PTNS-301 Lessons

Scar-Diminishing Serum

Estimated Brewing Time:
Pewter cauldron: 24 minutes and 30 seconds
Brass cauldron: 22 minutes and 42 seconds
Copper cauldron: 21 minutes and 4.8 seconds

Ingredients:
500 mL water
2 butterfly wings¹
4 fairy wings¹
30 mL tea tree oil¹
60 mL fresh lemon juice²
2 aloe vera leaves²
4 hyacinth petals³
15 mL tincture of musk³
60 mL Flobberworm mucus³ 

Instructions:

Part One:

1. Bring 500 mL of water to 363 Kelvin (90°C/194°F).
2. Add two butterfly wings and two fairy wings to your mortar and crush to a fine dust with your pestle.
3. Add one tablespoon of this powder to the cauldron.
4. Add two whole aloe vera leaves to the cauldron.
5. Stir twice counterclockwise with your wand.
6. Bring the heat up to 383 Kelvin (110°C/230°F) for 30 seconds, and then reduce heat again to 363 Kelvin (90°C/194°F).
7. Add 15 mL tincture of musk to the cauldron.
8. Leave the potion to brew in your pewter cauldron for 10 minutes. (This would be 9 minutes in a brass cauldron and 8 minutes and 6 seconds in a copper cauldron.)

At this point, your potion should be a pale orange, possibly with a light yellow steam. It will smell a little like a spicy vanilla.

Part Two:

1. Add two whole fairy wings to the cauldron.
2. Add 30 mL lemon juice to the cauldron.
3. Bring the heat up to 383 Kelvin (110°C/230°F) for 45 seconds, and then reduce heat again to 363 Kelvin (90°C/194°F).
4. Stir once clockwise with your wand.
5. Add 30 mL of tea tree oil to the cauldron.
6. Add 30 mL of lemon juice to the cauldron.
7. Stir twice clockwise with your wand.
8. Bring the heat up to 383 Kelvin (110°C/230°F) for 15 seconds, and then reduce heat again to 363 Kelvin (90°C/194°F).
9. Add four whole hyacinth petals to the cauldron.
10. Leave the potion to brew in your pewter cauldron for 8 minutes. (This would be 7 minutes and 12 seconds in a brass cauldron and 6 minutes and 28.8 seconds in a copper cauldron.)
11. Remove the cauldron from the flame and allow it to sit for 5 minutes while it cools.
12. Add 60 mL Flobberworm mucus to thicken and stir it with a wooden spoon or non-magical stirring utensil until it’s an even consistency before siphoning it into a phial.

By the end of brewing, the potion should be a pale lavender in color and have a pleasant deep floral scent.

To Store: The Scar-Diminishing Serum is relatively long-lasting and stores best in moderate temperatures without too much direct sunlight. It can be stored for up to five years before it should be replaced.

To Use: The Scar-Diminishing Solution should be applied topically to the area of the scar. It should not be ingested, as this can cause unwanted effects and will not cause scars to fade. The patient should apply just enough to cover the scar region, regardless of the length or size of that scar. Thus, the amount used for each application may vary depending on the size of the scar. The applicant should let it sit in the open air for three minutes before resuming regular activity.

Effects: The Scar-Diminishing Serum should cause most noticeable scars to fade to being indistinct in about one month’s time. Small traces of the scar may remain, but they will only be clear and noticeable if an expired serum was used. The user may experience slight tingling in the region of the scar, but that is normal with treatment. The process may be considerably shorter for smaller and fainter scars, and may take a bit more time for serious scars. As a note, the Scar-Diminishing Serum is most effective with scars from cuts and lacerations, and not as effective on scars derived from burns.

Caution: While it is entirely safe to apply topically, the Scar-Diminishing Serum can cause unwanted (though not deadly) side effects if administered orally. It will not impact any scarring or physical effects of an injury, but will instead cause severe stomach aching and cramps, dizziness, a burning in the throat, and in a few cases the one who ingested it will breathe a pale orange smoke for several days. If one thinks that he or she may have accidentally splashed the potion in his or her eyes or ingested it in some small quantity, they should consult with a healer. The Scar-Diminishing Serum is safe for children as well as women who are pregnant to apply topically. However, it is highly recommended that, when using it on children’s scars, the scar is then covered in order to prevent the child from ingesting the serum. Using an expired serum should not harm the site of the injury, but it will in most cases be ineffective.

Don’t Look Like They’re Fading
While scars may seem unsightly to many, the formation of a scar is a natural biological method of wound repair. Most wounds to human flesh, unless very minor, do result in the generation of some sort of scarring or scar tissue, even if it’s very faint and unnoticeable. The skin of a scar is composed of collagen, which is in fact composed of the same protein that forms the tissue it is replacing as it repairs the wound. However, most skin is a somewhat haphazard criss-cross of this fibrous tissue, whereas when repairing a wound, the fibers form in a single directional pattern, differentiating it from the tissue already in existence.

Scars can take a few appearances. Those who have scars of their own or who have exposure to other scars may have seen their appearance as level and white, others can appear as raised and tinted red, and occasionally you will see scars that seem a bit sunken and can be either red or white in appearance. The “normal” and most typical type of scar is the flat or pale scar. This is neither raised nor indented, and most often appears paler than the rest of the skin, regardless of skin tone. While this scar tissue will never tan, which makes these scars more pronounced when the skin around it tans in the summer or on holiday, they do tend to fade over time until they’re almost unnoticeable.

The scars that appear red and raised are known as hypertrophic scars, and these appear as a result of an excess of collagen being produced in the area during healing. They often flatten and lighten, occasionally turning into regular pale scars over time as the body adjusts. Hypertrophic scars are usually harmless, but those who have them may feel a stiffness or tightness around the skin of the scar. There is a suggestion of genetic propensity in some people towards forming this type of scar - essentially, if their body is prone to overproduction of collagen in healing, it is more likely that when their body repairs a skin tear or cut, this type of scar will form. Hypertrophic scars are the same size of the initial injury, which differentiates them from another type of raised and red scar, keloid scars. Putting aside the small protein differences between those two types of scars, keloid scars are known for growing beyond the site of the injury. They can appear almost “inflated” and have a rubbery texture. Not only are they unsightly, but these scars can be somewhat painful and itchy. However, they are not dangerous in any way.

The last type of scar that is seen relatively often is called an atrophic scar, occasionally known as an ice-pick scar, particularly in the case of acne or chickenpox. This type of scar most often forms when supporting tissues, muscles, fat, and blood vessels under the top layers of skin were lost during the injury. As such, when the collagen fills in the site of injury, it is not quite at the same level as the rest of the skin around it. 

The Scar-Diminishing Serum is effective on all types of scars, although it occasionally has been known to fail in conjunction with certain keloid scarring. The primary ingredients, as indicated in the recipe, work to diminish excess collagen and encourage new collagen growth to fill in more “normally.” The secondary ingredients work in conjunction to bleach darkened or red skin and even out skin tone. In the event of itchy or stiff skin, the aloe vera leaves have proven effective in mitigating those side effects of the scarring as well.

Screaming Medic
To end the course, I thought I would give a very brief overview of careers that use potions for healing. Of course, the most well-known (and oft-desired) position is that of a healer, particularly for a major magical hospital like St. Mungo’s. While healers often have a knowledge of a very wide variety of healing potions, most also concentrate in one aspect or another of the healing arts. For example, a healer at St. Mungo’s may have trained generally in “healing”, while also specializing in magical animal bites and stings. In this capacity, they will have a thorough understanding of various magical venoms and toxins, their impact on the body, as well as treatments, side effects and possible future complications. Healers will often attend specialized conferences and additional training around this focus in order to remain up to speed on the most recent innovations in healing potions.

Most healers have pre-brewed potions at the ready in order to heal the major afflictions they see in their area of focus, and also keep a closet full of appropriate ingredients, both those that require brewing to be effective as well as those that can be taken without brewing.

Another magical medical profession is that of a mediwizard. Most mediwizards focus a good deal of their study on charms and spells that can help immediately following an injury, so potions are not quite as popular in this field. However, most of them do know the dosages of select potions and carry a number of immediately useful elixirs that they can use on the scene of an accident to help wake an unconscious patient and similar quick-fixes while they transport the patient to a place where they can receive further care.

Most schools will also have an on-site matron or nurse that takes care of students when they fall ill. The nurse is typically a very experienced healer, and often has background as a full-time healer. They’re very talented at the various magical and non-magical injuries and ailments that are most common among students, and almost always have a steady flow of Pepperup Potion at the ready. Matrons don’t simply attend to the student’s medical well-being, however. Quite often the matron will also provide a tranquil and safe environment that enables emotional healing as well, and will have some knowledge of basic and simple mood and emotion-altering potions when necessary. They will frequently be called upon to use non-magical means to assist students in emotional crises as well.

Magizoologists typically have a good knowledge of healing potions as well. Despite mostly focusing on healing potions that specifically treat magical creature ailments, these zoologists will typically also have some knowledge of human healing potions as well. This enables them to care for themselves in the event of a minor to moderate injury when working with the creatures.

Aurors and curse-breakers will often have at least a rudimentary knowledge of healing potions, particularly for magically-obtained injuries. Frequently, dangerous professions such as these call on a witch or wizard to be somewhat isolated from society and access to immediate medical attention should they get injured, so they have to be prepared to administer at least basic healing potions to themselves until they can find their way to a fully-qualified healer.

There are many, many other professions which utilize the healing arts and healing potions as well, but I will leave you here to begin working on your final exam and your final essay. Good luck, be creative, and have fun! Have a wonderful between-year break, and I look forward to seeing you in Year Four.