life but, if not, beyond

 

[ultraviolence]

Depends on the object and deepness. I have heinous cig burns on my hand and wrist, last time I did it was around March maybe so like over half a year. They're VERY noticeable and pinker than my natural skin tone. Over time it gets less and less red but the deepest ones will be there forever. The ones on my ankle which weren't that deep from 2 years ago are not noticeable and pretty faded. I regret them SO bad. The looks of pity and pure subhuman disgust I get are enough to never make me wanna do it again. Please don't start. The healing process is a pain and prone to infection-- also, if you can't hide them (which you'll need to do for longer than cuts sometimes I've noticed) it raises concerns to ppl of abuse. When I was still in high school, I was terrified someone would report it as child abuse. Self-harm is a horrible and isolating addiction. I'm over 150 days sober and it gets harder every day, but it's possible. I wish you the best in overcoming it <3

 

[cartdog]

I have a few cigarette burns up the back of my forearm from high school. (At first I thought it was so angsty and cool and was trying to show off to a group of people, but then it just became a reliable form a SH.)

Didn't like the way the ones on my arm looked and it was irritated under clothes so stopped and just did it on the same one spot on the back of my hand. At least 80 cigs put out on the same spot over the course of a couple years

It's been about 3 years since I've put one out on myself.
Ones on my arm are hardly visible, the spot on my hand is permanently a light patch though I think.

 

[TiredTurtle]

I burnt myself with wood from a fireplace after I ran out of places to cut on my arm about 10 years ago, the scars still much more visible than my cuts

 

[DearMe]

I'm looking for new self harm methods and one I wanna try is burning. I just wanted help with how long I should hold the fire if I want scars or if I don't?

It depends on the degrees and pressure of the burn. They mostly last a year at the very least.
When I got slightly burned on my arm because of my older sibling. It only stings and lasts about a week. I popped that burn blister the moment I didn't like it, and it was my dominant hand. It was very visible since I have lighter brown skin and the burn took a shade - now I have a big moon on my arm. It's slowly disappearing after years gone by.

Now, when I accidentally burn myself on a heating motorcycle on a hot summer day. I remember it just hurt a lot and I couldn't move much as you can feel the burn chipping your outer skin. Almost like your skin got sizzled on a pan. You can feel your skin harden or liquidy(?) and quite out of place after that.

Don't start burning yourself unless you're prepared to feel the burn. Your clothes will also irritate the burn if you just started it and will take a long time to get it healed. You also need to buy Vaseline for daily use. You might also wake up at night when it just tries to tease you.

 

[rileywatson]

It really depends. I was burned quite bad on my arm a few years ago, and now the scar is basically invisible. On the other hand I had a small burn much before that, one that didn't even blister, and the mark remains. Human bodies are just weird like that.

As far as self-harm goes, I'm personally a fan of self-starvation. It doesn't really leave visible marks and, provided you are at least moderately careful, won't fuck up your insides.

 

[アホペンギン]

I have many burn scars, from matches at first and then I switched to hot metal. I press them against my skin and push them inside. It leaves bad scars that should be taken care of immediately but these scars are (hopefully) not permanent. My scars are a couple months old and haven't gone away yet but they are healing.. very slowly.

If you don't want scars just hold the match or lighter very close to your skin and soon you'll feel something. Make sure to remove it soon I don't want you to set yourself on fire.

 

[Ailashan]

I appreciate you, thank you for kind words and empathy.

I did develop a strange relationship with the bathroom for a while. I would need to use it but I didn't want to go in there and sometimes I would hold off until it was truly painful. Many years of that, I do wonder if it has any connection to the colon cancer I now have.

Definitely ties into the PTSD. I still walk around my apartment as if I must not wake anybody or even risk making noise that would let anyone know I'm here.

When I was confronted about my disordered eating, I remember very well my brother saying I was like a ninja in that I was able to slip in and out of the bathroom to purge with little notice.

We are estranged now - have been for almost 2 years. There was a brief break when he and my SIL were having a baby and our mother died. Prior to that we had been estranged for about 2 more years.

My sister and I are close and we've talked about our fears for their daughter.

I hope she is safe - it makes my stomach turn to think "What if…" or "I hope he's not…"

Turns into a spiral, as you can imagine.

im sorry to hear all that. Have you ever thought of advenging yourself for what your brother did to you? And why

 

[hermestrimegistus]

Sometimes, forever