Help How to cover up fresh-ish self harm scars for warm weather?

[Cauliflour]

Today has been considerably warmer than usual and it made me realise that I probably can't get away with wearing long sleeved linen shirts like I did last summer cause my mum thinks I've stopped cutting (I haven't, I've just gotten better at hiding it) and I'm paranoid she'll get suspicious if I spend all summer and warm days in spring in long sleeves. I also have this cute polo shirt that's short sleeved that I wanna try styling without a jacket but I have scars all over my lower arms. Some faded, some that are literally 2 days old and I'm very pale so those lines of red stick out very clearly.

I've heard concealer and tattoo cover ups work well for covering up really old scars but how well do they work for fresh scars? Also wouldn't it get slimy in 25*C weather? I've also considered getting those chunky goth bracelets with the spikes on (i'm vaguely alt so that wouldn't raise eyebrows) but I don't know what to do about the ones nearer my elbow. In an ideal world I would just let them be visible but I'm paranoid and I don't want people judging me cause I do it as like a pleasure thing so to me it's like flashing a tit or something in public.

 

[Kamaainakupua]

Er... rewrite in progress. I got distracted by the picture snd missed some key points in the first part of your post.

 

[Cauliflour]

Er... rewrite in progress. I got distracted by the picture snd missed some key points in the first part of your post.

it's alright. i currently go with the long sleeved linen shirt approach but i bought my shirts last year specifically so my scars would be covered up so wearing them by themselves is a sign of covering up scars.

 

[raineen]

in my experience, concealer on fresh wounds doesn't feel nice, and doesn't look that nice, i think the bracelet idea is a good one, if you don't mind the pain. besides, it depends on where you live, but i find many people do not pay that much attention to people wearing long sleeved shirts, especially if they're thin and "breathable", and at best you can say you're just defending yourself from the sun.

 

[Cauliflour]

in my experience, concealer on fresh wounds doesn't feel nice, and doesn't look that nice, i think the bracelet idea is a good one, if you don't mind the pain. besides, it depends on where you live, but i find many people do not pay that much attention to people wearing long sleeved shirts, especially if they're thin and "breathable", and at best you can say you're just defending yourself from the sun.

It's mostly my mum I'm worried about cause she knows I used to cut and I don't want her getting suspicious. I like the bracelet idea but that means I'd have to concentrate my new scars around just my wrists and I like balance.

Yeah I'm vain, I care about the positioning and appearance of my scars.

 

[Kamaainakupua]

Most of what I wrote was dual-layering, but if you have a light vest, the long sleeves would look less conspicuous. I can give you instructions in how to convert a sleeved button-up to a vest if that seems like an option. I'm missing part of my hand, so everyone (especially little kids) notice that before the see the scar on my arm. (Definitely don't recommend that since your mom might notice if you chop off part of your hand).

 

[raineen]

It's mostly my mum I'm worried about cause she knows I used to cut and I don't want her getting suspicious. I like the bracelet idea but that means I'd have to concentrate my new scars around just my wrists and I like balance.

Yeah I'm vain, I care about the positioning and appearance of my scars.

that's perfectly fair, i too have been in the same place where people close to me in person knew i cut, and would look out for it. it can suck. i do know some people get concealer that's exactly the same skin tone as their skin, and then cover the cuts with some sort of second skin (? i'm sorry, i don't remember the proper name), where they can use concealer over top, and fade it, it can at best look like a millimetre tall bump on top of the skin, barely perceptible. i've also seen some people do it with liquid latex, but i would really advice against that, as it can seep into the cuts, especially if they're fresh, and prevent it from healing.

 

[NotSoEnchanted]

Have you tried mesh long sleeves? They're not everyone's cup of tea, but they are breathable and basically like wearing a tank top, except they hide your scars. If you're going swimming, they have long sleeve swim tops too. This and breathable sun shirts/ undershirts are my plan for warm weather until my scars become less prominent. Covering them also helps them heal faster, as sun will hinder the fading and can make them more pronounced. If anyone questions you, you can claim to be taking sun protection more seriously!

As for tattoos, it's generally required you let the area heal for bare minimum of a year. Tattooing over fresh scars is a no go, and chances are the ink will not hold. Finally have you tried bio oil? It works wonders on scars. It's best to apply 2x a day and massage for a couple minutes. Scar massages will help improve healing and coloration if done consistently.

 

[Cauliflour]

Have you tried mesh long sleeves? They're not everyone's cup of tea, but they are breathable and basically like wearing a tank top, except they hide your scars. If you're going swimming, they have long sleeve swim tops too. This and breathable sun shirts/ undershirts are my plan for warm weather until my scars become less prominent. Covering them also helps them heal faster, as sun will hinder the fading and can make them more pronounced. If anyone questions you, you can claim to be taking sun protection more seriously!

As for tattoos, it's generally required you let the area heal for bare minimum of a year. Tattooing over fresh scars is a no go, and chances are the ink will not hold. Finally have you tried bio oil? It works wonders on scars. It's best to apply 2x a day and massage for a couple minutes. Scar massages will help improve healing and coloration if done consistently.

I was referring to tattoo cover ups as in the lotion thingy you put on tattoos to hide their existence if you're going to a job interview or something. It shows up on articles about covering self harm scars fairly frequently.

I don't want the scars to heal quicker cause I like how they look when they're in that early healing stage (and how they sting and how they're bumpy and dark when healed) but I think in order for them to heal super slowly, I have to blast it with the 10 days of sunshine I get in a year which then just loops back round to my initial problem. Preferably things that won't make it heal quicker cause that'll be disappointing to me.