Letting someone see my scars with no explanation - a mistake?

[danceforabeat]

This has been bothering me all weekend so I'm looking for some other opinions.

I was at a music festival all day Friday with a friend - we work together and have known each other for over a year and are now friends outside of work. We're fairly close now but she doesn't know everything about me. She knew I took anti-depressants because of problems with severe PMS/PMDD, but not that I SH. I have a small amount of very pale scars that are about 15 years old on my forearm which are uncovered most of the time but I don't think anyone notices because they're really faint.

However, on Friday I wore a sundress with a cardigan covering my upper arms as they are a mess - with some faded and some recent and very noticeable scars. It was a warm day and I was in a pretty good mood, so after a while I took my cardigan off. The style of the dress was such that the sleeves sort of covered my arms but in the breeze the sleeves get blown back and you can see my scars. I'm fairly sure she noticed them, but she didn't say anything (she's not the type to pry)...but neither did I. I wondered beforehand that if it was nice I might take off my cardigan but mention the scars, but in the end I didn't.

Now I'm wondering if I did the right thing. I know she's had some problems with MH - stress and anxiety, but no SH as far as I know. And as I've been SHing since I was 11 or 12 (I'm now 27), I don't really know what it's like to not SH and deal with someone who does. I'm not sure whether I should have mentioned it to get it out in the open as I can't help thinking she's going to be wondering about the extent of it and about my MH in general - especially since we work together and I sometimes spend time with her and her kids. But would it make sense to bring it up now? And what would I say if I did?

[Tallulah]

When I first went bare below the elbow around friends I did warn them, but they were my close friends who already knew I self-harmed. Now I don't tend to say anything and will bare my lower arms (but not upper where my more 'serious' scars are). Do you think she'd mention if it had upset her/worried her/made her uncomfortable? If so, then leave it in her hands. If not, I guess it's a bit more difficult and I'm not sure what to suggest sorry!

[danceforabeat]

I'm not sure if she'd mention it as she's the type of person that won't pry (one of the reasons I get along with her so well as most other people we work with would ask questions without thinking of causing upset). I'm wondering about bringing it up with her - just to let her know it's not due to some big mh issue. She's visiting family this week so I think I'll see if I can meet up with her when she gets back.

[Jsnuk]

First time I did this was kind of embarrassing, everyone was too polite to say anything, but I knew they all saw them. Since then though I take better care to hide them in places that are unlikely to be seen (just not the forearms for deeper cuts basically) and most of those original ones have faded to white, hidden by my arm hair. However I am also now far less concerned about whether people see them or not. For what reason this is, I do not know. I'm not sure it'd be a mistake as such, I think a lot of people would understand, or at least not be immediately turned off. That would kind of imply a lack of curiosity, empathy and sympathy as well as a certain amount of arrogance IMO.