General Scar Removal
Don't Be Self Conscious About A Scar - Let Us Remove or Reduce It For You
At The Skin Repair Clinic, Ralph and Alexandra specialise in scar removal treatments in Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham and Swansea.
What Scars Can The Skin Clinic Remove?
With our advanced skin needling device, we are able to significantly reduce the appearance of a range of surgical, cosmetic, accidental and birth mark scars. It is also an effective method of stretch mark removal too. Unfortunately we are unable to treat keloid scars, however we can put you in touch with suppliers of silicon patches that are the most effective non-surgical option at present.
What Does a Scar Removal Treatment Involve?
Scar removal treatments at the Skin Repair Clinic use a series of tiny needles attached to our specialist medical device, which penetrate the skin at a perpendicular angle. This creates thousands of micro injuries and as the blood travels to this treatment area to help start the healing process, scarred skin is rejuvenated too.
Our specialist micro needling device produces minimal trauma to the skin thanks to the angled needles, meaning healing is faster and downtime is shorter.
Our scar removal treatment offer similar results to surgery, without the cost or need to go under the knife.
The scar removal treatment involves:
- Cleansing the skin.
- Applying a topical anaesthetic for 30 minutes
- Removing the anaesthetic and sterilising the skin
- Applying the specialist machine over the area to be treated
- Applying a soothing cream
- Applying sunblock SPF 50+
After all of the above, we will then provide you with our specialist after care instructions and advise on take home skin care products.
- Is it safe?– Yes, before all treatments we conduct a thorough assessment and review of your medical history. If we feel you are at high risk of any side effects that could occur during or after the treatment, we will let you know beforehand.
- Does it hurt?– No, we use topical anaesthetics that are very effective when applied for the correct length of time.
- How long does it take?– The treatment time is very much dependent on the size of the scar. Harelip/cleft lip, breast augmentation and c-section scarring can take up to 30 minutes (plus 30 minutes for the anaesthetic). We advise allocating 90 minutes for the entire stretch mark removal treatment, however you will be given a good indication of the time your treatment will take during your consultation.
- How much does it cost?– From £399, depending on the size of the area treated. You will be given an accurate price using our sizing chart during your consultation.
- How does it work?– After a skin needling treatment, your body will start to naturally regenerate and repair the skin, working below the surface in the dermis. New collagen is formed, new skin cells are generated and blood supply is enhanced after the treatment, however it can take up to 6 weeks before visible signs of regeneration and repair are seen. For the majority of scars, 80% of improvements can be seen after just 2 treatments.
- How long does it last?– As the scar removal treatment uses the body’s own natural collagen, this repair is permanent. However, you may see some change as you age and collagen naturally breaks down as part of the body’s processes.
- How will my skin look?– Initially the skin could look red for around 24 hours after the treatment, however for some people this could be less or it could be more depending on how sensitive your skin is. The skin may become dry and tight shortly after the treatment, but this is a completely normal reaction and we are able to provide specialist skin repair cream to help with this. After this, the skin will look brighter and more vibrant. Then, approximately six weeks later, the regeneration and repair process starts to tighten the skin and reduce hyper pigmentation.
- How many treatments will I need for scarring? – The number of treatments required will depend on the type of scar and its severity. We recommend a course of 3 to 6 treatments as a minimum to achieve maximum results and more even, smoother skin.
There are many types of scarring we can treat. In most cases providing the scar is not a hypertrophic scar or a keloid scar, which are usually significantly raised, we can get excellent results. We have had particular success with the following types of scars treated via skin needling;
- Breast implant scars
- C-section scars
- Operation/cosmetic scars
- Dog bite scars
- Burn Scars
- Accidental scars
- Hair transplant scars
Due to the severity of some scars, Martyn and Alexandra can’t promise to completely remove the scar, but at The Skin Repair Clinic we are confident that we can drastically reduce its appearance. We appreciate scars in certain areas can affect your self-confidence, so we do everything here to get you feeling good about yourself again.
- Creams – Marginally improve superficial scars and the skins texture, however these will not help with severe, deep scarring.
- Chemical peels – Help smooth the skin surface by removing the top layers of the skin. This can only be achieved with deeper peels, which require downtime of up to 10 days, several treatments and sometimes several courses will be needed depending on the severity of the scars. This is not suitable for darker skin types (IV to VI).
- Laser resurfacing – Removes the top layers of skin. Downtime can take 2 to 4 weeks. This is only suitable for skin types I to III due the high risk of post inflammatory hyper pigmentation with skin types IV to VI.
- Dermal filler – Injectable fillers can only help to a certain extent by raising the indentation caused by the scar, however chicken pox scar tissue for example is compressed tissue making it difficult to inject the area effectively. Should the dermal filler lift the scar tissue it will not smooth the external surface of the skin. More importantly it’s only a temporary measure lasting 6-9 months typically and therefore is not permanent.