Embrace Instructions + review (good but not applicable for all types of surgery like lbl)

I had a small amount of contact dermatitis and kept using the strips, because I wanted to do everything i could do to avoid poor scarring. However, that dermatitis lead to post inflammatory hyper-pigmentation which was more noticeable than the scar itself. Fortunately, my surgeon was nice enough to do a scar revision and it was removed. However, i wanted to share experience in case someone could benefit from it.

Doctors and Neodyne recommend using Embrace within 14-24 day of surgery to allow for adequate incision healing before applying. The earlier Embrace is used the better the results. However, don't stress out and make the mistake of rushing the process before healing as occurred. On the contrary, if Embrace is applied too soon, it will ultimately lead to poorer healing and worse scarring. A fresh incision can get infected, and even more importantly upon removing embrace it could pull on the scabs making the scars worse. If you have some delayed healing and go past the 24 days, I believe going 30 days or even longer is better than applying it to soon! Furthermore, remove Embrace very slowly while holding your skin with the other hand. The adhesive is very strong (especially when using 3M cavilon barrier) and can shear the skin when pulled leading to new scarring. And not the kind from an incision but rather flat and larger scars (more surface area). Good luck!

I wanted to make a quick update to my review. After using embrace for several months I've come to the conclusion that no matter how well it's applied it's not a good fit for the buttock incision in lower body lifts. Aside from the fact that Neodyne's instructional video doesn't take a low-lying incision into account, no matter how well it's applied and how much caution one takes it inevitably shifts a bit under the pressure of sitting. I never had a strip fall off, but they have definitely moved which interferes with their ability to reduce tension, defeating the whole purpose of wearing them. I still recommend Embrace for other areas, but think that steri-strips for the first few months followed by a silicone based gel/cream is the best way to go for this area.